Ministry & Programs.

Pastor

Rev. Telos Whitfield has been serving as a Unitarian Universalist minister since 2006. She began ministry at All Souls Church in 2020.

She received a Master of Divinity from Starr King School For the Ministry in Berkeley, California, when Rev. Rebecca Parker was President and head of the faculty.  She did her Chaplaincy residency at San Francisco General Hospital, offering support for patients and staff in the emergency room, oncology department and psychiatric units.

Rev. Telos was the Intern Minister at South Valley UU Society in Salt Lake City, UT, and then returned home to serve two congregations – the Walpole Unitarian Church and First Universalist Parish in Chester, VT for eight years. She has served the Universalist Society in Strafford for the past six years and is inspired to be serving All Souls U.U. Church in Brattleboro. She is also the store manager for two Good Buy thrift stores of Southeastern VT Community Action, her “ministry of  belongings!”

Rev. Telos has received the 14 Mindfulness Trainings from Buddhist monk and peace leader Thich Nhat Hanh, attending retreats he has led and offering workshops of her own in peace leadership and mindfulness. She has been involved in justice causes for most of her life, participating in a 300 mile peace walk for nuclear disarmament in 1987, and served as stage manager for the Earth Charter Celebration in Vermont on Sept. 9, 2001, where Jane Goodhall and Satish Kumar shared their wisdom. She has helped to organize vigils to end homelessness, support choice and freedom for women, LGBTQ people and people of color, and recently helped to organize a climate justice conference in Vermont. She has also been involved in the performing arts for many years, working as residency and project coordinator for the Flynn Center For the Arts, and was deeply inspired by dance choreographer Liz Lerman and jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie, artists who taught in our Vermont communities and worked with people of all ages and experience. She loves to dance, to discover the universal truths within sacred texts, poetry and true stories and voices of our elders and young ones. She learned to fold peace cranes from a nurse who served in Japan in World War II during an event hosted by the Walpole Unitarian Church, and has folded thousands of cranes to encourage peace and healing.

Administration & Operations

Office Administrator: Gretchen Horton

In-Office Hours: Tuesdays 9:30 am – 3 pm, Thursdays 11:30 am – 5 pm. Wednesdays remote

Gretchen started with us in June 2024 and came with many years of experience as a church administrator.  She loves working with and meeting the people at All Souls!

Choir Director: Tom Baehr

Tom Baehr was named All Souls’ choir director in 2015, after 14 years as a church member and as a tenor in the choir.  With bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music, his background includes experience asa public school music teacher, composer and arranger and music festival coordinator.  He directs the Guilford Chamber Singers and sings with the Blanche Moyse Choral and Illuminati Vocal Arts Ensemble.

Music Coordinator: Eva Frank Greene

After serving as pianist since 2007, Eva became All Souls’ music coordinator in 2020. She invites all musicians to participate in our worship services, with the goal of encouraging a diverse and inclusive music program.