Throughout the 2020-2021 program year, we are profiling various lay leaders in our congregation. This week, we feature Tracy McGrath, the Lead for our Social Action Council. Tracy became a member of UU Wellesley in October 2010.
Tracy lives in Natick with her husband Frank, a member of UU Wellesley Hills since April 1991. Frank has two adult daughters. Lora, 33, does design and management of volunteer software and lives with her husband Alex in Austin, TX. Annie, 30, is a social worker specializing in policy at the Center for Popular Democracy who lives in Brooklyn, NY. In April, Frank and Tracy celebrate their ten-year wedding anniversary.
Recently, Tracy connected with Board of Trustees Chair Kathy Coolidge to answer a few questions about herself.
Where did you grow up and go to school?
I grew up in Pittsburgh and when I was 13 we moved to Johnstown, PA. I went to the Penn State University main campus in State College, PA and majored in journalism and psychology.
What is your religious background? What brought you to UU Wellesley Hills?
I was raised a Methodist in Pittsburgh. I was confirmed there and went to the Methodist Church my whole childhood and as a young adult. I really liked it and we went as an extended family with my aunts and grandmother. Later, during college, I briefly got involved in the Catholic Newman Center; I even converted to Catholicism. The priest was young, and it was a cool environment. I eventually stopped going, as I realized that I had fundamental differences with the church in social and political matters that did not match my liberal values. I didn’t do anything religious for a while and then Frank brought me into the UU world. I’ve been a member here since 2010.
What kind of work do you do?
I got into technical writing pretty quickly after college, starting out with writing computer manuals (back when computers had manuals!). Since moving to Massachusetts about 25 years ago, I have been in the software industry, doing technical writing and user experience engineering, working on software design with the engineers. I worked at Mathworks for 13.5 years and retired from there two years ago. I also worked for Rational Software/IBM for 8 years; that’s where Frank and I met.
What parts of congregational life are most meaningful to you?
I’ve been involved with many activities over the years. Frank and I led the Family Promise Task Force for 6 years, and we are still on that. I was involved with the Auction Committee when Liz Becker ran it. We volunteer for the Rummage Sale every year — working on books with Jackie and Eric Pierce — and we also volunteer for the Spring Carnival.
We went to our partner church in Torockó almost 8 years ago, with Doug Poutasse and Elaine Mittell, Deborah Kemper and Tom Atkinson, and Sara Ascher and Jack Lewis. I remember how much fun we had on that trip. Jack and Marton, Torockó minister, were so young and energetic! We saw Rev. Marton when he later came to visit Wellesley.
I also enjoy the social events, such as retreats, potlucks, and circle dinners. And of course, Sunday services! Rev. Kelly is doing a great job of holding remote services during the pandemic, and I really enjoy her sermons.
You are the Lead of the Social Action Council — what does that involve?
I’ve been involved with organizing the Social Action Council for 4 years and the actual lead for the last 2 years. We have a total of 12 members, including 3 at-large members: Irene Flint, Kathy Kaufmann, and Frank. The other members head the Task Forces: Elaine and Therese Kelly (Advocacy and Witness); Barbara Reynolds (Bristol Lodge); Marsha and Cara Fearing (LGBTQ+); Doug (UU Partners); and Cean Tan and Anne-Laure Lehman (Family Promise). Rev. Kelly is an ex-officio member.
We mainly oversee the activities of these five task forces and select the plate collection recipients and monthly themes for donations. We also deal with other Social Action projects such as Camp Starfish. We meet every other month and manage things over e-mail in between the scheduled meetings. Our priorities lately have centered on pandemic-related relief and environmental and racial justice. If anyone has an idea for a social action project or any questions, they should contact me and I’ll bring it to the committee.
How are you managing quarantining?
Wewalk a lot and have done things at home such as more cooking and baking. We have tried a lot of new recipes in the last year! During the entire pandemic, we have been in a “bubble” with my sister and my mom in Pennsylvania. We go down there for a week at a time, at least every other month. We play dominoes, cards, and games, and just spend time together. That helps counter the fact that we mostly haven’t been seeing people in person here at home. I’ve also done some socializing over Zoom, including my book group.
What’s most important to you at this point in your life?
Our health and our families’ health are, and spending time with the kids and both of our extended families. Another top priority for me is helping people who need help through Social Action Council work and other charitable involvements. And I’m looking forward to resuming my favorite hobbies of golf, scuba diving, hiking, birding, and traveling — soon!
We are very glad to have Tracy McGrath serving as one of our supremely capable lay leaders here at UU Wellesley Hills! Be sure to come to Fellowship Hour this Sun. Apr. 4th at 11:30 a.m. to meet Tracy, who will give a brief presentation about her work as our Lead of Social Action Council.
Tags: Meet Your Leadership