Board of Trustees
Maureen Duffy-Boose (Aisling) ~ President
My legal name is Maureen Duffy-Boose, but I am generally known in public Pagan circles as Aisling. It is a bardic name that means "poetic vision" in Irish Gaelic and is my online persona as well as my public pagan name. I came to Paganism by way of Irish Catholicism in my late teens, through the influence of the strong mystical bent of the women in my mother's family, and to the UU Pagan path much later, when I began to revolt from the fundamentalism and dogmatism I was beginning to encounter among Traditional Witches and Pagans of the 1970s and 1980s. I have been working as a Pagan activist and advocate for nearly twenty years, including serving leadership roles in such organizations as CUUPS, Pagan Pride International, Toteg Tribe, 1734 Witchcraft, and Our Freedom Coalition. I am a Priestess in Salt Lake City and identify as an American Traditional Witch with an Irish Traditional Witchcraft and 1734 Witchcraft background.
I have a wonderful family of five adult children and have a hard time believing that I am a grandmother of fourteen! I am the current Chair of the Worship Committee at South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society in Salt Lake City Utah, and am looking forward to helping host and create activities for this year's General Assembly in my home town. I am an Irish harper, vocalist, fiction writer and water-color artist, as well as assisting as a web design leader in our business, Breeze Solutions, and keeping house for my wife and our three cats, dog, and assorted critters, including a couple of magpies who think I'm their mama!
My focus as a member of CUUPS Board of Trustees is to continue our development of a characteristic and unique Unitarian Universalist Pagan Tradition, as well as supporting the Social Justice agenda of the UUA on Marriage Equality and civil rights and liberties for members of alternative religious practices. I also will be focusing on the revision of the Principles and Purposes, attempting with other members of the CUUPS Board of Trustees to preserve the ethos and specific inclusivity of the Sixth Source. A final goal for this term will also include further exploration of CUUPS' relationship with the UUA, and some strategic discussion on whether or not it is in the best interests of the theologically-based former affiliate groups to pursue renewal of Independent Affiliate status.
David Pollard ~ Vice-President, Newsletter Editor,
I became a UU almost twenty years ago, and while at that time I had been hanging around with Pagans for a few years - until I became UU I never self-identified as one. But with the UUs I found an Earth-Centered Spirituality that didn't regard my skepticism about some paranormal claims as a sign I was a "bad" Pagan. My religious philosophy is informed by classical Pagan Humanists like Marcus Aurelius, but my practice derives more from Reclaiming.
I'm the Past President at Pleasant Valley UU Church in Garland, TX where I've been a member since 1989, except for a few years at 1st Jefferson UU in Fort Worth. I've helped establish CUUPS chapters in both congregations.
This is my second stint on the CUUPS board. Previously, I'd been on from 1995 to 2001. I was secretary for the three years we were transitioning from our founding leadership, then was VP during 1999 & 2000. I assisted in filing CUUPS initial 501-c3, and wrote grant request for the publication of Sacred Cosmos and its mailing to all UU ministers. Outside of UUism & CUUPS, I'm a GIS Tech (computer mapping) for the City of Arlington (TX) was a founding board member of the Green Party of Texas, spent a few years on the GP_US national committee as well as a couple years as co-chair of their Accreditation Committee.
Michael Walker ~ Corporate Secretary
Michael Walker is serving his first term as the Corporate Secretary of CUUPS. He feels honored to serve, and is dedicated to assisting wherever and whenever possible.
He is currently a member of First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco and their Pagan Interest Circle (PICT), albeit he is currently serving as the Intern Minister at the First UU Church of San Diego.. Also a seminarian at Pacific School of Religion, he is one of a handful of Pagans and a handful of UUs (not always the same people) who are getting very good at rocking the boat. He currently serves as a student representative to the Academic committee (and last year, the Finance committee) of the Board of Trustees, where he is able to ensure that the minority religious voice is heard and considered when planning academic programs for training future religious leaders.
Believing in the right of all Pagans to live as they choose, and to be accepted by mainstream society, he has been involved with the International Pagan Pride Project and other Pagan advocacy organizations. During 2004-05, he served as a Co-Chair for the San Diego (CA) Pagan Pride Day event, and is very proud of how they have continued to grow and flourish after he moved away. Pagan ministry are two words that are not often heard spoken in the same sentence, and it is one of Michael's lifelong goals to help change that. For him, ministry includes (but not limited to) providing social services (chaplaincy, elder care, and other special assistance) to members of the community during their times of greatest need. Since he finally came to the conclusion that the Pagan community was not growing up fast enough to provide the types of ministry that he wishes to be part of, he branched out and developed a relationship with Unitarian Universalism. It is his goal to provide ministry in both spiritual communities, together and (if necessary) separately.
In his personal life, he is a single gay man, living in the Kensington neighborhood of San Diego with his beloved black cat, Kali. He loves Celtic and world music, reads science fiction and fantasy; but is rather unusual in Pagandom, in that he has not played a role-playing game in more than 15 years. Otherwise, a fairly typical Pagan...
Dick Merrit ~ Treasurer
Dick Merritt grew into paganism through the influence of eco-feminist spirituality in the 80's. It was a natural fit, given his agrarian background. Dick is an eclectic neo-pagan and Unitarian Universalist. He characterizes himself as a Joseph Campbell pagan because of his conviction that religion is metaphor. Strongly influenced by the Creation Spirituality movement, he describes himself as a panentheist. Dick enjoys frequent rituals and purification ceremonies. A techno-pagan, he is a retired UNIX technician and massage therapist. Dick is a charter member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Hillsborough, NC.
Dick has been a member of CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) since its inception in 1987. He attended the meeting at the Little Rock UUA General Assembly when the initial CUUPS bylaws were approved. Upon his return to North Carolina, Dick was one of the members of Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Durham that conceived of creating a CUUPS chapter in what was then a decidedly anti-Pagan congregation. Celebrate the Circle was the result and has been continuously active since 1991. See http://www.celebratethecircle.org.
One of Dick's passions is Carolina Spirit Quest, Inc., a 501c(3) nonprofit organization encouraging Pagan networking in NC, SC & VA. Dick has attended the Southeastern Unitarian Universalist Summer Institute (SUUSI) for more than a dozen years. He was a workshop leader for most of that time. Dick was one of the leaders of the Thursday night alternative worship (Pagan Ritual) planning group. Largely through his efforts the Thursday night Earth Centered alternative worship service was included in the SUUSI catalog as a regular part of the Denominational events. Attendance increased until participation includes 200-300 people each year. That is more than one fourth of the SUUSI attendees. He says, "Leading a spiral dance with 300 people and having it come out correctly is an awesome experience."
Niko Tarini ~ Membership Co-Ordinator
Currently serving as Membership Coordinator for the board of CUUPS, Inc., Niko Tarini is a Massachusetts artist, puppeteer and reiki practitioner who has studied and practiced Earth-Spirituality for nearly twenty years. On the local level, he is a native of New Bedford, Mass., and has served on the Greater New Bedford Circle CUUPS' Council of Elders for fourteen years and currently serves as the chapter's Church Liaison and Treasurer. He has been a member of the chapter since 1992 when he was first introduced to CUUPS and Unitarian Universalism. His Pagan path began with his Roman Catholic upbringing, then the study of Wicca, and has led him to a place in UU Paganism. He joined First Unitarian in 2000 and has served as a Religious Education instructor, member of various committees, and is now a Trustee on the church board. Niko's vocational path has led him back to human services and utilizes his several years' experience instructing children, teens and elders in visual art and world music to support developmentally disabled adults in reaching their creative potential.
Ollis Hughes ~ Assistant Membership Coordinator
In the mid-1980's I became interested in Wicca and spent about fifteen years as a solitary in the craft. In 1999, I earned my 3rd degree with the Church and School of Wicca. About a year later, I found Circles in the Wood CUUPS, affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa, and became an active member. In 2003, I was elected Treasurer of CIW CUUPS. The following year in 2004, I was elected the Facilitator and am still serving at present time. Circles in the Woods CUUPS hosts Full Moon Celebrations every month on the Saturday closest to the full moon and is an intricate part of UUCT providing Sunday services about twice a year. In addition, I am currently the chair person of Adult Religious Education and Charity committees at UUCT.
Carol Bodeau ~ Chapter Coordinator
Carol Bodeau is a graduate of Starr King School for the Ministry, and has been involved in the pagan/earth-based community for over 20 years. As a candidate for UU ministry, she focuses on sharing earth-based spiritual practices and thea/ologies with both congregants and clergy through preaching, leading ritual, and teaching courses in congregations and at denominational events. She has also taught a course for seminarians at Starr King School in "Neo-Paganism in a UU Context" to help non-pagan clergy understand better how to honor neo-pagan peoples and traditions. Before entering ministry, Carol was a college professor, and worked for many years on issues of cultural misappropriation, including completing a PhD in multicultural studies with a focus on Native American issues. Carol's earth-based training includes extensive work in cross-cultural shamanism, with both native and non-native teachers, as well as work in various goddess traditions. She is also a student in the Toledano tradition of Kabbalah, an avid hiker, and mom to two wonderful kids. In her role as coordinator for chapter memberships, she hopes to use her experience with denominational structures, and her training as a minister working in congregations, to facilitate the growth and flourishing of CUUPS chapters.
Rev. Ann Marie Alderman ~ Ministerial Liaison
The Reverend Ann Marie Alderman grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, as an active Southern Baptist youth. While studying religion at Florida State University in the mid 1970's she came under the influence of the women's movement and came out as a lesbian. Continuing her studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School, just as the first woman dean of a major seminary was appointed, she continued to pursue her interest in the intersection between feminism and liberal religion. She also changed denominations, moving from Baptist to Methodist, (at least they were ordaining women ministers!)
Upon graduation from Vanderbilt she realized that her growing exposure to the history and the practice of women's spirituality meant the traditional Christian ministry was not for her. She spent several years in "alternative" careers, including as automobile mechanic and nearly twenty years managing her family's wood flooring business. By mid-life the urge to find a deeper purpose began with a move to Savannah. While living there, she found the giant welcome extended to her by a tiny UU fellowship in South Georgia just what she needed to recognize where her journey was leading. In a few years she returned to Jacksonville and by 2001, had become fellowshipped by the UUA and jointly ordained by both of the UU congregations in her hometown.
Years of experience in small business administration, a full year of intensive training as a hospital chaplain, two years as a Director of Religious Education, three as an Associate Minister, two as the sole minister of a small congregation in Pennsylvania, Ann Marie is now in her second year serving the UU Congregation of Greenville, North Carolina.
At the core of her ministry all along the way has been a passion to widen the Unitarian Universalist welcome to those who, for whatever reason, have been marginalized by the larger society. She is committed to making sure individuals who identify as pagan or who feel an affinity with earth-based spirituality, find each other, become a part of congregational life and know that their spiritual home can be within UUism.
