CLICK HERE for Our Staff.
Rev. Alan Taylor
Senior Minister
(203) 227-7205 ext. 12
Rev. Alan Taylor leads from an enthusiastic vision for cultivating spiritual community that transforms lives and our world by way of unleashing courageous love. He holds faith in the human capacity to make connections for meaningful change in both our lives and the wider world.
Here at UU Westport, he oversees worship, pastoral care, leadership development, which includes serving as chief of staff and ministry lead to the Board. He is inspired by the commitment of countless people who show up to do the sometimes messy, sometimes monotonous, sometimes transforming work that makes possible a vibrant congregational life and many ministries.
Rev. Alan grew up a Unitarian Universalist in Bakersfield, California. He graduated from Pomona College with a major in religion, with emphases in both mythology and philosophy. Following college, he traveled solo for eight months in India, focusing on contemporary traditions that bring together Muslims and Hindus. He served as a residential counselor for abused children with emotional difficulties for three years before being inspired into the Unitarian Universalist ministry at the First Unitarian Church of Oakland.
He attended Starr King School for the Ministry, a Unitarian Universalist seminary. After serving two years in Massachusetts (in Worcester as an intern minister and in Littleton as an interim minister), he accepted a call to the Woodinville Unitarian Universalist Church in the Seattle metropolitan area, where he shepherded a young congregation through the fundraising and building of their own worship home.
He served Unity Temple from 2003-2018, where he provided leadership that resulted in significant growth within the Congregation, increased generosity, and an expansion of their ministries. The ministries the congregation started under his leadership included a Refugee Resettlement Program, a Mental Health Awareness Team, and He shepherded the congregation through the restoration of its iconic building which included two years of being displaced from the building. He oversaw the building of the Unity Temple Community Center to address the congregation’s space needs. And he developed a public ministry that focuses on racial and social justice in the western corridor of the Chicago metro area. After leaving Unity Temple, he worked with Live Free Illinois, a Black-led and faith-based advocacy non-profit addressing the intersection of gun violence prevention and the criminal justice system.
In the local community, he transformed the Community of Congregations into a more active multi-faith body that crosses borders and engages the west side of Chicago, that now advocates for the most vulnerable among us including undocumented immigrants, and that seeks to address the painful history of race and the effects in our community. He co-founded the OPRF Walk-In Ministry, which became Prevail and is now a program of Housing Forward.
Rev. Alan has served as a mentor to several seminarians and ministers, has volunteered in numerous capacities for the sake of supporting Unitarian Universalist congregations in the midwest, and has served on the national board of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association.
He is married to Angelica Taylor-Cortes. They have two children: Marco, born in 2008; and Erica, born in 2011. His interests include cooking, theater improvisation, and Mexican culture. He also enjoys racquetball, bicycling, and ping pong.
Rev. Ed Thompson
Minister of Music
(203) 227-7205 ext. 18
Edward Thompson, D.M.A., has been at this Church since 1978. He holds a Masters Degree from the Juilliard School and his Doctorate from the University of Hartford. Dr. Thompson is a past Dean of the Fairfield West Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and has concertized throughout the United States and Europe. In addition, he teaches privately, coaches, composes and accompanies throughout the area. He is an active member of the Unitarian-Universalist Musician's Network.
Rev. Jim Francek
Endorsed Community Minister for Pastoral Care
(203) 227-7205 ext 22
Senior Minister Rev. John Morehouse, in consultation with congregational leadership, has appointed the Rev. Jim Francek as our Volunteer Community Minister for Pastoral Care. Jim and his wife Pat have been active members of our congregation for many years leading various support groups and he has act as a coach and trainer for our Pastoral Care Chaplains. Jim will report directly to Rev. John and will respect the same covenant of confidentiality that he follows in his role as a Chaplain for the Bridgeport Hospital.
Jim received his BA in Philosophy from Sacred Heart Seminary in 1963, this was followed by four years of postgraduate studies in Theology, Humanities and Counseling at St. John Seminary. He was ordained a Catholic priest for the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1967. He served in St. Mary’s Church in Royal Oak and then at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. During the early years of his ministry he was very active in the roles of leading liturgy, teaching, counseling, pastoral care and social action. Following the civil disruption in Detroit in 1967, he was active in the Interfaith Center for Racial Justice and also worked closely with community leaders in creating a response to the increasing problems with heroin addiction in Detroit.
In 1972 he left the active priesthood to be married to his life partner Patricia. In 1973 he started a career in the field of Employee Assistance. He received his MSW from the University of Michigan in 1976. During this time Pat and he were to have two beautiful children Kate and Pete. Over the next 13 years he worked in the medical departments of Kelsey Hayes, Ford and Exxon as the senior professional developing systematic approaches to persons impacted by addiction or behavioral health issues. In 1986, he created his own firm focused on providing consultation and group facilitation around resiliency in the many organizations faced with downsizing, relocation and closure.
He and Pat returned to Connecticut in 2007 to be close to their family. In 2008 he created a website: www.ceremonieswithoutboundaries.com from which he launched a ministry- at-large offering to the unchurched. Under this format he prepares and creates customized marriage and memorial ceremonies. He pursued training in hospital chaplaincy and now works as a chaplain in the Emergency Department of Bridgeport Hospital. He also serves on the Ethics Committee of that hospital. In 2008 Jim and Pat became part of TUCW congregation. In 2013 he was asked by members of the board of trustees to lead efforts in creating our TUCW Pastoral Care Chaplain Ministry. Within the last eighteen months he has also been active in assisting in developing our Addiction Recovery Ministry (ARM).
Jim will coordinate the overall pastoral outreach for our growing congregation. You may reach Jim directly on 203-227-7205 ext 22 or by emai.
Rev. Carrie McEvoy
Endorsed Community Minister
Rev. Carrie McEvoy is an Endorsed Community Minister of this congregation – The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport. In March 2023, she was ordained as a UU Minister by this congregation and the Community Church of New York, where she served as an Intern Minister until June 2022. Rev. Carrie has been a member of TUUCW since 2011, and has served the congregation in different ways, including as a choir member, worship associate, pastoral care chaplain and a member and Vice President of the Board of Trustees. She recently finished a Chaplain Residency at Bridgeport Hospital and is looking forward to learning where her ministry takes her next. She lives in Norwalk, CT.
Rev. Frank Hall
Minister Emeritus
Frank Hall was called to this congregation in 1984, after serving a Unitarian Universalist church in Attleboro, Massachusetts, where he was ordained in 1972.
He has a Master of Theology degree from Boston University. His undergraduate degree is from Salem State College, and a Master's in Education from Northeastern University in Boston. He taught at Wellesley High School from 1962-69, when he entered seminary.
Frank has two grown children, Jonathan and Susan, two grandchildren, Alex and Hannah, and he lives in Westport with his wife, Lory Nurenberg.