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Sundays at UUCJ
September - June: UUCJ services are held in-person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue, Jamestown, NY, on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and available to all via Zoom. As we do not have a minister, services are led by various members with messages from different speakers, both clergy and lay. Details about each service, along with links for those who prefer to attend remotely, are found in the calendar listings at uujamestown.org/calendar. The calendar is planned by the Sunday Services Committee.
July - August: We do not hold services in the summer months. Many of our members and friends attend the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Chautauqua (UUFCHQ) services in the Hall of Philosophy at Chautauqua Institution. For more information, visit their website at uufchq.org.
July - August: We do not hold services in the summer months. Many of our members and friends attend the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Chautauqua (UUFCHQ) services in the Hall of Philosophy at Chautauqua Institution. For more information, visit their website at uufchq.org.
The Sunday Services Team
Julie Anderson
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Julie Anderson graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a B.S. in Elementary Education with a music concentration. She has additional graduate credits in music education in Kodaly and Orff certification, studying with Jean Sinor, Grace Nash, and Jane Alexander. Since coming to Jamestown in 1989, she studied piano with Mrs. Helga Hulse for 14 years and performed in faculty recitals of Keyboard Instructors.
Julie has taught general music classes in public and private schools, private piano, and guitar for years, and has taught piano at Infinity Visual and Performing Arts since 2007. At UUCJ, she participates in planning regular services by choosing the hymns and special music to coordinate with the message, as well as Sundays centered around music, like Hymn and Carol Sings. Julie is UUCJ’s Sunday pianist. |
Ruby Wiles
Warren, Pa., resident and former Lutheran pastor Ruby Wiles is the founder of Free Books for Kids Town and has filed trademark applications for Books for Babies+ and Halloween Read and Treat. She is passionate about encouraging children to read by having books that belong to them.
In 2017, Ruby received UUCJ’s T. Richard Parker Award for Social Justice. The award recognizes organizations or individuals whose volunteer work for social justice has not been widely acknowledged. Subsequently, she inspired UUCJ’s Social Justice Committee to promote reading by providing books to students in the Washington Middle School English as a New Language program and Fletcher Elementary School kindergarteners, having our two free book boxes, and giving away books at Halloween Read and Treat and during Jamestown’s Memorial Day parade.
Born in a military hospital in San Antonio (her dad was in the Air Force), Ruby spent her early childhood in East Brady, Pa., the home of Jim Kelly—with whom her cousins played football. Ruby is the eldest daughter (number two child) and has five siblings: one younger sister, one older brother, and three younger brothers. Her family moved to Warren when she was 9. She attended the University of Pennsylvania on scholarship and graduated cum laude. The fall semester of her senior year she was an intern for Pat Schroder, U.S. Congresswoman from Colorado.
After working at a Lutheran camp in Southern California and as a lay associate at University Lutheran Church in Seattle, Ruby attended Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley and interned at Community of Christ in Washington, DC. She later completed work in Clinical Pastoral Education at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Ruby’s first call at a two-point parish in North Dakota was followed by a short interim call to two other two-point parishes, and then 12 years at Calvary Lutheran Church in the Bronx. Returning to her roots in rural Pennsylvania, she served Tabor Lutheran Church in Kane before starting Free Books for Kids Town in 2011. During her parents' later years, she helped care for them. Along with her siblings, who all helped, she can proudly say that both of them died at home as they wanted. They made and kept that commitment in thanks for all their parents did for them.
Ruby is UUCJ’s second Sunday speaker during our 2025-2026 church year.
In 2017, Ruby received UUCJ’s T. Richard Parker Award for Social Justice. The award recognizes organizations or individuals whose volunteer work for social justice has not been widely acknowledged. Subsequently, she inspired UUCJ’s Social Justice Committee to promote reading by providing books to students in the Washington Middle School English as a New Language program and Fletcher Elementary School kindergarteners, having our two free book boxes, and giving away books at Halloween Read and Treat and during Jamestown’s Memorial Day parade.
Born in a military hospital in San Antonio (her dad was in the Air Force), Ruby spent her early childhood in East Brady, Pa., the home of Jim Kelly—with whom her cousins played football. Ruby is the eldest daughter (number two child) and has five siblings: one younger sister, one older brother, and three younger brothers. Her family moved to Warren when she was 9. She attended the University of Pennsylvania on scholarship and graduated cum laude. The fall semester of her senior year she was an intern for Pat Schroder, U.S. Congresswoman from Colorado.
After working at a Lutheran camp in Southern California and as a lay associate at University Lutheran Church in Seattle, Ruby attended Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley and interned at Community of Christ in Washington, DC. She later completed work in Clinical Pastoral Education at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Ruby’s first call at a two-point parish in North Dakota was followed by a short interim call to two other two-point parishes, and then 12 years at Calvary Lutheran Church in the Bronx. Returning to her roots in rural Pennsylvania, she served Tabor Lutheran Church in Kane before starting Free Books for Kids Town in 2011. During her parents' later years, she helped care for them. Along with her siblings, who all helped, she can proudly say that both of them died at home as they wanted. They made and kept that commitment in thanks for all their parents did for them.
Ruby is UUCJ’s second Sunday speaker during our 2025-2026 church year.
Rev. Lauren Turner
Lauren Turner recently retired after 46 years serving as a United Methodist Pastor. When not speaking at UUCJ, he is fulfilling a life-long dream by visiting different places of worship every week. His goal is to visit every place of worship in Chautauqua County. He enjoys hearing different points of view and striving to understand them. His dream is to help people understand and respect people different from themselves. We can live in peace and love even if we don’t see things the same way.
Lauren has a passion for the creative arts. He writes novels and short stories, he enjoys photography, he loves the visual arts and music. In his younger years he was very involved in theatrical productions. One of his greatest joys is songwriting and composing music for his video productions.
Somewhat of a techno nerd like his two engineer brothers, Lauren’s music productions may sound like traditional chamber music or acoustic rock, but they are actually created with digital samples, sequencers and software plugins. Lauren taught Audio Recording at Jamestown Community College for five years. Likewise, his visual art involves using graphics software. While he dearly loves new cameras and interesting software, he fights a never-ending battle to actually create art instead of just buying and figuring out how to use new gadgets.
After having read several hundred books on Neuroscience, Lauren sometimes can’t help viewing ancient scriptures as advanced instruction manuals for operating the human brain. His understanding of the human brain and technology has made him very aware of both the promise and the dangers of Artificial Intelligence. He is in the process of writing a book on how an understanding of neuroscience explains the growing polarization in our country. The tentative title is Dancing in the Minefield: American Tribalism.
Lauren loves to have deep discussions with anyone in the fields of religion, philosophy, ethics, the fine arts or politics, but he likes to learn new things more than talking about what he knows.
Lauren is UUCJ’s speaker on the third and fourth Sundays of odd months during UUCJ’s 2025-2026 church year as well as for our 140th Anniversary Celebration Sunday service on October 5, 2025.
Lauren has a passion for the creative arts. He writes novels and short stories, he enjoys photography, he loves the visual arts and music. In his younger years he was very involved in theatrical productions. One of his greatest joys is songwriting and composing music for his video productions.
Somewhat of a techno nerd like his two engineer brothers, Lauren’s music productions may sound like traditional chamber music or acoustic rock, but they are actually created with digital samples, sequencers and software plugins. Lauren taught Audio Recording at Jamestown Community College for five years. Likewise, his visual art involves using graphics software. While he dearly loves new cameras and interesting software, he fights a never-ending battle to actually create art instead of just buying and figuring out how to use new gadgets.
After having read several hundred books on Neuroscience, Lauren sometimes can’t help viewing ancient scriptures as advanced instruction manuals for operating the human brain. His understanding of the human brain and technology has made him very aware of both the promise and the dangers of Artificial Intelligence. He is in the process of writing a book on how an understanding of neuroscience explains the growing polarization in our country. The tentative title is Dancing in the Minefield: American Tribalism.
Lauren loves to have deep discussions with anyone in the fields of religion, philosophy, ethics, the fine arts or politics, but he likes to learn new things more than talking about what he knows.
Lauren is UUCJ’s speaker on the third and fourth Sundays of odd months during UUCJ’s 2025-2026 church year as well as for our 140th Anniversary Celebration Sunday service on October 5, 2025.
Rev. Alex Holt
Alex Holt has been a transitions minister, especially to smaller congregations in the UUA, for nearly 30 years. He served congregations all over the United States including Oregon, Washington State, Illinois, South Carolina, Texas, and most recently in Pennsylvania.
In 2023, Alex completed a successful contract ministry of four years in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and returned to Oregon. His life partner Debra lives in Eugene, and they both are Buddhist practitioners. Debra is a Buddhist chaplain at the hospital in Eugene, and Alex has entered that twilight zone of “partial retirement.”
He has recently celebrated 22 years of sobriety from alcoholism and continues to work with the Buddhist Recovery Network.
Alex grew up on a farm in Maine and dislikes corn muffins and pea soup in addition to Brussels sprouts.
He hopes to continue the joys of consulting and speaking at smaller congregations remotely or in person.
Alex is UUCJ's virtual speaker once monthly on even months during the 2025-2026 church year.
In 2023, Alex completed a successful contract ministry of four years in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and returned to Oregon. His life partner Debra lives in Eugene, and they both are Buddhist practitioners. Debra is a Buddhist chaplain at the hospital in Eugene, and Alex has entered that twilight zone of “partial retirement.”
He has recently celebrated 22 years of sobriety from alcoholism and continues to work with the Buddhist Recovery Network.
Alex grew up on a farm in Maine and dislikes corn muffins and pea soup in addition to Brussels sprouts.
He hopes to continue the joys of consulting and speaking at smaller congregations remotely or in person.
Alex is UUCJ's virtual speaker once monthly on even months during the 2025-2026 church year.
