Meet Our Senior Minister, Reverend Manish Mishra-Marzetti
The Reverend Manish Mishra-Marzetti has warm and engaging preaching style that appeals to both heart and head. He is a lifelong learner, scholar and author, a loving husband and parent of young children, a UU leader committed to community involvement and outspoken public ministry. He is a deeply thoughtful person who draws inspiration from UUism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Humanism, Christianity and Lakota spirituality.
Prior to entering the ministry, Rev. Manish was a U.S. diplomat during the Clinton Administration. He has served as Senior Minister of congregations in Florida, New Jersey and Massachusetts.
He enjoys boxing, hiking in the desert and science fiction.
He brings us a broad world view.
Rev. Manish was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the eldest son of immigrants from India. He says “Growing up, I was raised Hindu, in a Jewish neighborhood, in a predominantly Christian country: religious pluralism and cultural bridge-building were, and continue to be, inherent to who I am. My father instilled in me a deep respect for education and hard work, while my mother passed on to me a pragmatic and flexible worldview, one that respected “truth,” wisdom, and good works, wherever they may be found.”
He is passionate about UUism and serves in UU leadership.
He has served extensively in UU leadership, including as president of the Diverse and Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries (DRUUMM, our national UU people of color organization) He has served as a trustee on the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Board of Trustees.
He shares UUAA’s passion for social justice.
Rev. Manish says “For me, bringing our Unitarian Universalist values alive in the world, in partnership with interfaith neighbors and local community organizers, is central to my vision of ministry.” With his Florida congregation, he helped build and lead a regional interfaith coalition in support of employment equality for transgender individuals; His New Jersey congregation built a solar field on the church’s property; congregants also engaged in an experiential learning opportunity with African-American leaders in neighboring Camden, NJ to explore how the intersection of environmental degradation and poverty affects them. In 2016, he led a group of congregants from Massachusetts to the Arizona borderlands, fostering dialogue and relationship with local Latino communities.
He is skilled in church administration.
Rev. Manish over 15 years of experience as a Senior Minister in three different congregations. He is very comfortable with matters of finance and has developed and worked under shared leadership governance. He has fostered significant gains in membership and pledging in his previous congregations.
Meet Rev. Manish's Family
Rev. Manish's husband Jeff and his children Mina and Jacen joined the UUAA community in August, 2018. Jeff is an artist and currently a stay-at-home dad. He grew up outside of Detroit.
Education
Master of Divinity, Harvard University, 2005.
Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service, Georgetown University, 1993.
Some Selected Writings, Honors and Awards
Conversations with the Sacred, Skinner House Books, May 2020.
Justice on Earth: People of Faith Working at the Intersections of Race, Class, and the Environment, co-edited with Jennifer Nordstrom, Skinner House Books, March 2018.
*LISTEN TO a discussion of Justice on Earth on the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF) website by following this link.
“The Ping-Pong Effect: Radical Social Change Through Cultural Diffusion, lecture presented at the Gandhi Memorial Seminar honoring the spiritual connections between Transcendentalism, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Sponsored by the India Discovery Center of Greater Boston, October 2017.
“Life-Altering Grace,” in Testimony: The Transformative Power of Unitarian Universalism, Skinner House Books, fall 2017.
“A Thousand Ways to Pray,” in Quest for Meaning, Church of the Larger Fellowship, November 2016.
In recognition of its strong growth trajectory, the Unitarian Universalist Church in Cherry Hill was named a Threshold Congregation by the Central East Regional Group (CERG) of the UUA, spring 2012.
Watermark Magazine’s Award for Variety and Excellence (WAVE), “One of Tampa Bay’s Favorite Local Spiritual Leaders,” fall 2008 and 2007.
“Rethinking High School World Religions: Pedagogical Options for Addressing Ethical and Cultural Relativism,” Gateways to Spirituality, Peter Lang Publishers, summer 2005.
Recipient of the U.S. State Department's Superior Honor Award for work as a member of the U.S. Delegation to the UN Commission on Human Rights and other human rights cooperation/advocacy, summer 2000.