INTERIM* MINISTER
Reverend Don Beaudreault
(pronounced: “Bo-dro”)
Don was born and raised in Washington, DC, although his maternal roots are pure Evangelical and United Brethren/Appalachian, and his paternal ones pure Catholic/New England-French Canadian. His parents compromised by raising their children in the Disciples of Christ Church. When he was seventeen, however, he discovered All Soul’s UU Church in Washington. Ten years later he studied for the UU ministry and was ordained in 1978.
Previous to that, he was a teacher in the Philippines, where he served in the US Peace Corps; in Iran, where he worked training helicopter pilots; and in American Samoa, where he taught music.
Now in his 28th year of ministry, Don has served UU churches in New Orleans, Sacramento, Rancho Palos Verdes (CA), Charleston (WV), Oak Ridge (TN) – a two-year interim position - and Sarasota. In addition, he has served the cause of Unitarian Universalism in The Philippines, The Netherlands, Belgium, New Zealand, Australia (Adelaide), and the Merseyside District (Liverpool, England), coordinating the work of seven churches prior to joining CCUU as our Interim Minister on February 1st, 2007.
Don has served on UU national and district-wide committees, including the UU Service Committee national board, the US Chapter of the International Association for Freedom (president), the Black Concerns Working Group, and the UUA President’s Council.
He holds academic degrees from Lafayette College, the University of Michigan, Pacific School of Religion, and Starr King Seminary. In addition, he has trained as a chaplain, studying in the Clinical Pastoral Education program at UCLA and other institutions.
His poetic and prose writings have appeared in newspapers, journals, and books. Known as a jazz pianist, he has performed numerous concerts for charitable causes. As a competitive long-distance runner, he has raised money for Childhood Leukemia research. (His best time for a marathon occurred in Chicago.)
Don is an openly gay parent of two young adult daughters, Claire and Therese, both of whom are pursuing their careers in New York City.
He describes his theological perspective as “mystical humanist” and says of his concept of ministry: “I serve a church. I do not work for it. Ministry for me is a calling, not a job. The classical word “vocare” – meaning to be called to a higher purpose – is essential to my understanding of what I do as a religious professional. This higher purpose assumes that life is an ongoing challenge toward achieving wholeness, one that is both joyous and tragic. I am called to help fashion that process of growth for others, and in that process, to grow as well.
“Ministry for me, then, implies mutuality between the minister and the congregation, where each gives and receives the bounty of the human experience; where each is called to that higher purpose of striving for wholeness.”
*An 'Interim' minister serves the congregation during a search for a permanent minister.
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