Unitarian Universalist ministers are called by their congregations in a democratic voting process. University Unitarian Church currently has two called ministers: Reverend Jon M. Luopa and Reverend Alicia Grace.

Reverend Jon M. Luopa, Senior Minister

Contact Jon Luopa [0]
206-525-8400, ext. 12

[0] The grandson of Finnish immigrants, Jon Luopa grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts with his two younger sisters. The family religion was Lutheran, but by his early teens, Jon began to question those beliefs. He became a Unitarian Universalist in 1978, after hearing the Rev. Dr. Wallace Robbins of the First Unitarian Church in Worcester. Jon went to Clark University, where he majored in philosophy and the classics. Then, at Dr. Robbins' urging, he went on to the Harvard Divinity School.

At Harvard, Jon met Annie, and they were married in 1981. She had come to Cambridge from Denison University, after growing up in a Baptist minister's home in Ohio. After their graduation, Annie worked at Harvard for a few years, while Jon served churches in the greater Boston area. Over those years, Jon had the privilege of working closely with both the Rev. Dr. Dana McLean Greeley, first president of the UUA, and Professor James Luther Adams, renowned Unitarian social ethicist.

1986 brought many changes to their lives. Their first daughter, Laila, was born in Boston. At 29 years of age, Jon was called to follow the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Lauriat, and the family moved to Hartford, Connecticut. Jon and Annie's younger daughter, Julika, was born there in 1989. The family enjoyed a rich and rewarding thirteen years in Hartford.

The Luopas moved to Seattle in 1999 when Jon began his ministry at UUC.

Reverend Alicia Grace, Minister

Contact Alicia Grace [0]
206-525-8400, ext. 14

[0] Alicia grew up in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts. With her parents and three brothers, she was active in the Congregational Church. As a young adult, she explored numerous faith traditions and found a spiritual home in the Unitarian Universalist Church in Concord, New Hampshire. Having graduated from Springfield College with a major in counseling, she joined the world of human services as a mental health counselor. She spent more than ten years working with mental health agencies and later with at-risk children and families.

It was during this work that she experienced a strong call to the ministry. She graduated from Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, California. While in seminary, she met and later married her husband, Steve. They moved to Missouri, where she spent a couple of years as an intern and interim minister in St. Louis. As avid hikers and kayakers, Alicia and Steve longed for the mountains and water, and in 2001, they moved to the Pacific Northwest to serve a church in Marysville. After a vibrant three-year ministry, Alicia was called to UUC. She focuses her ministry to mirror her passions: membership and pastoral care.