May 8, 2022 New Member Group

We welcomed 14 new members on May 8, 2022.

  • Audrey Atherton
  • Annalyse and Lalana Foerster
  • Scott Foerster
  • Hank and Susan Gupton
  • Owen Lifshitz
  • Jon, Geeta, Chandani, Yosana, and Giovanna (Gio) Palumbo
  • Karen Rosner
  • JoJo Watson

Audrey Atherton

I was born and raised in San Diego California for 57 years. Thanks to my beautiful Mom, Nancy Beach, I was born into the Unitarian Universalism way of life. My mom started attending San Diego Unitarian Universalist Church in 1959 and continued at UUCP until she passed a year and a half ago. My life has always been about community and family and I am looking forward to making a difference and being with my new UU Community here in Phoenix.

Scott Foerster

I’ve recently retired from teaching and engineering for 45 years in Maryland. I am now full-time family…14 grand kids. I’ve moved to Phoenix and joined UUCP because of what it did for one of my kids, a couple of grand kids, its commitment to all forms of diversity (me being on the neural scale somewhere), and its governance. My happy place is swimming. One of my goals is to live off grid in Central Phoenix. Oh, and I find the Avenue alleys inspiring.

Jon and Geeta Palumbo

Hello from the Palumbo Clan! We have been “Zoombers” of the church since moving to Phoenix in the Summer of 2020 and are excited to be meeting everyone in 3D! After a long career of blowing things up and teaching others to blow things up, Jon (he/him) has infiltrated academia as an ROTC instructor at ASU. Geeta (she/her), when not keeping the house from destroying itself (three teenagers and a man-child), makes some truly amazing wire-wrapped jewelry. Chandani (she/her) is finishing up her junior year at Basha High School and the Veterinary Assistant Program at EVIT and aspires to be a wildlife veterinarian. Giovanna (she/her) will be entering her freshman year at Hamilton High School and wants to be a firefighter. See for fashion tips and the latest trends. Yosana (she/her) will be entering her freshman year at Basha High School and wants to be a forensic scientist. Feel free to ask her about bugs, skeletons, or roller derby, but only if you have 30+ minutes to spare. Cinnamon (Queen/Diva) is going on seven years of ruling the household and specializes in guest appearances during CoA classes, online coffee hours, and random church meetings. She will sign autographs, if you ask her nicely. We are so excited to continue to grow our relationships with everyone at UUCP, our chosen family.

Karen Rosner

Hi I am Karen (she/her). I moved to Scottsdale in July 2020, in the height of the pandemic. In March 2022 I found UUCP and it felt like coming home again. I was a member of UU in North Carolina. I am a medical social and a personal financial coach. I have an adult son who lives in Hawaii. I lived in several states due to my ex-husband being in the Navy. I also lived in Hawaii before moving to Scottsdale. I enjoy being with friends and family, board games, and spending time with my cats. I love playing pickleball.

November 20, 2022 New Member Group

UUCP welcomed 6 new members on November 20, 2022. Please look for them and introduce yourself.

  • Laurel Barrette
  • Erik Chapman
  • Ross and Judy Hart
  • Chris Seashore
  • Rev. Walt Wieder

Erik Chapman

Erik Chapman lives in North Phoenix and has been married to his wife, Jessica, for 21 years. They have two children. Their son Matthew is 24 and their daughter is 26. Erik is a Special Teacher at the Betty Fairfax High School, which is in the Phoenix Union High School District. He teaches kids in multiple grades in a self-contained classroom

Ross and Judy Hart

Ross Hart was born and raised near Denver, Colorado. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Ft. Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, Master of Science from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California and his Doctor Degree from Western States Chiropractic College. He set up practice in Springfield, Oregon. He and his wife, Judy, raised their 3 children there. All 3 with College Degrees. After 32 years in practice, Ross retired, living 6 months in Bend, Oregon and 6 months in Goodyear. Ross is a member of the Bend Unitarian Universalist Congregation. He now looks forward to joining UUCP.

Judy Hart was raised in the Philippines. She attended college in Colorado where she met Ross. They recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary! They lived in Oregon, and still do part of the year, and this is where they raised their 3 kids. They’re now grandparents of four boys. She spent 37 years as a social worker. Now that they’re retired, she is still involved in social work, now mostly on behalf of the Democrat Club in their Phoenix community. The UU has been a part of their lives in Bend, Oregon as well as here in Phoenix.

Chris Seashore

A native to the Midwest, Chris has spent the last 40 plus years in Lexington, Massachusetts. She has always found the influx of tourist buses to her neighborhood to be a curiosity, but watching the various costumed reenactment events on Patriot’s Day was always a thrill. She is more of a mid-century modern sort of person. Chris taught students with disabilities for her entire professional career, ending as an inclusion teacher in the Watertown Schools Math Department and ensuring that students under her wing learned how to negotiate the world after high school. A life-long UU at heart, she attended Follen Community Church in Lexington, a sweet little octagonal church with big windows that once housed the fire department horses for the town. Aside from teaching RE and serving coffee, Chris cycled through leadership positions except for Buildings and Grounds; she did not want to deal with the strange whistles and creaks of a 180 year old building. Chris and her husband Greg Ludlow moved to Tempe in April to try something new and to be near their son. An avid gardener in Massachusetts, Chris is learning how to garden with small prickly plants on her porch. She also spends an inordinate amount of time knitting and quilting.