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Andrew Millard's BiographyI was born in England in 1971, a little northeast of London. Both of my parents had grown up in Greater London and my father’s mother and my mother’s parents still lived there. (Subsequent research into the family history reveals that, during the nineteenth century, almost all of our ancestors migrated from the west, the midlands and the north, where they had been well regarded as public officials and skilled craftsmen, to London, where they took whatever low-paying jobs were available. We do not know why they moved.) My sister and I grew up in a town on the Thames Estuary, attending the local school and going to the local Methodist church with my father. In both places we were taught some of the more child-friendly Bible stories. One or other of us would regularly go to stay with my mother’s parents, and I learned a lot from my grandmother. At the age of seven I was sent to a boarding school, in the town where my parents now live but at that time a good half hour’s drive from home. There I discovered chemistry and the other sciences, and it wasn’t long before I had converted a garden shed at home into my workshop. I was also in the school choir, singing in morning assembly — in many ways a worship service in miniature, with a Bible reading, hymns, the Lord’s Prayer and sometimes an anthem — as well as at local churches and on choir concert tours to Malta, Italy (where we sang for the Pope one Easter) and Germany. At thirteen, I moved on to another school, having obtained a partial scholarship that made it possible for my parents to afford to send me there. At the same time as moving from one school to another, I went from being a treble to a bass, singing in the choir for morning assembly and for Sunday services. Though I loved the music and the feel of the words — particularly the ecclesiastical Latin — I was never too attached to the religious meaning. Similarly, though I’d never been confirmed (and had never actually heard about that rite of passage at the Methodist church I’d attended) I took communion at first, but after a while I stopped. I was always willing to be a reader and occasionally write the “sermon” for school assembly, though. Once, when I was asked to play a part in a Sunday service, I misread a prayer so badly that the sense of it was completely reversed; I was somewhat shocked that nobody — neither student nor teacher — commented afterwards on how badly I’d botched it. Obtaining the necessary results in my school exams, I went to Trinity College, Cambridge, at eighteen to study Natural Sciences. A few other people from my school were there or at other colleges, but the greater distance from home was difficult on occasion. My sister, being three years younger, was now at the school I had recently left, so I would take the train once a week to see her and sing in the choral group preparing for concerts. In Cambridge I found solace in the town’s greener outskirts, and I sought community through a number of university organizations and student groups, even becoming the Secretary and then President of the Trinity Mathematical Society. Though I had been keen on chemistry, I had become more interested in physics during my final year of school. So, within the Natural Sciences program at Cambridge, I concentrated on theoretical physics, enjoying late nights discussing “life, the Universe and everything” with a group of fellow students. Just before the beginning of my last year at Trinity, I saw a notice from the Fulbright Commission concerning their scholarships for study in the United States. I suddenly realized that I had an opportunity I hadn’t previously considered, and that if I didn’t take it then, at that point in my life when I was almost completely free, I would probably never have the chance again. Having been at Newton’s Trinity, I could go to Einstein’s Princeton! Though I was offered a Fulbright travel scholarship, I didn’t accept it given the visa-related strings that were attached, but I was accepted to Princeton, where I became a graduate student in the physics department. (And discovered that Einstein had been at the Institute for Advanced Study, not the university.) In 1997 I graduated with a PhD from Princeton, but I stayed on for most of another year, working for someone who had been on my thesis committee and beginning a transition from purely theoretical physics to more experimental work. I obtained a postdoctoral position at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), in a research group doing innovative things with lasers and optical microscopy. I worked for a very understanding professor who, being a remarkably free spirit himself, was happy to encourage existential explorations in others. In fact, my life really crossed a threshold while in San Diego, with a few otherwise unremarkable seeds planted during my time at Princeton sprouting in that remarkable climate. Following a chain of events that led me from vegetarianism to the Bhagavad Gita to the World Pantheist Movement to the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science, I learned of Unitarian Universalism, and some pieces started to fit together for me. I took part in the Earth-Centered Spirituality Circle and Voluntary Simplicity groups at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego, but was not able to attend regular services without making an extended day-trip out of it. So when, with the experience gained from working at UCSD, I moved back across the country again in 2001 to join a biophysical research group at the University of Connecticut Health Center, I was delighted to find that I lived in the neighborhood of the Unitarian Society of Hartford (USH). I became a member of the society, sang in the choir, and joined one committee responsible for organizing adult religious education classes and another involved in various justice issues. Though I was, perhaps, a Universalist all along, I enjoyed many opportunities to deepen my faith, learning about Unitarian, Universalist and Unitarian Universalist history, participating in congregational, district and denominational decision-making and governance, and developing an awareness of both the strengths and the weaknesses of Unitarian Universalist theology. Though not directly affected by the events of September 11, they nonetheless shattered my vision of a quiet life of teaching and research. I found myself at a crossroads, in need of making a decision about my future and my life’s purpose. I took advantage of an offer for counseling at work. I am particularly glad that I was a part of the caring community of the Unitarian Society of Hartford, too. (Partly as a result of my need to find a new vision, I took a trip in early 2002 to India, which helped to broaden my horizons, both culturally and spiritually.) I enjoy being in academic research, particularly the opportunities to teach and to work with others, which I value in themselves, but as time went on I felt an increasingly visceral call to be of use. Thankfully, the seeds planted years before continued to sprout and grow. During my last year in Princeton I had shared a house with five other vegetarians and I’d started to learn about environmentalism; perhaps this was why I bought “Green Space, Green Time: the Way of Science” by Connie Barlow. From this book I learned about the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS), which had held a conference in 1996 on the Epic of Evolution, and in 2000 I attended my first IRAS meeting. From other conferees I learned about an forum on religion and the environment at Hartford Seminary, where I then enrolled in my first course, Environmental Ethics. In the process of enrolling, I learned of their cooperative M.Div. program with Andover Newton Theological School, which I remembered from General Assembly had many Unitarian Universalist students. It felt like I’d found a vital piece of a jigsaw puzzle, showing a picture, albeit with some pieces missing, of a pathway beckoning me towards the Unitarian Universalist ministry. I became increasingly more involved at USH, working with the youth group over a four year period — long enough to see an entire grade move through and bridge out — as well as teaching classes and giving sermons, in time serving on the Board of Directors as Chair of the Council on Spiritual Life. Similarly, while environmentalism had always formed the core of my personal pantheist theology, rooted in a sense of all-encompassing interdependence, I developed a much greater awareness of other social justice issues. I also became increasingly aware that I am not alone on the path. During my time in Connecticut I was very fortunate to gain a number of good friends who were always and continue to be incredibly supportive. Marye Gail and John, for instance, saw something in me even before I knew it was there; they were completely unsurprised to hear that I was considering ministry. Denise, the Youth Advisor, has always been willing to lend me a sympathetic ear, and was willing to let me help out with the youth group even though I knew next to nothing about youth ministry. Cheryl, who was USH’s Minister for Religious Education for a time, mentored me (without her really realizing it) in what it means to be human as a minister, not being afraid to fail or show weakness, while having a heart large enough for the whole world. Steve and Jean inspired me with their commitment to social justice, soldiering on in the face of hostility or, worse, apathy, not to mention their own illnesses. My association with IRAS has existed a couple of years longer than my association with USH, and there, too, I have relationships I hold dear with a number of people. Just before one of their Summer conferences a few years ago I learned that one of those people, Philemon, had died a couple of months before; though I knew he had been sick, it was still a tremendous shock. His widow came to Star Island (where that conference is held) and I was honored to be able to sing as part of a quartet in the memorial service for him. More recently I have found of immense value my relationships with other ministers of the Mountain Desert District, primarily developed through the district’s chapter of the ministers’ association as well as the New Mexico and Colorado cluster groups. In all I completed about a year’s worth of courses at Hartford Seminary, taking one (or sometimes two) each semester. During that time I met Allison. As we grew closer and came to understand how I felt called to the ministry, we started to look at the financial realities of my going back to school full time in order to complete my theological education. As we talked about marriage and our future together, I looked into other possibilities for schooling, and in time applied for admission to the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. Officially United Methodist, but always towards the liberal end of the spectrum, Iliff has a sufficient number of Unitarian Universalist students that, with the headquarters of the Mountain Desert District about a mile away, classes on UU History and UU Polity are regularly offered with classes on UU Religious Education and UU Theology offered from time to time. Moving with Allison to Colorado in August 2006, I was able to transfer my credits from Hartford Seminary with little difficulty and subsequently enrolled in the Justice and Peace concentration of Iliff’s M.Div. program. Though I am still far from my parents, family is more important to me than ever. I regret that I am not able to get back to England as often as I’d like, but my parents also visit the United States from time to time. In August 2006, they, my sister and my brother-in-law came to Connecticut on the occasion of my wedding. Allison and I have now been together for five years, and she has become the most important person in my life. Her relatives have been very generous in welcoming me into their family, and we have gone together to Thanksgivings, Passover seders, Bar Mitzvot and, unfortunately, a number of funerals. Allison supports me in answering my call and was willing to move with our menagerie of cats and rabbits to Colorado for me to obtain my M.Div. at the Iliff School of Theology. Having lived almost her whole life in Connecticut, this has been a very difficult transition for her, particularly with not only the deaths of four pets but also the deaths of three grandparents over the last three years and her father’s death following the otherwise successful treatment for his leukæmia. We are facing these challenges together, though, and we have become stronger as a result. Though it was difficult for Allison, after slowly developing local friendships over the course of two years in Colorado, to move to New Mexico for my internship at the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque, it was important for both of us in developing our understanding of my ministry in the context of our marriage. Outside of my schoolwork and Unitarian-Universalist-related activities, Allison and I are involved in a number of home improvement projects and we are volunteers with the House Rabbit Society. We enjoy the amazing outdoors of the Southwest, though I am not active with the Sierra Club right now as I was in San Diego and Connecticut. I generally ride my bicycle — a post-wedding gift from my father-in-law — as part of my commute to work at the University of Colorado, Denver, where I administer and manage a microscope facility within the Department of Medicine. Similarly, through I am not in an on-going choir at the moment, I usually take up opportunities to sing, as I did during June’s Ministry Days and General Assembly in Salt Lake City as part of the Choir of the Living Tradition. This year, Allison attended GA with me, sharing a house we rented with a few other Unitarian Universalist students from Iliff, just one example of how we form a support system for one another. My first semi-professional ministry took place within the Mountain Desert District, from April 2007 through April 2009, as the district’s youth chaplain. As such I attended district-wide as well as cluster youth “cons”, providing pastoral care as needed, facilitating the planning of worship and leading workshops on spiritual practices. As part of Iliff’s Basic Field Education I assisted Dr. Vincent Harding at the Veterans of Hope Project office. My internship with Rev. Christine Robinson at First Unitarian in Albuquerque counted as Advanced Field Education for Iliff’s purposes, and before that I completed one unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at the University of Colorado Hospital. Since August 2009 I have served the Mountain Desert District as Youth Ministry Coordinator, an interim position continuing the district’s well-regarded program of faith development for youth while beginning the implementation of the district’s new vision for ministry to and with youth following the termination of Young Religious Unitarian Universalists at the continental level. From this background I bring a passion for life-span faith development in its broadest sense, raising up the work of social justice as an essential aspect of a lived faith. Though my ministries to date have largely centered on youth, I have found (and others have confirmed) that ministry to and with youth is a thoroughly representative sub-category of ministry to and with Unitarian Universalists. During the Mountain Desert District’s process of developing its new vision for youth ministry, for example, five areas of concern were identified, areas that are very much of concern to Unitarian Universalist adults of all ages, too! These five areas — community, worship, social justice, resilience, and multi-generationality — will continue to be of concern to me as I move into parish ministry. In terms of parish ministry, I could not have asked for a more excellent internship site than Albuquerque’s First Unitarian, which was recognized at June’s General Assembly in Salt Lake City as a Breakthrough Congregation for 2009. Now First Unitarian, with its large, multi-minister staff serving seven-hundred-plus members, may seem a far cry from the smaller congregation that I seek to serve in the East. However, I worked with Rev. Robinson to focus my internship on the family- and pastoral-size units that exist within even the largest congregation. I involved myself in pastoral care, including personal calls, to a greater extent than might be expected in such a large-church setting, I made the most of opportunities for worship, community-building and justice-work in smaller group settings, and I absorbed all I could in terms of the programs and attitudes that have helped First Unitarian to grow.
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