The Joseph Priestley District | Central East Regional Group

Rev. David Pyle, District Executive and Congregational Life Staff

100 W. 10th Street, Suite 1008, Wilmington, DE 19801

847-917-0072 (cell) | 800-351-6637 (office) |302-778-4590 (fax) | dpyle@uua.org |skype: celestiallands
www.jpduua.org | www.cerguua.org | www.uua.org

December 1st, 2014

Dearest Colleague:
Welcome to the JPD! I have the honor of serving as the District Executive for the Joseph
Priestley District (JPD). Our District is comprised of 71 congregations with over 16,000
Unitarian Universalist members and 7,000 children and youth covering parts of five states
(Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia) and the District of Columbia.
The Unitarian Church of Harrisburg in which you are interested has asked me to tell you a little
about what to expect were you to serve amongst us.
We have over 100 ministers who attend and are a part of our two UUMA chapters. You
would be a part of the Priestley-Kingsbury UUMA chapter in the north of the JPD. We also
have the Chesapeake UUMA chapter in the south. Each chapter meets monthly for comradeship,
conversation, and excellent programing. There are often joint retreats between the two chapters
as well as the Harpers Ferry Ministerial Study Group. There are other smaller geographical
gatherings of ministers throughout the District at various times through the year.
Our District is a part of the Central East Region of the UUA, and as such there is a wide
variety of resources available to the congregations of Central Pennsylvania. Our District Staff
includes specialists in the areas of Social and Racial Justice, Stewardship and Development, and
Youth and Young Adult Ministries. Our District has a very active Adjunct Staff program
comprising ordained and lay leaders who are available to serve congregations as facilitators and
specialists in a wide variety of aspects of congregational life. The Central East Regional Group
consists of 7 other Congregational Life Consultants who serve as the Primary UUA Contact for
congregations of the region. The primary UUA contact for the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg is
Mark Bernstein. Please feel free to reach out to him with questions at mbernstein@uua.org.
I invite you to also contact me with any questions you may have about our District or the
Unitarian Church of Harrisburg. I will be as forthcoming as I can be to assist you in your search
process. You might e-mail me at dpyle@uua.org so that we can make an appointment for a time
to speak. I look forward to discussing with you the opportunities of serving a congregation in the
Joseph Priestley District and the Central East Regional Group.
May you have good luck in locating your ideal congregation. Perhaps the Unitarian
Church of Harrisburg is the one and well be welcoming you next fall to the JPD. They are a
dynamic and bold congregation, with a commitment to a wide and diverse ministry, and a
leading congregation in Pennsylvania. They are open and prepared to welcome a new ministry.
Yours in Faith,

Rev. David G. Pyle

District Executive -- Joseph Priestley District of the UUA