Ministers and Staff
The Reverend Erin Gingrich
Minister
Our minister, The Rev. Erin Gingrich, began her service at UUCR in August of 2010. She graduated from Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago in May of 2010, and was ordained here by our church in November of 2010.
Erin notes that Unitarian Universalists value reason and experience as sources of authority in religion more than we value tradition or sacred text. As such, she makes time for her own exploration of life through the following practices.
She writes, “I have maintained a moving meditation spiritual practice in my life since I was introduced to Gabrielle Roth’s 5 Rhythms in 2001 (dance as spiritual practice) and contact improvisational dance shortly thereafter. I also spend time on Buddhist meditation cushions, on yoga mats, on trails in parks, on rocks near riverbeds, on mountain tops with backpacking friends, and with my nose in the books of Sufi poets.
"I also seek out opportunities to experience the diversity of people who live around me. Books, television, and second-hand experience can only take my heart and learning so far. I prefer to volunteer and encounter people with lives different from mine in order to wake up to the larger reality that many people face right here in my own neighborhood.”
Erin received her BA in Cultural Anthropology & Women’s Studies from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1998. She also became a Certified Massage Therapist in 2004, at the Touchstone School for the Healing Arts in Burlington, VT.
Mary Ann East
Director of Music Ministry
Mary Ann East (BME, Indiana University; MM, George Mason University) coordinates the music for weekly worship, conducts the UUCR Singers (vocal choir) and the UUCR Ringers (handbell and handchime choir). Mary Ann was recognized as a Credentialed UU Music Leader in 2010. In addition to her duties at UUCR, Mary Ann teaches music education classes and conducts the Select Women's Chorale at George Mason University. She has taught every level of music for Fairfax County Public Schools for eight years; the last six were as Choral Director at George C. Marshall High School.
While at George Mason University pursuing her MM in Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting, Mary Ann performed in several GMU Opera Theatre productions. She sang the roles of Suor Dolcina in Suor Angelica, Violetta in Act I scene I of La Traviata, Cathleen in Riders to the Sea, and Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte.
Mary Ann also performs in the Washington metropolitan region, most recently with the Washington Women’s Chorus (Donald Paul Richardson, Artistic Director) and 7 Sopranos (Cynthia Cole, Artistic Director). She has adjudicated and guest conducted throughout the state of Virginia.
In the summer of 2009, Mary Ann began her studies for a DMA in Music Education through Boston University.
Mary Ann lives in Aldie, VA, with her husband, Joe; her two daughters, Helen and Cate; and her beagle, George.
Justin Martin
Acting Director of Religious Education
For the last year Justin has been working down the road at the UU Congregation of Fairfax as the Intern Minister and as their Summer Minister. Before that he worked at the UU Church of Arlington as the Religious Education Coordinator. Justin lives in Washington, DC with his wife Jess and his 18 month old son Caleb.
He just finished getting his Masters of Divinity degree at Wesley Seminary in DC, and is working toward being ordained in the next few years.
Patty Parker
Pianist
Patricia Parker received her Bachelors and Masters degrees in piano from the University of Michigan, studying with Marian Owen and Eugene Bossart. During her work at Michigan, she received the three prestigious awards awarded to pianists by the School of Music.
She subsequently enrolled in the special studies program at The Juilliard School of Music where she worked with Russian pianist and teacher Sascha Gorodnitzski, his assistant Herbert Stessin and Paul Makanovitsky, with whom she studied chamber music. In 1988, she received her doctorate in piano performance from Florida State University where she studied with James Streem and Marilyn Neeley.
Dr. Parker has taught at the University of Southern Mississippi, Henry Street Settlement House in New York City and the summer academy at Interlochen, Michigan. She is professor emerita from Jacksonville State University where she taught piano, theory and form and analysis for over two decades. During her tenure at JSU, many students from her piano studio excelled, winning competitions and moving onto graduate work.
Dr. Parker has performed chamber music recitals in Russia, Eastern Europe and middle-eastern countries and has played frequently in the south as a piano soloist and a chamber musician. She has been active nationally and internationally in playing and lecturing on the music of women composers, giving workshops for such groups as The College Music Society and the Music Teachers National Association.
A long time member of MTNA, Dr. Parker is presently a member of the Northern Virginia Music Teachers Association. Since moving to the Manassas area in 2002, she has accompanied in a number of private voice studios in the Fairfax area and has worked with many choral and symphonic groups in northern Virginia and Maryland. She is presently a member of the piano faculty at George Mason University and active as an accompanist in voice and string studios of the department. In addition to her duties at UUCR Dr. Parker maintains a coaching and teaching studio in her home.
Dr. Parker is a performing member of the Friday Morning Music Club of Washington D.C. and a member of the Woodbridge Music Club. Recent chamber appearances include the Millennium Stage of Kennedy Center and the National Gallery of Art. She is married to Donald Paxton, a retired professor of economics, and has two grown daughters and two grandchildren.