Martin Woulfe
Minister @Abraham Lincoln Unitarian Universalist Congregation
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WORK HISTORY
Minister @Abraham Lincoln Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Preach, lead worship, conduct rites of passage, active with Pastoral Care, Social Justice, Fundraising, Adult RE & Fellowship events. Host Labyrinth Walks. Train Officiants for weddings, memorials. Write monthly newsletter columns. Supervised 4 Intern Ministers. Created original UU posters & music CDs. Received Full Ministerial Fellowship in 2005. Engaged with UUANI & 2 regional UUMA groups. Attend UUA General/Regional Assemblies, Ministry Days & Retreats. Member of Prairie Group (20••••22). Led weekly sessions for 4 UUs @ Eden TS (2020-21). Served as a Good Officer (2012-21) & on UUMA Nominating Committee, UUHA board. Active with the Greater Springfield Interfaith Association since 2003; president in 2006, 2009 & 2019. Immersed in social justice work e.g,\"Side with Love,\" Springfield\'s \"Year of Reconciliation\"(2008-09), Marriage Equality (2004-13), Faith Coalition for the Common Good (President 2022-23), Frontiers International, BLM-SPI, PFLAG, ACLU, Moms Demand Action, Planned Parenthood, Poor People’s Campaign, C&C’s M.A.I.D campaign, NAACP, Equality IL, etc. Served on Springfield Commission of Community Relations. Created the interfaith service @ the ALPM dedication (April 2005). Organized a community rally vs the WBC (2009). Partnered with Rev. Silas Johnson & CMBC in Beloved Conversations, pulpit exchanges & \"Let Freedom Ring” (2015). Completed Gamaliel training (2016). Support the Liturgical Arts Festival, IL Innocence Project, Juneteenth & PrideFest. In 2023, founding member of UNITED, Springfield’s Welcoming Clergy. Speaker @ many public vigils, religious & civil events. Contribute letters & feature articles to local media. Profiled @ the ALPM Oral History Project (2017). Received the FCCG’s 2015 President\'s Award for Activism; named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary; received the 2019 Phoenix Center Community Activist award; voted Clergyperson of the Year in the 2020 IL Times Readers Poll. Interfaith Advisor to the IL Sec\'t of State (2024-26).
EDUCATION
St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth
enrolled for one academic year, 2nd Arts
University of Illinois Chicago
enrolled for the Winter Quarter 1978, History
Meadville Lombard Theological School
M.Div, Ministry/Theology/Comparative Religions/UU History
Loras College
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Creative Writing; Modern European History
St. Jude the Apostle, South Holland, IL
Graduated 1974
SKILLS
ABOUT MARTIN WOULFE
Unitarian Universalist parish minister, social justice advocate, rite of passage officiant, public speaker, poet, writer, photographer, etc. On May 11, 2003, ALUUC\'s members voted to call me as their first FT settled minister; assumed my duties that August. Previously served as the interim minister at UUCC-PF during 20••••03. Typically I speak extemporaneously rather than relying on a manuscript. During my tenure, ALUUC has evolved from a fellowship-pastoral hybrid to a pastoral-program hybrid. A new sanctuary was dedicated in March, 2026. I was told at the onset of my seminary years to remember that ministry is a unique privilege. It’s also proved a pathway of grace. I once read that an important threshold of maturity is \"when you fall down - you pick yourself up, & upon falling down next time, you again pick yourself up.\" I should add: and leaving bitterness on the ground when you rise. As a teenager, I had pursued a Congressional Appointment to the US Naval Academy but eventually decided not to accept that opportunity and cast my lot with the Liberal Arts; I have not looked back. One distinct moment of euphoria occurred while I touched the fringe of a rainbow, atop a round tower, in Kilkenny. My friend David O\'Connor was with me at the time; he touched it too. Four quotes that resonate with me: the first is by Immanuel Kant:\"Two things fill the heart with delight; the starlit sky above, and the moral law within.\"The second is by Nietzsche:\"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.\" Also:\"One of the signs of passing youth is the birth of a sense of fellowship with other human beings as we take our place among them.\"- Virginia Woolf (no relation) Finally:\"If you want to understand another person\'s opinion, first you must understand the language in which that opinion is expressed.\"- Erasmus
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