Rev. Diane Dowgiert Becomes Minister of UUS
As the Unitarian Universalist Society celebrates the first anniversary of its move into a new home in Coralville, it welcomes Rev. Diane Dowgiert as its new minister.
Rev. Diane begins her work at UUS on Aug. 1. The congregation will welcome her with an informal reception following the Sunday service on Aug. 5, and she will lead her first service on “The Wisdom of Uncertainty” on Aug. 12.
She comes to the church after a two-year interim ministry at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greensboro (North Carolina). Prior to that, she served for ten years as the minister for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson (Arizona), and earlier served as the minister for the Unitarian Universalist Society of Marietta (Ohio).
Her interim position at UUS will be a time for the congregation to continue its existing initiatives for growth and development, envision new possibilities for the future, and prepare for another settled minister–likely in two years. She received training in transitional ministry through the Interim Ministers Network, an ecumenical group whose mission is to strengthen the spiritual and organizational health of the congregation by equipping and supporting those who lead during times of transition.
Her recent accomplishments include implementing a new model of church governance, creating collaborative structures with local organizations to increase capacity and impact of social justice work, and strengthening interconnection among UU congregations and organizations.
Regarding her personal theology, Rev. Diane writes:
My theology is grounded in a profound love of humankind and the natural world. Both fill me with a sense of wonder, awe, and mystery. The classic Universalist and Unitarian teachings inspire and inform my theological perspective: the universal love of God, available to all of humanity — and the indivisible nature of God, a unity — the interconnecting thread that holds us all in the web of life. These are the teachings that drew me to Unitarian Universalism. God, for me, is a verb, not a noun, found in the loving and creative actions that sustain and/or transform life, bending the arc of the universe toward justice.
Her husband of 43 years, A.J. Dowgiert, will join her in Iowa. They have two adult sons.
