Welcome, Rev. Alan Taylor!

Dear Members and Friends of the UU Society of Geneva,

I am thrilled to be joining you this September as your new minister. It was a wonderful surprise to learn that your congregation would need a minister the very year I was looking to serve a congregation here in the Chicago area. As I learned what you are needing in terms of skills and experience, I became more and more excited about this opportunity. Rev. Lindsay Bates shared with me that you already are , “a healthy, happy, and vital church.” I hear that your worship services are meaningful and relevant. You have a great staff team. You actively care for one another, and you seek out ways to live out your values in the wider community. I understand that you even deal with disagreement and conflict thoughtfully and effectively. You have many strengths with which to further embody your mission and core values. 

I look forward to getting to know you and creating worship services that respond to your needs and our wider community’s challenges. It will be a privilege to provide spiritual and pastoral support when you are in need, as individuals and as a community. And I can already imagine ways to cultivate community through developing small groups and sharing your growing ministry with those who seek and would benefit a liberal religious home. However, I won’t make changes right away—unless asked to do so. I want to first several months to be learning about you: your current ministries, your heritage, and your hopes moving forward. 

I live in Oak Park where my son, Marco, will be a senior and my daughter, Erica, will be a freshman. My wife, Angelica Taylor-Cortes, is native to Mexico City. Yes, I have a deep love of Mexican culture, cuisine, art, and family values. Although I didn’t speak a word of Spanish when we met in 2000, I do pretty well now! My wife goes by “Angie,” is trilingual, and has a business background. Her communication skills, love, and common sense have supported the flourishing of my both my career and personal growth. 

I am a graduate of Pomona College (1990) and Starr King School for the Ministry (1998). I also have a Spiritual Direction Certificate from Loyola University. My longest ministry was at Unity Temple in Oak Park (2003-2021) where I loved building community through worship, small groups, and social justice. I also learned about faith based organizing that transformed my ministry, teaching me the importance of 1-on-1 relationships not only to advocate for social justice but also in cultivating relational networks in and among congregations. Over the last fifteen years, I have participated in and led a lot of multi-faith collaborations to work on behalf the common good and serve the most vulnerable. 

I’m delighted to serve a congregation ripe to equip people spiritually to live vibrant lives, to create community around our UU values, and to be a beacon of hope and love for the wider community

I marvel at the shared ministry that Rev. Lindsay Bates and Rev. Scot Hull have cultivated with your congregation. I have known Rev. Lindsay for 22 years now—and she is married to Rev. Scot Giles, one of my predecessors at Unity Temple! Angie and I have great affection for them both. 

I imagine that you welcome learning more about me, so I have created a video that you can watch here. 

I hope you all have a good summer. I will meet with your staff to plan for September, and I welcome meeting you all following worship in late August. Details to come!

Warmly,
Alan