Joe Donatone
Unitarian Universalist Minister
The life of a new minister resists easy description. I joyfully serve as a chaplain in a large VA hospital while also preparing to lead a congregation. It is an honor to serve my patients, my community, and the universal truth of Love. I preach whenever and wherever I am called, I strive for balance, and I look out for moments of devotion when Spirit presents them.
My Story
I was raised in Ohio on the shores of Lake Erie by a Catholic father and a Presbyterian mother. The dissonance between these two flavors of the same broader tradition ignited the curiosity of my young mind.
Then, I endeavored to stamp out that spark for the better part of 20 years. I attended The Ohio State University, where I spent ten years becoming an activist, earning a Bachelor of Arts in English, and developing alcoholism.
One excellent-but-expensive rehab, one profound spiritual experience, and one small inner voice (that grew undeniably loud) later, I found myself enveloped by the love of my Unitarian Universalist congregation and enrolled at Iliff School of Theology, an excellent liberal seminary.
Someday I hope to lead a congregation and help usher in the next new age of Unitarian Universalism.
I am new to much of this. I am humbled by most of it. I am called to all of it.
Swami Vivekananda
The moment I have realized God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him - that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free.
Contact Me
Looking for a minister to fill your pulpit? Curious about Unitarian Universalism? Let's chat!
