...a welcoming spiritual community

Staff Office Hours and Contact Information

Getting to know the North Parish staff . . .

Rev. Lee Bluemel, Minister

      Lee Bluemel was installed as the 17th called minister of The North Parish on October 24, 1999, exactly 354 years from the date of the founding of the church in 1645. A native of the Bay State and a life-long Unitarian Universalist, she grew up in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester which reflected and supported her childhood curiosity and joy. There she experienced a deep sense of belonging in an intergenerational community, a wider world community and the universe, and developed an appreciation of human kindness and the many paths to religious truths.

      Rev. Lee earned her bachelor's degree in English and anthropology from Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts, and her master of divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts. She completed student ministries at the First and Second Church of Boston under the Rev. Rhys Williams, an internship at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Wellesley Hills in Wellesley, Massachusetts, under the Rev. John Nichols, and her hospital chaplaincy training at UMass Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.

      She was ordained by the Wellesley Hills congregation on May 14, 1995. Before settling at North Parish, she served the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Midland, Michigan, for four years from 1995 to 1999.

      Since coming to North Parish, Rev. Lee has supported the development of a number of new ministries among us: a lay Caring Team and lay Worship Assistants, small group circles and the Center for Spiritual Renewal, Partakers Prison Ministry, and a Romanian Partner Church connection as well as two independent non-profits, Stand and Deliver MCAS Mentoring and Jericho Road Lawrence, which were spun off from church social action projects.

      During her ministry the congregation has also completed a $2.1 million preservation, renovation, and fire safety building project, become a UUA certified “Welcoming Congregation,” and has expanded the music and religious education ministries.

      Rev. Lee is married to Terry Buchanan, a family doctor practicing in Nashua, New Hampshire, whom she first met while working for the Appalachian Mountain Club’s hut system in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. They have two young children, Andrew and Emma, and share their North Andover home with two cats and a beta fish.

Kim Tracy, Congregational Administrator

      Kim Tracy became our Congregational Administrator at The North Parish in June of 2009 having served most recently for six years the assistant administrator at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist church in Arlington, Massachusetts.

      Kim, who lives in Winchester, Massachusetts, is an active member of the Winchester Unitarian Society. There she serves on the board of trustees, which there is called the Standing Committee. Before switching careers to motherhood and then church administration, Kim worked as a senior leasing officer with Banc New England Leasing Group. She holds a bachelor of science degree in consumer economics and public policy from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and a master's in business administration in finance and accounting from Northeastern University in Boston. Kim is the mother of two children, Matthew and John, who are both in college. She is looking forward to an “empty nest” with her husband, John Prokos.

  Click here for Kim Tracy's office hours and contact information

Carolyn Zimmer, Membership Coordinator

      As membership coordinator Carolyn supports the Membership Committee in their efforts to welcome, orient, and integrate all newcomers to the congregation. She helps plan our regular New UU classes and helps friends of the church make the transition to full membership.

      Carolyn received her bachelor's degree from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, and her masters of business administration from Boston University. She worked in the financial services industry for 14 years before joining the North Parish staff in September of 2004.

      She lives in North Andover with her husband, James, their two daughters, Anna and Zoë, and niece, Gabriella Sanoguel.

Danielle Gerrior, Director of Religious Education

      Danielle Gerrior joined the staff of North Parish as director of religious education in September 2009.

      Danielle, who lives in Arlington, has served as a director of religious education for the past four years, first at the First Unitarian Church of Chicago, Illinois, and then at the Follen Community Church in Lexington, MA. As she writes, she has thus served in “a small but ethnically diverse urban church and a thriving, mid-sized suburban congregation.” She received a BA in English from Stonehill College, MA and her master of divinity degree from Meadville/Lombard Theological School, IL.

      “My particular strengths are storytelling, a passion for Unitarian Universalism, familiarity with a wide range of curricula, deep appreciation for the emotional and spiritual lives of young people, and a real commitment to collegiality," she writes. " I see in North Parish a community that takes seriously its spiritual life and its social commitments.” She brings a deep knowledge of faith development, experience in creating family worship services and a passion for engaging children and youth in meaningful social action.

      Danielle is a life-long Unitarian Universalist, having grown up in Massachusetts in the First Parish Church of Beverly, UU congregation. She currently lives in Arlington and has relatives in Bradford, Beverly, and Westport, MA. She enjoys Cajun music, puzzles, cooking, and being a doting aunt to her nephew, Ryan, and her niece, Emma.

Heather McNeil, Nursery Supervisor

      Heather McNeil joined the North Parish staff as nursery supervisor in September 2009. Heather is an elementary and special education teacher with experience teaching pre-school through grade five and holds professional teaching certifications in elementary education and special needs education. She received her bachelor of arts in elementary and special needs education from Boston College and a master’s in special education from Boston University.

      Among her community commitments, Heather is also the represents North Andover and Andover with the organization Stand For Children.

      She writes, “I am a teacher who enjoys creating exploratory centers. I am most concerned with creating an environment which feels warm, safe, and happy and engages all children with a variety of activities at various levels and incorporates their very diverse interests and strengths.” Heather is the mother of two daughters, Elise and Maylen. She and her husband, Justin Nealey, have been members of North Parish since 2005.

Richard Beaudoin, Sexton

      Richard Beaudoin has worked as the sexton of the North Parish since July of 1995. Richard also works full-time as a sheet metal mechanic. Richard served in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam conflict. He and his wife, Linda, have been married and have lived in North Andover for over 25 years and have two sons and two daughters.

Welcoming Congregation

North Parish is a Welcoming Congregation, consistent with the guidelines of the Unitarian Universalist Association. We actively welcome lesbian, gay. bisexual, transgender, and intersex people as full participants in the life of the church. For more information, see our Welcoming Congregation page.