Ministerial Search Announcement
Dear Fellow Countryside Members and Friends –
I’ve got some exciting news to share!
The Board has hired a new contract minister – Dr Emma Farrell (they/them) – to be our new minister effective August 1, 2026. You may remember Emma as our pulpit guest on January 25, 2026 and March 16, 2025. You can view those services on our YouTube channel.
Emma is currently a ministerial intern at the Unitarian Church of Evanston (UCE). They will receive their MDiv degree from Meadville Lombard Theological School this spring. They will be ordained as a UU Minister in June 2026. Emma has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry (2010) and a B.A. in Biology (2004). Prior to entering ministry, they worked in academia as a biochemistry researcher, taught at several universities, and worked in the private sector as an analytical chemist. Emma has published professionally in several fields but consistently found the most meaningful parts of their jobs to be the relational ones. Emma has practiced building community in six major metropolitan areas where they’ve lived and now devotes their life to building beloved community. Emma’s theological leanings are religious naturalist and Buddhist. Emma has two young children, enjoys blues dancing, tutoring science and math, and consumes all kinds of books.
In their ministerial profile, Emma says this about their call to ministry: “This call has been echoing through my life for years. Every step, from science to teaching to parenting to serving in ministerial capacities has affirmed this. Each vocation I’ve pursued has pointed toward ministry as the truest integration of who I am: relational, curious, and devoted to cultural change and meaning making in community. It feels less like a new direction and more like finally coming home. I feel called first and foremost to parish ministry that is deeply relational, justice centered, and relevant to the changing world, … I hope to serve a congregation that wants to balance comfort in caring for each other with the discomfort of growing.”
Please join me in warmly welcoming Emma to this wonderful Countryside Church community.
Thank you,
Gary LaBedz, Board President
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Dearest members and friends of CCUU,
It is such an honor to be preparing to serve alongside you in the coming church year. Everything I’ve seen and heard about CCUU reflects a community that is generous, vibrant, thoughtful, and kind, and I’m grateful to be finding my way toward you.
A little about me: I currently serve as the ministerial intern at the Unitarian Church of Evanston. Before ministry, I worked as a bioanalytical chemistry researcher and taught at several universities. Again and again, I found that what mattered most to me was the relational work of walking alongside people and building cultures of nurturance and intentionality. I’m a parent to two lively neurodivergent kids, have a non-nesting partner, and share my home with three cats. I love dancing (especially blues) and I consume audiobooks. If you’re curious, you can also find me at ministeremma.com
I am excited to get to know each of you better and to see how we can collaborate to create more belonging, inspire curiosity, and live into the healing of our world!
With gratitude and warmth,
Emma
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Emma K. Farrell, Ph.D. (they/we/any)
UU Ministry