Our Ministers

Ministers Serving UUCLR

Carl Whittier  Carl was a student minister assigned by the American Unitarian Association to serve the Little Rock Fellowship during the summer of 1954.  He spent two months in Little Rock and stayed for a few days to a week with different members of the congregation.  The Reverend Whittier was ordained in 1955 and later served churches in Scituate, MA; Springfield, MO, and Columbus, OH.  He retired in 1987.

Charles Addition Wing  Reverend Wing was ordained in 1912 by the Unitarian Church in Concord, NH.  From 1955-1958, he was “Minister-at-Large” for the American Unitarian Association.  It was during this period that he served the Little Rock congregation, probably in 1957-58. He  was in his late sixties, or early seventies in 1958. During his career, Reverend Wing served churches in Concord, NH; Baltimore, MD; Springfield, MA; Denver, CO; Quincy, MA, Hingham, MA, and Tulsa, OK.  He died August 20, 1970.

Richard W. Kelley   Reverend Kelley served here from 1959 to 1967 during which time UUCLR officially became a church.  It was also at this time the American Unitarian Association merged with the Universalist Church in America (1961).  Most significantly, we grew in member families and ambition, and planned, successfully financed, and built our present Sanctuary and RE building on Reservoir road.  Rick left to go to another church in Los Alamos, New Mexico.  He also served Paint Branch UU Church in Adelphi, MD. Where he was awarded the title of minister emeritus on his retirement in 1991.  He served the congregation in Hagerstown, MD, for three years after his retirement.  He now lives in Compton, MD. 

Fred F. Campbell  Reverend Campbell served UUCLR from 1967 to 1975. The church continued to grow, though at a slower pace.  After leaving UUCLR, he moved to the Grosse Point (MI) UU Church.  More recently he has served as interim minister for several congregations.  He retired in 1998. 

Gerald Duncan Sylvester   From 1975 to 1982, Reverend Sylvester was the minister.  Gerry died in 1985.   His widow, Maria, has maintained some contact with the church. 

Carl Wartenburg  Reverend Wartenburg was ordained by UUCLR in 1980 although he was never admitted to fellowship as a UU minister.  He served as the part-time interim minister after the resignation of Gerry Sylvester until the Reverend Jean Rickard arrived in February 1983.  Carl was on the faculty at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas.  He died in 1996.

Jean M. Rickard  Reverend Rickard began her service in 1983 and completed it in 1992.  She was the first, and to date, only minister who took a sabbatical leave. While Jean was minister, the church mounted a very successful capital campaign to add a fellowship hall to the existing campus as well as enlarge the sanctuary and remodel the RE building.  She currently serves the Neshoba UU Church in Cordova, Tennessee.  She has remarried and uses the name Jean M. Rowe. 

Fern C. Stanley  Reverend Stanley was the interim minister during the 1993-1994 church year.  She was an accredited interim minister, now deceased.

Jo Ellen Willis   Reverend Willis was called to the UUCLR pulpit in 1994 and completed her service in 2002.  During this time, the church has paid off its mortgage and hired its first full time RE Director. 

Alexander "Scotty" Meek  While "mostly retired"  Reverend Meek agreed to join our church for a six month interim period beginning in January, 2003 which he graciously extended to April 2004.  Scotty, now retired and residing in Arizona, led the congregation gently toward a "unity of diversity" and was voted as UUCLR's first Minister Emeritus in April 2004. 

Bob Klein  Reverend Klein became our settled minister April 4, 2004 and began active ministry the middle of August 2004.