Meet UUFR's Lead Minister

Rev. Thomas Rhodes was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, where his father taught Chemistry at Florida State. His mother was a homemaker who was active in the church and the community. He has a younger brother and sister. Tom spent his senior year of high school in Germany as an exchange student in 1977-78. This was an important year for him - he learned a new language and culture, and a lot about independence.

He returned to Tallahassee and graduated from FSU with a degree in business. His first job was with a management-consulting firm. During this time he began volunteering at Tallahassee's crisis intervention hotline. He spent about a year there, talking with callers about issues such as job loss, divorce, addiction, suicide, and mental illness.

Tom became a Tar Heel in 1987 when he was recruited for a management position in Charlotte, and he discovered the Unitarian Universalist Church shortly afterwards. Enchanted with the church and the diverse theologies it represented, he became a member and soon found that much of his life revolved around the church: Sunday services, Monday night folk dancing and Friday singles. Two years later he was elected to the Board of Trustees and served a three-year term as Treasurer.

Tom's experience at the UU Church in Charlotte changed his life in many ways. He made good friends there, learned much about personal and corporate responsibility, and ultimately his experience at the Church led him to a career in ministry. It was also at the Church that Tom became reacquainted with a friend, Lettice (Ticie) Morton. They were married in 1991 and in the next summer they moved to Berkeley, California where Tom began seminary. The years at Starr King School for the Ministry included the joy of the birth of their son Alden in July 1995.

After graduation, Rev. Rhodes spent two years as Extension Minister at the brand-new Greater Nashville UU Congregation. He was then called to be the minister at Westside Church in Knoxville. It was at Westside that he deepened his commitment to public ministry and social action through his efforts with the Million Moms March, the Knoxville Interfaith Network, and his anti-racism work. He did not hesitate to appear in print and on television to provide strong support to Westside's efforts opposing the Iraq war. His church hosted anti-war speakers and distributed flyers and signs.

Rev. Rhodes left Westside in the spring of 2005 to become the Interim Minister at the Neshoba UU Chuch in Memphis. He was called to UUFR by a near-unanimous congregational vote in April of 2006 and began his ministry here shortly afterwards. He comes to UUFR with a strong commitment to our Unitarian Universalist movement and a passion for social justice, a willingness to learn as well as teach, a deep love of children and intergenerational activities, some practical knowledge about church growth, and a deep and abiding interest in helping others to reach their highest potential.

You can hear some of Rev. Rhodes' sermons on the UUFR Sermon Audio Archive page.