Each May at UU Wellesley Hills is Membership Month, and this program year we are profiling the newest members of our congregation. This week, we feature Parker Jayne, who became a member of UU Wellesley Hills in March 2021.
Parker Jayne lives on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., two blocks from the Capitol building, with his wife Thea. They married in November 2020. Parker has two adult children: his son, Toby, lives in Seattle with his wife and two kids; and his daughter, Alice, lives in Portland, Oregon with her wife and one son.
Recently, Parker connected with Board of Trustees Chair Kathy Coolidge to answer a few questions about himself.
Where did you grow up and go to school?
I grew up in Wellesley. My mother and both her parents were born in Wellesley and my grandparents and other relatives are buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. I have a wonderful photo of my grandfather and his Wellesley High baseball team from around 1903. I grew up on Bay State Road in Wellesley Hills and went to the Warren School. I could walk on the Cochituate Aqueduct from behind my house to school. Then we moved to Windsor Road to care for my great uncle. I went to Exeter Academy and Harvard College and received a degree in Russian language and literature. I was in the Navy ROTC at Harvard and after graduation was on active duty until 1972. I graduated from Harvard Business School in 1975 with an MBA.
What brought you to UU Wellesley Hills?
I grew up in this church and was a youth here in the 1950s when Bill Rice was the minister. I still have the Bible inscribed by the church given to young people then as well as two small volumes, called “Great Companions,” which the church also gave to you after graduating from Sunday School. My parents were married in the church in 1946 and were church members until moving to Maine in the early 1970s when my Dad retired. I remember when the new sanctuary was built — I still think of it as new and I certainly remember rummage sales! My aunt and uncle, Frank and Katie Parker, were long-time members of the church and sang in the choir for many years as did my mother earlier on. I loved going to Star Island for a Unitarian youth retreat one summer. Chandler Gregg was my piano teacher for many years and then my organ teacher. (My mother babysat Chandler when he was small.) Bill Rice was the minister at the Charles Street Jail and Chandler Gregg played piano there for him. I have a wonderful memory of getting to fill in once for Chandler at the jail. The church was important to both my sister and me – she gave me a copy of Rev. Nichols’ history even before I thought of joining.
Q. What kind of work do you do?
A. I came to Washington after Business School and worked initially for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW). In 1980, I had an opportunity to move to the field of mortgage finance, working first for agencies that regulated the savings and loan industry and then for agencies that regulated Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I had a front row seat to both the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and the “Great Recession” of the 2000s. I retired in 2017, when I turned 70.
Q. What parts of congregational life are most meaningful to you?
A. I find that Unitarian Universalist churches vary in their relative emphasis on social versus spiritual concerns. UUSWH feels like it has the right combination for me. Sunday services are very meaningful to me – they combine some elements of ritual with new ideas and perspectives. I look forward to the sermons by Reverend Kelly and Joan, Michael’s stories, and Suzie’s music. I’ve joined one of the Touchstones groups.
I was also struck that UUSWH really feels like a community where members care and look out for each other, and like interacting with each other. I’ve had a very welcoming experience. Kathy Kaufmann wrote a nice note concerning a pledge, Naomi Cameron has reached out to invite me to join one of the morning coffee groups, and I’ve had nice exchanges with Bill Fenstemacher. I had a great conversation with Reverend Kelly about church membership and friendly faces at coffee hour are beginning to be familiar.
At the same time, I’ve lived on Capitol Hill for almost 50 years and politics is always around. For many of us, the last administration was devastating — and it was hard to find the right way to respond. It raised for me questions about both personal values and national values and I was not finding satisfactory answers. Where and how do you draw the line? Joining UUSWH Sunday services starting soon after the pandemic started, I was reminded that Unitarians have been engaging meaningfully with these questions for many generations and it was helpful to feel a part of that tradition.
One of the first things that happened when logging into Sunday services from Washington on Facebook was I saw the name Sally Watts in the comment section. I found out that this was Sally & Rick Watts, who had been neighbors of mine on Capitol Hill some years earlier. I have a belief that when coincidences like that happen, the universe might be telling you to pay attention. It’s been wonderful re-connecting with Sally and Rick.
Q. How are you managing quarantining?
A. Well, I got married! But I’ve also gotten very involved in two boards, maybe more involved than I would have if not for the pandemic. Music is very important to me. I’m now the president of the board of a small music organization in Blue Hill Maine, Bagaduce Music, and the treasurer of Opera Lafayette, here in Washington D.C., which specializes in performances of 17th and 18th century French opera.
Q. What’s most important to you at this point in your life?
A. Life is a balance of things and it changes as you get older. I try to live with other people as gracefully as possible, being attentive to their needs and useful, even if in small ways. The health of our country is a big part of what’s important to me right now.
We are very glad to have Parker Jayne as one of our many marvelous members here at UU Wellesley Hills!
Be sure to come to Fellowship Hour this Sunday, May 9th at 11:30 a.m. to meet Parker and learn a bit more about him.