Our Minister

The Reverend Amy Kulesza DeBeck came to us in August of 2008 from the Thomas Jefferson District of the UUA where she served the UU Church of Loudoun for three years.  We installed her as our minister on December 7, 2008.  In Virginia, she did summer ministry and internships at UU churches in Reston, Sterling, and Fairfax.  The Loudoun church ordained her in 2006 at the UU Congregation of Fairfax.  While Amy is from the DC Metro area originally, her ministerial formation (and the formation of her family, too!) happened in central Maine, centered around Bangor Theological Seminary.  Taking some classes at Meadville Lombard, her M. Div (Masters degree in Divinity) is from BTS.  Living in Maine for 8 years, she did a field study with the UU Church of Ellsworth, served as Hospice Chaplain for Hancock County Home Care out of Blue Hill Hospital, and as Director of Religious Ed (DRE) for three years with the UU Society of Bangor.

Amy is married to Kevin DeBeck of Brewer, Maine, and they have two sons;  Henry, born in 2000 and Charlie, born in 2003.  Amy brought two cats to the marriage, Josie and Angus, who were born in 1994 and are still very active.  The DeBeck family enjoys living near the park for walks and bike rides, as well as sledding.  They also enjoy reading and playing video games together, and in the summer they spend time at Ferry Beach where both Amy and Kevin work as counselors or coordinators for different camps.  Henry has become old enough to participate as a camper and Charlie enjoys their children’s daytime programming.  Family visits to Maine and VA are the DeBeck family’s favored vacation destinations.

Amy brings a spirit to the shared ministry of UUFE that revolves around beloved community.  Following in the footsteps of our minister emeritus, Gordon Gibson, Amy also enjoys a public ministry in Michiana, participating in the NAACP, Elkhart Area Ministerial Association, CCS, Downtown Clergy Coalition, and meeting with UU colleagues from Heartland and CMW districts.  Seeking equality for people who are LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered) is of special interest to Amy and she is active with Equality Indiana and the Michiana Resource Center, as well as a group dealing with oppression beyond the LGBT community, Standing on the Side of Love.  At UUFE her goals are to grow the Religious Education program, enhance our small group ministry, and help us realize many of our goals from our strategic plan.  Currently our building is under construction as we expand, and while our Building Committee makes this happen, Amy likes to remind us that she is “guardian of the process.”