Contacts, People and Staff

Minister Rev. Grace H. Simons came to us from Los Alamos, New Mexico in 2001. She holds both a B.A. and teaching credential from UC Berkeley and a Master's of Divinity from Starr King School for the Ministry. In 1967 she and her husband were Peace Corps Volunteers in Nigeria. Rev. Grace has her own section, with a longer biography, monthly newsletter article and sermons. E-mail:

DRE Paul Martin is our Director of Religious Education. Paul has been a member of the UUF of SC since 2001, and has been involved with Children and Youth Religious Education since 2002. Paul grew up in Stanislaus County, and is currently raising his family in Turlock. He has an AS in Biology from Modesto Junior College, and a BS in Environmental Science from Humboldt State University. Paul’s experience with children has been as a naturalist at an outdoor school, after school program leader, camp recreation leader, baseball coach, soccer coach and swim instructor. He has taught numerous Religious Education classes at our Fellowship. Paul has been a health inspector, farmer and forester. He enjoys canoeing, hiking, swimming, bike riding, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and goofing around with his family. He writes: "As Director of Religious Education, my goal is to teach lessons that build confidence, independent thinking, respect for others, and respect for the Earth." E-mail:

Administrator Tracy Cramer is our Church Administrator and Bookkeeper. She in the office Monday through Thursday. When she is not in the office, Tracy is an avid - and accomplished - ballroom dancer. She joined the UUF of SC staff in January 2004. Although she had an extensive background in Office Management, she wanted to reduce her hours when her kids were young, to be more available during their off school hours. She then became actively involved in the elementary schools, working with at-risk children, and supervising the Cafeteria and recesses. This led to adult leadership roles; 13 years in Boy Scouts, youth bowling, baseball coaching, and PTA President. Once the kids were grown and off on their own, back to work full time wasn’t an option, as it would limit her trips to Oregon to visit her daughter and grandkids. The UUF of SC job was perfect. Presently Tracy shares her time with her husband, Bruce, three grown children, three grandchildren, and her four-legged "babies". E-mail:

Music Director Bernadette Burns founded the choir in 1993. She has directed it since then, with a break for a few years for family leave. She is an accomplished vocalist and songwriter. Her compositions have been sung in several UU congregations. In addition to conducting the choir, she occasionally leads worship services using music, songs and chants to illustrate seasonal metaphors and teach ancient stories from some of our ancestors. She views her work as a music ministry and strives to deepen the congregation's experience of the spiritual through music. (That doesn't keep her from dressing up in period costumes every once in a while.) E-mail:

Pianist Elizabeth Coard has been with us since 2006. She has played since childhood and graduated with honors in music. She has held positions as a church pianist, organist, and Music Director beginning in 1970. She also teaches piano and her students are guest performers during the year. She has played as accompanist for the Townsend Opera Players, Modesto Performing Arts, the Modesto Symphony, and our choir. She is a gourmet cook and loves horses. E-mail: Elizabeth's web site: www.modpiano.com

President David Tucker has been a Unitarian (and, since the merger, a Unitarian Universalist) for over 50 years. He has been a member of UUFSC since 2001. It's where he met his wife, Linda Lagace. David has previously been a member of UU Churches in San Mateo, Walnut Creek, and Grass Valley. At each of these churches he served in financial administration. For the last several years, David has served as co-chairman of UUFSC's annual pledge canvass drive. Two years ago, David retired as the City Engineer of Merced, but continues to work part time as the City's Project Engineer for Merced's upgrade and expansion of the Gove Road Wastewater Treatment Plant. He has a Master's Degree in Civil Engineering from Stanford University. He worked as an engineer for over 30 years in the private sector and over 20 years in the public sector. David has served on the Stanislaus County Civil Grand Jury and is Treasurer of the Central Valley Democratic Club. He's a member of the Stanislaus County Democratic Central Committee, Stanislaus Skeptics and the Modesto Peace/Life Center. E-mail:

Web Master Ted Pack has plain but regular features and a rapier wit. He graduated from UC Berlekey and spent two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sarawak, on the island of Borneo. The rest of his life was rather dull. He has been a member of the UUF of SC since 1974. and web master since 1999. He enjoys being the web master and chief pundit for a non-prophet organization. (Sometimes after he answers a question it takes two or three seconds to realize he's ... punned it.) Once in a while he speaks on a Sunday. You can read about his adventures as a UU Web Master or see other talks he has written on our Guest Sermons page. E-mail:

Groups

These are people who coordinate specific interests.

Sharon Arpoika manages the e-mail distribution list for people interested in UUA and PCD affairs. She forwards messages from the UUA and PCD to everyone on the list.
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Bob Santos manages information that will appear in the "In FocUUs" Newsletter relevant to the task force on homelessness.
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Members
To give you an idea of what we are like, we asked all of our members to describe themselves in a few lines. We asked for things they had done that they were proud of and reflected the teachings of our faith. Not all of them answered.