Our Ministers
The Rev. Dr. Cynthia L. Landrum, Minister
Our minister is the Reverend Doctor Cynthia L. Landrum. Cindy has been in the Unitarian Universalist ministry since 2001. Prior to her arrival at FPC in 2018, Cindy served churches in Clarklake, Michigan; Gardner, Massachusetts; and Houston, Texas. She was awarded the title of Minister Emerita from her last congregation, the Universalist Unitarian Church of East Liberty, because of her leadership strengths and long tenure. Cindy has a BA from the University of Michigan in English and Psychology, an MA from the University of Georgia in English, and a Doctor of Ministry from the Meadville Lombard Theological School. Her MA work was on folk narratives in the AIDS caregiving community, and her D.Min. dissertation focused on the shifting relationship to feminism among her generation of female UU ministers.
Cindy was raised UU, and is a strong supporter of Unitarian Universalist religious education as a result. She describes herself as a spiritual humanist who draws from a wide variety of religious and secular sources for her sermons. She draws in particular from her love of Christian storytelling, Pagan and Wiccan ritual, and Buddhist practice. Secular sources that have influenced her range from the literature of the holocaust to science fiction and fantasy, and even Winnie-the-Pooh.
Cindy has been very active in our larger association and minister’s groups, and is an avid writer, and has published a book of sermons and has had writings published in UU World on several occasions. She has created two coloring books of her Zentangle art which have been used by congregations all over the country.
Cindy has been very active in social justice work and spent 10 years working toward getting a non-discrimination ordinance adopted in Jackson, Michigan to guarantee protection for LGBTQ+ individuals, which was passed in the winter of 2017. She has also served on the boards of social justice organizations, including for both racial justice and LGBTQ issues.
Cindy has a husband, Peter Morrison, a daughter, and a two cats. Her family (except the cats) enjoy science fiction and fantasy books and movies, are avid board game players, and enjoy art and crafting.
Make an appointment with Cindy at https://calendly.com/minister-fpc. She can also be emailed at: minister@uucav.org
Schedule an appointment with her here!
Trek Reef, Intern Minister
Trek (he/they) is our Intern Minister. He and his husband Justin live in Billerica, where they both grew up. Trek is currently in his third year of the Master of Divinity program at Meadville Lombard Theological School, and Justin works for the Department of Conservation and Recreation at Walden Pond State Reservation.
Trek’s call to Unitarian Universalist ministry first stirred in his teens, though his spiritual path has been full of rich experiences. In his twenties, he immersed himself in his Jewish heritage and lived an Orthodox Jewish life for a decade, receiving rabbinic ordination in 2013. During those years, he taught Hebrew School, worked as a Kosher Supervisor, and eventually served as Program Manager at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Connecticut. In 2016, he set out on a great adventure and thru-hiked all 2,189 miles of the Appalachian Trail!
Email Trek at trek@uucav.org
Our Staff
Rayla D. Baldwin-Mattson, Director of Religious Education
Rayla D. Baldwin-Mattson (no pronouns) has been a Unitarian Universalist Religious Educator for well over a decade. Rayla's previous congregation was located in Hartford, CT and Rayla currently lives just north of Hartford with three children, one dog and way too many cats. Although Rayla has not yet decided how much their children will participate in FPC activities, you will often find Rayla in the building with their middle child Kennedy (she/her) who is 16.
In addition to working directly within congregations, Rayla has served several roles regionally and nationally within the UUA faith. Rayla currently serves as a New England Peer Facilitator supporting congregations, their religious education department and their boards. Rayla also serves on the Skinner House Equity and Inclusion Panel which supports mainly UU authors in the areas of justice and liberation. In the summers, Rayla leads a weeklong series on divination at RE week at Ferry Beach where Rayla has gotten to know several FPC members. One of Rayla's greatest passions is as a writer, contributing often to Braver/Wiser which is a series located on the UUA website. Additional contributions and videos may be accessed via the UUA website and via other UUA adjacent resources.
In addition to serving at FPC, Rayla also works as a Field Representative for the US Census Bureau and as a curriculum curator with the UUA.
Email Rayla: dre@uucav.org
Chris Hossfeld, Director of Music
Chris Hossfeld joined the FPC community in August 2023. His professional experience spans many years as a conductor, composer, vocal performer, and lecturer in academic, church, and community settings. He has served as the director of music for Yale Divinity School’s Marquand Chapel, St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Episcopal Church in Lincoln, MA, First Parish (Old Ship Church) in Hingham, MA, and Grace Episcopal Church in Newton, MA. In Montreal, he was the conductor and co-artistic director of Opera da Camera and co-founded One Equall Musick, a collaborative vocal ensemble.
Chris composes music for many settings, from concert works to music for liturgy or film. His music has been performed at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Toronto Music Garden, Jordan Hall, and at Yale and Harvard Universities. He has received commissions from various ensembles, including the Rosetta Trio, the Cantata Singers of Ottawa, and the Grammy-nominated string orchestra A Far Cry.
In addition to serving the FPC community, Chris is also the director of music and ritual and instructor in sacred music at Harvard Divinity School.
Email Chris: music@uucav.org
Meg Rivers-Wright, Parish Administrator
Meg comes to us with a history of Unitarian Universalist knowledge and connections in the community. UU churches have always been special to her. Meg's parents were married in the UU Church in Albany, New York, where she was dedicated and later attended services as a teenager. Her wife grew up attending the UU church in Easton, MA, and they were married by Rev. Kim K. Crawford Harvie of Boston’s Arlington Street Church.
Meg has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middlebury College and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Simmons College. She’s worked as a university administrator, public school English teacher, and personal trainer. She’s a teacher, writer, organizer, and uplifter, and loves nothing more than guiding people to feel better about who they are. Meg lives in Maynard with her wife, two teenagers, and two dogs. You can reach her at office@fpc-stow-acton.org and follow her pandemic puppy adventures in the #denofpositivity on Facebook and Instagram.
Email Meg: office@uucav.org
Cynthia Menard, Spiritual Growth and Community Center Director
Cynthia has worked in non-formal education for more than 20 years, teaching environmental and experiential education to groups of all ages, experiences, and abilities. During that time, she worked as a Camp Director, Naturalist, River Guide, Ropes Course Manager, and Experiential Educator, among other roles.
She is deeply spiritual, finding her sacred space in the natural world, and has been a practicing Wiccan for many years. She is ordained clergy by the Society of Elder Faiths, a Massachusetts-based Pagan Spiritual community, and serves on their Board of Directors.
Cynthia also serves as a Hospice volunteer, certified Reiki practitioner, and plays and teaches violin and fiddle. She lives in Lunenburg with her two school-age sons, wonderful husband, and a big, bouncy German Shepherd.
Email Cynthia: sgcc@uucav.org
Trever Berens, Accompanist
Trevor Berens is a pianist, composer, and music therapist. He holds degrees from Loyola Marymount University (BA: Music and Psychology, specializing in piano and composition), California Institute of the Arts (MFA: Performer/Composer), and Lesley University (MA: Expressive Therapies, specializing in Music Therapy). His former piano teachers include Tania Flesicher, Peter Miyamoto, and Vicki Ray, and his former composition teachers include Paul Humphreys, Stephen “Lucky” Mosko, Mark Saya, and James Tenney. As a pianist, he enjoys playing in a variety of styles, including avant-garde classical music, traditional classical music, and free improvisation and as a collaborator, he enjoys working with a wide variety of individuals and ensembles, including solo vocalists and instrumentalists, chamber groups, dancers, and choruses. Trevor is the founder of the Boston area based ensemble, Sonic Liberation Players, which specialized in performing music by modern experimental and avant-garde composers. Trevor runs the Berens Voice and Piano Studio out of Pepperell with his wife, Jessica, works as a music therapist working with young children, and is accompanist for the Halalisa Singers. www.trevorberensmusic.com
Email Trevor: accompanist@uucav.org
Christine Towle, Publicity Coordinator
A native of Pittsburgh, Chris has lived in Massachusetts for most of her adult life. She currently resides in Hudson with her husband Jon, two adult children, and two geriatric-but-still-energetic cats. When she’s not managing things at UCMH she can often be found at Target, where she doubles as Inbound Team Lead. She also teaches a recreational adult ballet class in Wayland once a week. In her free time, Chris enjoys studying Japanese and catching up with her language exchange partners.
Email Christine: pr@uucav.org
Mike Silkonis, Sexton
Before coming to FPC, Mike was head custodian for the Wayland Public schools. He is now retired and lives in Maynard. He loves to garden, ride mountain bikes and hunt.
Email Mike: sexton@uucav.org
Bradshaw Mattson, AV Tech Assistant
Bradshaw is currently our tech assistant. More information to come shortly.
Justin Marble, Nursery Coordinator
Our Emerits*
* Honorary titles bestowed on former congregational ministers and directors of religious education.
The Rev. Stephen M. Shick, Minister Emeritus
The Reverend Stephen M. Shick served as the Senior Minister for the Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson. He is an honors graduate of Crozer-Colgate Rochester Theological Seminary. Between 2000 and 2003 he was an Urban Fellow at Harvard Divinity School. He has served congregations in Portland, ME and Haverhill, MA. Before entering the parish he practiced a national ministry as U.S. Program Director for the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, Director of the Unitarian Universalist Peace Network, and founder and host of Consider the Alternatives, a nationally syndicated radio program.
Rev. Stephen is the author of Be the Change: Poems, Prayers and Meditations for Peacemakers and Justice Seekers, Consider the Lilies, a book of meditations, and Just Congregations, a guide to congregational justice making practices. His writings have appeared in numerous national and local publications. Rev. Stephen also leads seminars on “embodied preaching,” the art of preaching and public speaking without notes or manuscript.
He is married to Dr. JoAnn Mulready-Shick, who is a nursing faculty emerita at the University of Massachusetts Boston. They have three grown children: Dora, Michael, and Sarah.
The Rev. Thomas A. Rosiello, Minister Emeritus
The Reverend Thomas A. Rosiello served the First Parish Church of Stow and Acton from 2002 to 2017, a 15-year ministry. Tom contributed to the growth and vitality of our church—expanding our community, our programming, our campus, and most of all, our spirit. Tom served our congregation with compassion, intelligence, and often spoke out on issues of social justice, leading initiatives to recognize the rights and dignity of all persons and putting his beliefs into action in his journey.
Upon his retirement in 2017, the congregation voted unanimously, with deep respect and gratitude, to designate Tom as our Minister Emeritus. This honor recognizes and sustains our continuing, but changed, relationship with Tom.
The Rev. Alice Anacheka-Nasemann, Minister Emerita
The Reverend Alice Anacheka-Nasemann is an Honors Graduate of Andover Newton Theological School who served as Minister at the Unitarian Church of Marlborough & Hudson for more than 20 years and co-founded UCMH’s Spiritual Growth and Community Center. She received her call to the ministry from a religious educator’s background and has served UCMH and the Unitarian Universalist Society of Oneonta as a Director of Religious Education.
Rev. Alice is the co-author of four curricula for children published online by the Unitarian Universalist Association as part of their Tapestry of Faith curriculum initiative: Moral Tales, Faithful Journeys, Love Will Guide Us, and World of Wonder.
In addition, Rev. Alice is proud to be a certified Laughter Yoga instructor, which she considers to be a very apt development of her natural skills. She also is quite proud of the Compostela certificate she received after walking 300 miles on pilgrimage on El Camino de Santiago in Spain—which she found to be quite a challenge to her natural skills.
Rev. Alice lives in Hudson with her family. In her spare time, she enjoys walking her dog in the woods, dancing, playing games, and reading.
Michelle Coté, Director of Religious Education Emerita
Michelle Coté served First Parish Church of Stow & Acton from 2008 to 2022, a 14-year term. Michelle enhanced the depth and impact of the Religious Education (RE) program — contributing to growth of the congregation by supporting families, drawing on her education expertise to implement safety policies and training for volunteers, and always prioritizing the children and youth, making them feel valued and cared for. Michelle worked with the RE Committee and Joleen Trotta to create the First Chalice program, to provide a rite of passage for young UU children. She also began a social program for younger kids called Club UU (which has now become Friday Friends). Most importantly, she provided a consistent and dependable anchor for the RE program, offering quality programming and ensuring that the entire church staff and membership understood that children, youth, and families are a key constituency in the congregation.
Michelle’s professionalism and dedication to the families of FPC was honored by a congregational vote to designate her as DRE Emerita in 2022.
