President
David Taylor
David has had a lifelong interest in spirituality. In the course of his spiritual quest he has been involved in Buddhism, paganism and Quakerism. He has been involved in Unitarianism since the late 1990s and since 2013 has been attending Stourbridge Unitarian Church, where is now a trustee. He is also a member of the MUA Lay Preachers & Service Leaders and has led many services around the region. He is also Secretary and Editor of the Unitarian Society for Psychical Studies.
His ’day job’ is a professional Graphic Designer in a busy Birmingham Print & Design company. When spare time allows, his interests include ornithology, conservation, art, antiques, history, theatre, jazz and classical music, archaeology and scouring second-hand bookshops with his wife.
Vice President
Ann Matthews
Ann first started attending Shrewsbury Unitarian Church about four years ago. She had attended a ‘gong bath’ there which was an interesting experience of both sound and powerful vibrations. She was intrigued to know what sort of a church would host such an event, and was immediately struck by the sense of peace within the building. Following that event she began attending services and received a very warm welcome. She was interested to learn about the history of Unitarianism and the freedom of belief it embraced.
Ann’s background was Church of England, over the years she had attended different churches but never found one in which she felt completely at home, and didn’t enjoy the expectation to conform to a fixed set of beliefs.
Ann is a keen hill walker and gardener and most frequently experiences the divine wonder when outside amongst nature. She has long been a practitioner of yoga and enjoys the contemplative and meditative aspects of the practice. Ann has been participating in the monthly Findhorn meditations and hopes to visit the Findhorn community one day.
She is currently the Treasurer for Shrewsbury Unitarian Church.
The Immediate Past President
Cressida Pryor
Cressida has been a Unitarian for several years, and has discovered she is descended from the Radical Dissenter Henry Solly and the MP William Smith, so feels the denomination is in her blood! She attends and is Secretary to Bayshill Church in Cheltenham, where Solly was minister. Her professional background is in the therapies, and latterly in adult mental health; with a special interest in working with new parents and their babies. She is self-employed, a new grandmother, a Morris dancer, and sings, if given half a chance! She is an Interfaith minister, and is currently studying the Intermediate Step of the Worship Studies Course.
The Secretary
Rev. Sue Woolley – BA., M.Phil
Sue is a fifth generation Unitarian. She is District Minister and Secretary of the Midland Unitarian Association Inc., and has pastoral oversight of the Banbury Unitarian Fellowship. National roles include Secretary of the Unitarian Peace Fellowship, Journal Editor for the Ministerial Fellowship and Worship Studies Course Tutor.
The Treasurer
Kieren Mardle-Moss
Kieren first came across Unitarianism when developing materials for teaching – as a trained R.E. teacher.
Since 2016, He has been involved in the Unitarian Youth Programme – supporting 11 to 16-year-olds in their personal and spiritual development.
In more recent times, Kieren has stepped away from teaching and now works full-time in a Financial Services position and puts these skills to good use as, since 2020, he has been Treasurer at the Coventry congregation.
Kieren has led worship at Coventry as well as in neighbouring Districts and is a member of The Meditational Fellowship (TMF) and National Unitarian Fellowship.
Elected Members
Debra Burbery
Debra was born in Portsmouth but she spent her teenage years in North Yorkshire and has only recently ‘fallen into’ Unitarianism.
In her professional life she was a Biology and Chemistry teacher in state and private secondary schools. Since wandering into the building on an open morning, she has been regularly attending Shrewsbury Unitarian Church and has completed the Introductory Worship Studies Course held at Kingswood Church in 2016.
Jane Couper
Brought up as an Anglican in a family more interested in politics than religion Jane became a Unitarian as a teenager. In her professional life she taught Religious Studies at an academic independent school and from the late 1980s she was an active member of Hale Chapel becoming its Chairman, then President of the Manchester District Association. In 2003 she moved with her husband to Evesham and now attends Oat Street Chapel. Recently she has been involved with “future ministry” and the District Associations Project.
Peter Flower
Peter has been a Unitarian since 2006 when he joined the congregation at Kingswood as organist. He subsequently went on to also be the pianist for the Warwick congregation and has been leading worship since 2020. He has recently been accepted to train for the Unitarian Ministry.
David Mearman
David has been a member of Stourbridge Presbyterian (Unitarian) Church since 1966. He succeeded his late father as Organist, continuing a fifty year family tradition, and is the Secretary, and a Trustee. He lives in Stourbridge, Worcestershire.
Diane Rutter
Is Salford born and bred! She spent the first 22 years of her life as a member of Pendleton Unitarians in Salford, then peregrinated via the Church of England and the wilderness back to Unitarianism over a decade ago.
Diane is currently Lay Assistant to Kingswood (and by serendipity Warwick) congregations. A touch typist by trade and a cleric by profession, previous employers include Tootal Fabric, The Sunday Express Sports Desk and the University of Salford.
Chris Thompson
Chris worked in secondary school science education, chemistry and physics. Her becoming a Unitarian in 2002, following a Unitarian funeral, was the ‘coming-home’ that so many others have described. Currently she is a member of Warwick Unitarian congregation and she has benefitted from Unitarian Women’s Group weekends, Hucklow Summer Schools, and more recently the Unitarian Music Society.
Aleks Zglinska
Aleks works with Northampton Unitarians as Community Development Coordinator and takes a particular interest in disability and LGBTQIA+ rights and inclusion and where these intersect the Unitarian faith and congregational life. After a music degree and further training as an education professional in Information Communication Technology, she worked as a trainer. During the early 2010s she took an interest in community development and communications and moved into working with non-profit organisations. She also volunteers as a fundraiser for a hyperlocal community building charity in London. In her spare time she likes to cook (but not wash up) during 2020 she perfected her technique for homemade crumpets.
Representative Member Ministers’ Meeting
Rev. Winnie Gordon
I have been minister of Unitarian New Meeting, Birmingham since 2014. Until recently, I was also Chair and Mentor for the Worship Studies Course.