Over its lengthy history, UU Wellesley Hills has had several ministers who offered distinguished service to the congregation, to the larger UU religious movement, to this local community, and to larger humanitarian causes. Among these ministers was the renowned theologian James Luther Adams and Waitstill Sharp, who along with his wife Martha was counted in the “Righteous Among Nations” for relief work done with Jewish refugees during World War II. William Rice was the Chair of the Merger Committee when the Unitarians and Universalists consolidated into the Unitarian Universalist Association in 1961. In addition, our congregation has been proud to serve as a teaching congregation that has graduated many Intern Ministers; we have a dedicated endowment named after our Minister Emeritus, Rev. John Nichols, to fund their stipends.
Senior Minister, the Rev. Mark Robel
Rev. Mark began his tenure at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Wellesley Hills as contract minister in January 2022, and was called as our settled minister in February 2023. He received his MDiv. in 2018 from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and completed a two-year internship at First Church in Sterling, MA.
Prior to answering his call to ministry, Rev. Mark had a career as a Pediatric
Nurse/Nurse Practitioner for twenty-five years. He holds an RN diploma in
Nursing from Somerville Hospital School of Nursing, Somerville, MA, and an MSN (Master of Science in Nursing) from Simmons College in Boston. His years as a pediatric nurse have had a profound effect on his understanding of compassion and empathy.
Theologically, Rev. Mark is a Universalist at heart. He sees the universal power of love as that which connects us and that which sustains and empowers us. Love is the power that changes the world.
Rev. Mark lives in New London, CT with his husband Tom and their rescue dog “Harley.” Both love living close to the beach and are avid gardeners. Their son Mark lives and works in Boston and all three of them love and celebrate each other.
Our Minister Emeritus, the Rev. Dr. John H. Nichols
UU Wellesley Hills voted to confer the title of Minister Emeritus to the Rev. Dr. John H. Nichols and held a ceremony celebrating that in November 2015. Dr. Nichols served as Senior Minister of UU Wellesley Hills from 1977 to 2000 and has served as an Interim Minister at a number of UU congregations. He is the author of Lives that Speak and Deeds that Beckon: A History of the Unitarian Society of Wellesley Hills.
Our Intern Minister, Terry Dixon
ministerialintern@
We welcome Terry to UU Wellesley Hills as Intern Minister for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 church years. He is dividing a half-time internship between UU Wellesley Hills and First Parish in Framingham. He writes: “I look forward to working with Rev. Mark and the other professional and lay leaders here, and to ministering and being of service to — but also learning from — this congregation. Like the questioner in Luke 10:25-37, I am a recovering lawyer. After 30 years of practicing intellectual property law, I have turned in a different, more spiritual direction. I grew up in Dublin and while Ireland is still “home,” I have also lived for many years in New York City and the Philadelphia area. I have two adult daughters, India and Lizzie, of whom I am immensely proud. I am seeking to be ordained as a UU minister and I have a special interest in contemplative end-of-life chaplaincy. I am a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin (with a master’s degree in history) and Columbia Law School. Recently, I returned to Trinity to study for a master’s degree in contextual theologies and interfaith relations, and I am currently an M.Div. candidate at Harvard Divinity School. I have also completed a unit of clinical pastoral education/chaplaincy training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and am undertaking a second unit at Hebrew Senior Life in Roslindale. My other interests include history, travel and cooking.”