Channing Memorial Church, Unitarian Universalist

Minister at Channing Memorial Church, Unitarian Universalist Ellicott City, Maryland

On June 22, 2003, the Congregation of Channing Memorial church called the Reverend Susan LaMar as minister to begin September 1st.

Reverend LaMar was born in Syracuse, New York in 1950. She was raised as a Unitarian Universalist and attended May Memorial Unitarian Church in Syracuse, N.Y. She attended Andover Newton Theological School from 1997-2001 where she received her Master of Divinity. She was ordained in May, 2002.

Reverend LaMar has been the Interim Associate Minister at the Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church in Pasadena, California, and did ministerial internships at the First Church in Belmont Unitarian Universalist, Belmont, MA, and before that at the First Congregational Church in Sutton, MA.

Before becoming a minister, Rev. LaMar worked in the fields of human services and social justice (employment and training, anti-violence work, and health care) where she held management positions. Of her previous experience, Rev. LaMar writes, “My work in the secular world of human services and social justice has given me a deep background in human struggles and what makes the world tick. Seminary training, CPE [chaplaincy training], and two parish internships have provided me the opportunity to expand the theological and spiritual dimensions of my own life, and to prepare to companion individuals and congregations on their journeys. My primary interests are in worship, preaching, and adult religious education with strong secondary interests in social justice, interfaith work, and pastoral care.”

Rev. LaMar is married to John A. “Jack” Hayes. She has one grown, married stepdaughter and 2 grandchildren.