The congregation of the First Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church of Youngstown is excited to announce the appointment of Rev. Matt Alspaugh as their new minister.

“We are thrilled to have Matt on board,” says Ed Goist, president of the congregation. “We believe that Matt will help us to achieve our objectives of growing the congregation, enhancing our profile in the community, and expanding the services we provide to our members.”

“First UU Church of Youngstown is a vibrant urban congregation, committed to service in the core of Youngstown,” says Rev. Alspaugh. “The church and the region have tremendous potential, and I’m excited to be here.”

Rev. Matt Alspaugh was recently ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister at his home congregation, Jefferson Unitarian Church in Golden, Col. In 2008, he completed his Master of Divinity studies at Starr King School, the Unitarian Universalist seminary in Berkeley, Calif. Last year, Rev. Alspaugh served as a chaplain resident at United Hospital in St. Paul, Minn. Before that he was the Parish Ministerial Intern at Unity Church, Unitarian, also in St. Paul.

Before Rev. Alspaugh entered the ministry, he was a lay leader in several UU churches, most recently at Jefferson Unitarian in Golden, which is recognized as one of the fastest growing churches in the UU movement. The church’s Senior Minister, Rev. Peter Morales, was elected President of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) in June of this year.

In his earlier career, Rev. Alspaugh worked in product and marketing management in a number of high technology startup firms on the Front Range of Colorado, and taught telecommunications at the University of Denver.  Prior to that, Rev. Alspaugh worked as a systems engineer at Bell Telephone Laboratories in New Jersey. He holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from University of Denver.

Liz Hill, Rev. Alspaugh’s partner of nearly 20 years, writes fiction and ethics training materials. In his spare time, Rev. Alspaugh enjoys hiking, biking, working in stained glass, learning to make music, and Interplay, a form of improv and movement.

Rev. Alspaugh’s Installation Service will take place at 11 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 13, at the church, 1105 Elm St. All are welcome to join the congregation in welcoming Rev. Alspaugh to the Mahoning Valley.

For more information about The First UU Church of Youngstown visit their website at http://www.uuyo.org/