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Our Ministers
Rev. Abhi Janamanchi
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On April 18th, 1999 the congregation voted the Rev. Abhi Janamanchi as our new minister. Abhi, as he likes to be called, has traveled a long road to us. The initial phase of his journey began with his family. Born in India, he was reared in a liberal Hindu tradition similar to UUism. He graduated from Andhra University with a degree in Physics and pursued graduate studies in Quantum Physics and Electronics. After his marriage to Lalitha in 1991, Abhi accepted a banking position. The couple now have two sons, Abhimanyu, born in November, 1993, and Yashasvi, born in July, 1998. |
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The second phase of our minister's journey involved services as a lay-minister of a liberal Hindu organization, the Brahmo Samaj. Encouraged by this group and inspired by his experience with them, Abhi took a "leap of faith" and enrolled in Meadville/Lombard Seminary to prepare for full-time ministry in India. Although his ministry was interrupted by various dissapointments and and roadblocks, Abhi graduated in 1998 and was ordained at the Unitarian Church of Evanston, Illinois that year.
His preparation included Ministerial Internship in Evanston, Clinical Pastoral Education at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical center, and a Field Education Tutorial as the Student Interim Minister at the UU Community Church in Park Forest, Illinois. He then served the First Unitarian Society of Madison, Wisconsin as their Interim Associate Minister.
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Rev. Millie Rochester
Our Associate Minister, Rev. Millie Rochester came to UUC in 2005. Millie came to us from Chicago where she served for two years as Interim Minister for Religious Education at First Unitarian Society.
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Earlier, Millie attended the Northwest House of Theological Studies and Meadville Lombard Theological School. She completed Clinical Pastoral Education at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Portland, Oregon, and internship in Cleveland, Ohio, graduating from Meadville Lombard Theological School in 2003. Her "home" congregation in Salem, Oregon ordained her that year.
Millie and her husband Roger met one another as college students and were married in 1971. They have four children: Danica, born in 1978, Isaac in 1981, Linnea in 1983, and Nathan in 1985.
Though Roger's job with the Social Security Administration took the family many places in the country, they lived in Oregon for almost seventeen years. Both Millie and Roger were active members of the Salem UU Congregation, and Millie was Director of Religious Education for thirteen years. During that time, the congregation surprised her with the gift of auditing classes at Meadville Lombard Theological School, and it was while she was there that her call to ministry crystallized.
She describes her ministry as "relational, grounded in whole-church religious education. Including people of all ages in the whole life of the church is one of the ways we nurture both the intellect and the spirit." |
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A brief quote
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Abhi's approach to ministry:
"A minister is made through holistic participation in the lives of humans, especially with family, friends, and parishioners. For me, ministry is about and through relationships; they are the mentors of human courage, the bearers of joy and forgiveness, and the teachers of life and service."
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