Welcome Sally!

Reverend Sally Fritsche

Reverend Sally Fritsche

Introducing Rev. Sally Fritsche

A lifelong UU originally from Missouri, Rev. Sally grew up as the third of four siblings, and was fascinated with other religions at a young age. She studied Sociology and Religion at Grinnell College in Iowa, and first felt the call to UU ministry while serving in Americorps after graduation. Once she completed her seminary education at Harvard Divinity School, she was ordained by the First Parish UU in Needham Massachusetts in June of 2020.

She moved to central Illinois after her ordination, and has been serving as the Associate Minister for Congregational Life at the UU Church of Urbana-Champaign ever since.

Sally and her wife Maya were high school sweethearts who first met when they both played in their school’s drumline 17 years ago. Maya is a musician and physicist, currently working with the Activate Fellowship to develop a technology she invented while studying at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Together, Sally and Maya are the adoring caregivers to a fluffy spitz-mix named Autumn, adopted in 2021.

Sally is an atheist UU committed to deep interfaith spirituality, and called to a ministry that creates space for exploration, challenge, and growth. She strives to balance passion with humor and kindness, and loves collaborating with colleagues and congregants alike. You can checkout some of her preaching here (Becoming Real, Message at55:15) and here (Cicada Wisdom, Message at 41:48), see photos of her ministry here, and she hopes you will reach out and start getting to know her (and sharing your own story!) in the coming days.

More About Rev. Sally’s Role at Neighbourhood

Sally, as she’s asked to be called, will start with us as a half-time, remote minister as she and her wife Maya make their way to Canada, moving to Toronto by May 2025. During the remote phase, she will minister to us from Illinois, including delivering at least four messages of inspiration, two of those during in-person visits planned for November and March. She will support NUUC through pastoral care (online), help develop our services, participate in board meetings, collaborate with our membership committee and new Caring Circle, and offer UU small group education. We’ll be engaging in creative ways to further connect Sally with all of our activities and initiatives during these first months.

Sally will move to a three-quarter position once she arrives in May 2025, then to full time in August 2025. This is a “contract-to-call” arrangement, meaning that Sally can be considered as a candidate to be called as Neighbourhood’s next settled minister, a full congregational process we expect to initiate next year.

More details will be shared as they develop. The Board thanks the members of the Ministerial Leadership Search Team (Allison Kabayama, Gordon Thorne, Moira MacDonald) for their diligence, persistence, faith and creativity through a challenging time in ministerial search. While this form of ministry is new to us at Neighbourhood, we believe it represents a path to an exciting future, and look forward to the relationships we’ll forge and the learning and growth we’ll experience together.