KENNEBUNK – First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Kennebunk recently celebrated the ordination of new minister, the Rev. Tori Rosati. Although many congregants attended the ceremony in Haverhill, Massachusetts, the whole congregation wanted to share the occasion.
The Rev. Tori Rosati slices the cake celebrating her ministry as Joan Wuerthner looks on at First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Kennebunk. Contributed
“My heart is still full following the beautiful (and truly unexpected) celebration,” Rosati wrote in a letter to the congregation. “I am filled with much excitement about the time ahead and the good work that awaits us on the journey.”
According to a news release, Rosati received her Master of Divinity from Boston University’s School of Theology in 2022 and was welcomed into preliminary fellowship as a Unitarian Universalist minister the next fall. Before coming to Kennebunk, she served as a hospital chaplain intern, sabbatical minister, and studied religion and conflict transformation through the Boston Theological Institute. Unitarian Universalism draws not only from Christianity, but also Judaism, Islam, and many world traditions. Rather than doctrines, it relies on principles, such as, “The inherent worth and dignity of every person” and “respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.”
“We welcome diversity in our communities, not for diversity’s sake, but to learn from and enrich one another toward our collective transformation,” Rosati said following a recent sermon. “When we sit amidst the differences our religiously pluralistic spaces invite, we are not asking for those differences to change or go away, but rather we honor them because they make us all more whole.”
Originally from western Massachusetts, Rosati graduated from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst with a bachelor’s degree in English and concentration in creative writing. Before her call to ministry, her professional work was in the nonprofit sector where she supported the growth and development of organizations dedicated to environmental education, justice, and social services. Rosati found Unitarian Universalism 14 years ago, as a member of the First Universalist Church of Essex, Massachusetts. She lives with her husband and two teenaged daughters in Ipswich.
“We are living in a time that needs places of welcome, inclusion, and belonging more than ever before,” Rosati said in an email, “and I am honored and excited to join First Parish and support the good work this vibrant faith community is doing every day.”
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