First Parish Staff
Reverend Gary Kowalski
Reverend Gary Kowalski is serving as interim minister for the First Parish of Sudbury on a one year contract starting mid-August, 2011. Gary is the author of several books on animals, science, spirituality, and history. A graduate of Harvard College (B.A. 1977) and the Harvard Divinity School (M.Div. 1982), he has also served Unitarian Universalist congregations in Memphis, Tennessee, Kent, Washington, Burlington, Vermont, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Religiously, he describes himself as a nature mystic, politically a liberal super patriot with socialist leanings, culturally a sports illiterate but always rooting for the underdog. When not agitating for unpopular causes, he enjoys sailing, tennis, landscape painting and the companionship of his wife of thirty years, attorney Dori Jones. To watch a half hour public television interview with Reverend Kowalski, visit
http://www.vpt.org/show/11000/804.
Roberta Altamari, Director of Religious Exploration
and Youth Ministry
Roberta Altamari began working in Religious Education and Youth Ministry at the First Parish of Watertown, MA in 2003 and was thrilled to step up to full-time work at First Parish of Sudbury in 2008. She has also been on the volunteer staff for six years for Different Drummers, a camp for middle-schoolers at Ferry Beach. Her bio includes earning a Bachelor’s degree majoring in developmental psychology from Suffolk University in 1991. She has more than a decade of work supporting adults with disabilities and a wide variety of fun jobs like leading music and movement programs for young children. She is a homeschooling mom of two daughters, Dominique and Skylar Rose, and lives in Waltham with her daughters. When she’s not busy working or parenting, she loves singing and playing her guitar, reading good books, trying a new art project, laughing with friends, or walking on a beach.
Debra Morris-Bennett, Music Director
Debra Morris-Bennett has been the Music Director and Organist at the First Parish of Sudbury for the past 21 years. She received a M.M. degree in Organ Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music. During her tenure at First Parish she has enjoyed exploring the wide range of choral literature—both sacred and secular—that the Unitarian Universalist service embraces. Some of the diverse works performed with the First Parish Choir over past seasons include Henry Mollicone’s Beatitude Mass for the Homeless, Missa Gaia by Paul Winter and Jim Scott, Acquaintance With Nature by Gwyneth Walker, a collaboration with Celtic harpist Áine Minogue entitled “A Celtic Harvest,” and lesser known choral works of Johannes Brahms, selections of Aaron Copland, John Rutter’s Requiem, Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, Irish choral music, Gabriel Faure’s Requiem, and Dietrich Buxtehude’s Cantate Domini.
Bev Baker, Community Life Coordinator
Bev Baker comes to First Parish with over 40 years of experience as a teacher, program manager, clinician and executive director working at local, state and national levels on issues related to women, youth and families. She has spent the last 6 years expanding her skills and expertise in the area of life coaching and leadership development. In her role as Community Life Coordinator at First Parish of Sudbury, she combines her skills and experience to support the practice of radical hospitality by "reaching out, inviting, warmly greeting, generously integrating, and continually renewing ties" to those who are seeking out a community for spiritual connection and exploration.
Donna Scalcione,
Congregational Administrator
Donna Scalcione is in her fourth year as Administrator here at First Parish of Sudbury and served in that role previously at the Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson for over two years and has held similar jobs in the business world, so she brings experience and enthusiasm to the job. Donna is a 20+ year member of this congregation and has served on a variety of committees and in several leadership roles. Along with her spouse, the Rev. Bev Waring, Donna enjoys walking, especially by the shore or in the woods, struggling through crossword puzzles, playing the drums, guitar and harmonica (not at the same time) and doting on their three dogs and other foster-doggie visitors to their home. Office hours, September-June, are 9-12, Monday through Friday. Stop by and say hello.
Gary will lead a book discussion group starting January 8 from 7:00-8:30 pm in the Brackett Room using Huston Smith's classic The World's Religions, an eight week tour of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Primal Traditions. The class is free and open to the public, but you might want to add this book to your Christmas list if you want to participate. Please note: we will be using the non-illustrated version of Smith's book. The pictures are nice, but the text is much abbreviated in the illustrated edition.