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FAITH >> UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP
UNIVERSAL
Open Minds Gainesville Organization Uses Differences to Create Unity W RIT TE N BY C A MERON COBB
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he Rev. Dr. Maureen Killoran said she remembers the exact, defining moment when she knew she needed to steer her life toward the direction of ministry. She was in her early 30s at the time, no college degree or concrete knowledge of ministry, and overcoming the challenges from a recent divorce. Within this time of uncertainty, she was maintaining an active role in a small, primarily member-led Unitarian Universalist congregation in Toronto, Canada. When she and other members were informed that a deeply loved young woman in the congregation committed suicide, the swift yet undoubtedly compassionate actions of individuals from that organization more than just inspired Killoran — they initiated paving the path of her future.
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OUR TOWN MAGAZINE
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016
“When I saw how that congregation came together, trying to wrestle with the grief, wrestle with the shock, and how we united and planned a memorial service, I said ‘I want to give my life to working in that institution,’” Killoran said. “I said those precise words.” Tucked within the familiar Florida landscape of thriving, thick greenery, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville (UUFG) is a place where staff, church members, and visitors strive to exercise the same kind of compassion and care displayed in Killoran’s story. These individuals are not just focusing on bettering the congregation, but the community, the country, and the entirety of the world as well. Located at 4225 NW 34th St. in Gainesville, this is the city’s only Unitarian Universalist congregation, Killoran said. PHOTOGRAPHY: UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP OF GAINESVILLE