Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees is elected each year at the annual general meeting in November.
Scroll down for board-sponsored upcoming events and recent posts from the board.
Mairy Beam
Mairy joined UCV in early 2017 shortly after their move to Vancouver, very grateful to have found a home in this community. Prior to that they had been a member of the First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto and the Elora-Fergus Fellowship. For five years Mairy has enjoyed working with the children in the RE program, in the excellent programs chosen by Kiersten. As a member of the earth spirit group, the GSA, IPA and Zero Waste they have gotten to know
many members.
Mairy’s three-year stint on the Board, two as secretary, as well as chairing the Human Resources committee has broadened their understanding of the structure and operations of UCV and given them appreciation for our fine staff. Mairy has served on the Board of three coops as well as the South Granville Seniors Centre.
This should be an interesting year as we finalize preparations for our settled minister. Mairy looks forward to relying on the wisdom of the congregation. They have seen this wisdom in the way we listen respectfully to one another, the way we keep an open mind, and the way we can admit our mistakes and learn from them.
Cheryl Amundsen
Cheryl and her family began attending UCV in 1998. She and her husband chose UCV as a place where their children would grow up to appreciate a variety of spiritual ideas and learn to work with others from different backgrounds. Cheryl has taken on many roles at UCV over the years.
She was active in the children and youth programs for many years. She is currently in the fifth year of her term as a Lay Chaplain, a personally rewarding role and important outreach service to the broader community. She also coordinates the Sunday community candle lighting.
Cheryl is Professor Emeritus at Simon Fraser University. Her recent retirement allows her the opportunity to devote more time to UCV. She is excited about the work of Vice President to the UCV Board, understanding that it will afford a great opportunity to learn during an exciting time in UCV history.
Lynn Armstrong
Lynn is on the Ministerial Transition Team and has been active with our Social Justice, Environment and Canvass Teams. She has been a Unitarian for over 30 years and a member of five congregations. From 2015 has been a member of Vancouver Unitarians. She has served in many congregational roles including several years on boards and has chaired Membership, Denominational Affairs, Social Justice and Intern Committees and was Canvass Co-Chair in two congregations.
Involvement at the regional and national levels of the Unitarian movement has also been important to Lynn, attending many conferences, annual meetings and training events. Lynn is currently on the CUC Nominating Committee.
Lynn describes herself as a retired social worker, happy grandmother and justice activist. She offers to bring commitment and enthusiasm, together with a deep belief in the value of our Unitarian movement, to the role of secretary on our next Board.
Karen Bartlett
Karen joined UCV in 1989. In the intervening years, she has been in choir, served on the Worship Services Committee, and helped design workshops to welcome new members into the congregation. Most recently she served on the UCV Board of Directors as a member at large, and then three terms as Secretary of the Board. Karen has also served on community Boards of Directors, including in her housing Co-Op, where she was Treasurer for two terms of office.
Karen looks forward to working closely with the UCV Finance Committee as we move forward into this very exciting period in the history of UCV, welcoming a new settled minister.
Karin Hall
Karin has been attending UCV since 2009 and became a member in 2013. She has been a member of the R.E. Committee and the coffee service team, coordinated youth lunches, and recently joined the Starting Point (formerly New U in a Day) team. UCV has been a great support for Karin and her daughter and she wants to help keep UCV a thriving and supportive community for all. Karin has been a librarian for 30 years and loves films, reading, the outdoors, and being part of a welcoming community.
Louise Bunn
Louise has an absorbing interest in nature religions, wrote the widely popular UU ARE curriculum “Paganism 101”, and recently completed her master’s degree in “Myth, Cosmology, and the Sacred” at the University of Canterbury in the UK. She has been an active member of UCV since 1996. She has been a lay chaplain, on the search committee and an active member of the worship committee. She is currently a youth advisor, a lay chaplain, and an active member of the Pagan group, helping to lead public rituals and teaching classes for ARE.
Louise works as a sculptor and painter with a busy studio on Granville Island. In her artwork, she is inspired by the processes of change and transformation, and is interested in how we, as human beings, find meaning during our time here.
She is honoured to be asked to serve on the board and looks forward to contributing in this capacity.
1st year of 1st term
Ingrid Luters
Ingrid attended UCV services and events for about a year before becoming a member in November 2019. She has – literally – served the UCV community as a member of the coffee service team and found the kitchen was an excellent vantage point for learning about the church’s members, committees and forums. As a lifelong printing and publishing professional, Ingrid is always interested in anything that has to do with books and has enjoyed the book/magazine offerings of the library and participated in Book Bash. She is particularly interested in environmental issues and has a few subversive ideas to address the problem of plastic pollution.
Ingrid would be pleased to join the UCV board of directors in a role wherever her skills could best contribute.
1st year of 1st term
Ralph Theroux
In 2016, Ralph and his wife moved from New York to Vancouver, and began attending services at UCV. They felt at home here and before long became members. Ralph had retired after more than five decades in the thoroughbred horse racing industry–the last 15 years as a racing official — and they moved here to be close to their older daughter and her family, including their first grandchild. In 2019 Ralph joined the greeters’ team at UCV, which has given him the opportunity to meet many fellow members. He enjoys this role tremendously. If you don’t see him at a Sunday service, he’s probably in California with his younger daughter and her family. Ralph is happy to be part of UCV, and he looks forward to serving as a Member-at-Large of the Board.
Catherine Ponsford
I have been attending UCV on and off for almost 20 years. It has been there for me in times of need, and I want to give back, to keep the flame alive. I have sung in the choir, and served on the HR committee. I bring the perspective of busy, working parents who value spiritual inquiry in our commercialized world. I work in the environment field and have two teenage daughters.
