Our Administrator: Julie Golick

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Julie has worked as administrator with a number of non-profit organizations, including Fertility Matters Canada, as well as having worked for McGill University as a curriculum administrator, and as an editor and writing tutor. She has a Masters of Arts in Medieval Studies from the University of Toronto and a BA with Great Distinction from Concordia University.

Julie is a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, which focuses on the recreation of life and culture in the Middle Ages. Julie brings us excellent skills in administration, new technology, and organization. Contact office@ucmtl.ca.

Our Director of Religious Exploration: Katharine Childs

Katharine comes to us with many wonderful skills. She is comfortably bilingual, speaking and writing in both English and French, and she has spent years working in non-profit administration, training employees, and recruiting and coordinating volunteers. She has been a director of church summer camp programs, has training in theatre, and has worked with children in theatre.

Katharine has been an active member of our community, volunteering in the RE program and in worship, providing support for congregational gatherings, and setting up a knitting ministry. She was recently trained in the Our Whole Lives UU human sexuality program for children and youth.

Katharine graduated from Concordia University with a double major in theatre and political science and a minor in theology. She is an avid knitter and storyteller who is passionate about Unitarian Universalism. She is also the proud mother of Thora. Contact dre@ucmtl.ca. 

Our Director of Music: Sandra Hunt

Sandra Hunt, our Director of Music, hails from Edmonton, where she obtained her Master of Music degree before pursuing advanced studies in Europe. Currently, Sandra teaches and performs in the Montreal area, where she has worked for McGill University, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (MSO) and the CBC, in addition to touring with soprano Kerry-Anna Kutz across Canada and the United States. At the Unitarian Church and elsewhere, Sandra frequently performs with her husband, MSO cellist Gary Russell. Following in their parents' musical footsteps, Matthew and Vanessa Hunt-Russell also delight us, from time to time, with selections for voice, cello, piano and trombone.

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Reveling in the openness of this Unitarian congregation to different kinds of music, Sandra inspires her Sunday listeners with piano music ranging from the classical repertoire to the plainest of chants, from jazz to the avant-garde.

Sandra has arranged a liaison with the McGill Faculty of Music, whose students now perform at a piano concert after our monthly Mid-Day Meal With Music. The Music Committee meets monthly with Sandra to help her achieve her ambitious musical aims for the congregation. Contact: 2sandrahunt@gmail.com. 

Our Song Leader and Choir Director: Eleuthera Diconca-Lippert

Eleuthera has close to two decades of professional performance experience as a vocalist, including touring solo and with her vocal trio Fruiting Bodies across Canada, the US and Iceland.

She has led singing circles for the last eight years and hosted creative community gatherings for the last three. These include Music for Peace, Community Sing!, the Espace Vegane Open Mic and the Green Mic Open Mic at Co-op la maison verte. The open mics were unique in that they were interdisciplinary, open to all performative arts (music, poetry, comedy, dance, circus, live painting etc) and encouraged collaborations between participants.

Currently, Eleuthera is finishing up her first full-length solo album of soul/blues originals (www.unspokenplace.com), working as a Research Assistant with Kathy Kennedy- exploring the relationship between music and memory in the elderly, and taking the prerequisites to pursue the Graduate Diploma in Music Therapy at Concordia University.

She directs the Phoenix Community Choir, which rehearses Thursdays 7:00 to 8:30 pm from September to June at the Unitarian Church and performs about once a month during Sunday Service. All are welcome!

Contact: choir@ucmtl.ca

Our RE Assistant: Camellia Jahanshahi

Camellia Jahanshahi was raised in the UU faith moving through different congregations all around the world as she grew up. In her professional life she has worked in multiple religious exploration programs with children and youth ranging from 5-18. She is also an interdisciplinary artist with a background in crafting, visual arts and performance arts that lean into the art of story telling and emotional expression. Currently Camellia is in her final year of her masters program in religions and cultures at Concordia University, where she also achieved her BA. Her program work is specifically centered around understanding the history and intersections of contemporary identity politics from a faith perspective. She brings this combination of artistic expression and socially conscious thinking together in her work with children and youth to help foster a sense of personal as well as social value in those she teaches.

Our Communications Specialist: Loralie Bromby

Loralie is a creative professional who comes to us with eight years of communications and project coordination experience, including expertise in graphic design, video editing and photography.

For the past twelve years, Loralie has been working with community non-profits including the Assistance and Referral Center, the African Canadian Development and Prevention Network, DESTA Black Youth Network, and JW McConnell Family Foundation, as well as Youth Media Lab Jamaica. She currently runs her own communications consulting company, working with such clients as Centraide du Grand Montreal, Bienvenue à NDG, Girls Action Foundation and Women on the Rise. Her academic background includes degrees in photography and integrated media.

She is passionate about using the power of self expression for community change. She continues to work on community development projects in Jamaica and Canada. You can contact her at communications@ucmtl.ca.