Carie joined UUCC in August, 2009. Carie brings with her a spiritual practice of creating deep meaning in everyday life experiences, a compassion for all of humanity, a commitment to greater equality and justice, and passion for liberal religious faith communities. Carie attributes her warm and engaging personality to growing up in South Dakota.
Carie was raised in “a typical mid-western Lutheran family.” She moved to Massachusetts in 1986 and settled into a career in social services on Cape Cod. Like so many others Carie felt she had found her spiritual home when she experienced her first Unitarian Universalist service at First Parish Brewster in Brewster Massachusetts.
Carie completed seminary at Harvard Divinity School. Of her senior thesis work Carie writes, “I hope to bring a greater awareness of issues of class into Unitarian Universalist communities. Through critical examination of these issues of race and class, power and privilege, oppression and injustice, I will lift up models for community partnering that bring about social change through community and relationship building, cross-class alliances and political advocacy for systems change. My childhood working class identity now straddles a middle class profession consequently providing a unique insight into the class and race work we are called to engage.”
As a Community Minister, Carie developed a mutual mentor program where women were supported and empowered to find spiritual and emotional balance so as to reach beyond the daily challenges of single parenting, divorce, poverty and domestic violence. Drawing on this mutual mentoring model, Carie facilitated the creation and implementation of a Congregation Based Community Ministry with the local Head Start programs in Marshfield and Plymouth.
During a one year internship with the humanitarian rights organization, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee [UUSC], Carie was instrumental in creating connections and building bridges between the humanitarian work of the UUSC and the spiritual lives of congregations and individuals within the denomination. Her work culminated in the publication of four UUSC Covenant Group Modules.
Carie is the parent of two adult sons, Justin and Michael. During her spare time she enjoys kayaking, riding bike, trips to Cape Cod and South Dakota, “lingering” and “nesting,” reading spiritual memoirs and just hanging out with friends and family.
You may contact Carie at 207-623-3663 or revcariejohnsen@gmail.com
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