Our Ministers
Rev. Aaron R. Payson, Minister
Rev. Aaron R. Payson
Rev. Aaron R. Payson began his tenure at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester in August 1999. He has a BA in psychology with a minor in religion and philosophy from Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, Pa., and an MDiv from Andover Newton Theological School, Newton Centre, Mass. He is currently studying for his doctorate at Hartford Seminary. [- read more -]
Rev. David Miller
A native of Muskegon, Michigan, our Minister Emeritus is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Divinity School. He was called to the ministry of our church in 1970, at a time when the church had been weakened by a period of controversy and strife. At that time we often saw 20 or fewer people in the pews on Sunday morning, the church school had programs only for the elementary grades, and the church was financing a substantial deficit out of its endowment. David and the congregation worked together for 20 years to restore the church to a more flourishing condition. [- read more -]
Rev. Cheryl Leshay
Cheryl is our affiliated community minister. A minister who grew out of our congregation, her two now-grown children and her husband, Bruce, held down the fort here while she completed her education and served UU congregations elsewhere. Before coming back home to Worcester, Cheryl served several churches all over New England. After completing 18 years as a professional UU religious educator, nine of those as an ordained UU minister, Cheryl followed her call into Campus Ministry. She returned to us in 2012 and began forming an organization to support Worcester UU college students seeking a UU presence on campus. While Cheryl is here with us, often in the pews on Sunday, most of her ministry takes place elsewhere, with college students. [- read more -]