Edward Piper has been serving as full-time minister of the Fellowship since 1997. During the early 1990s, Ed began to make the transition from Academic Administrator to Unitarian Universalist Minister and became actively involved in the UU Fellowship of Fredericksburg, where he served as president of the congregation. After completing the requirements for UU ministry, Ed was ordained in August 1996. He served concurrent part-time ministries on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and at Newport News, VA in the fall of 1996. Ed has also served as a congregational consultant for the Thomas Jefferson District of the UUA and a board member for the Valley Pastoral Counseling Center in Waynesboro.
Education and Teaching
A native of Ohio, Ed graduated from the College of Wooster and then attended the University of Chicago where he received a Ph.D. in psychology and religion. As a student in the 1960s, Ed was actively involved in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements. Ed taught psychology at West Virginia Wesleyan from 1971 to 1987. He also served as the first dean of the West Virginia Governor's Honors Academy, a summer program for gifted high school students. In 1987 Ed served as the Dean of Academic Services at Mary Washington College until 1995 and he has taught courses at the Lifelong Learning Institute at James Madison University.
Family Life and Interests
Ed has a grown daughter and son from his first marriage and now lives in the countryside near Port Republic with his wife Renée Herrell, who is an administrator at James Madison University. In his free time, Ed enjoys bicycling, hiking, canoeing, and other outdoor activities.
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past Sermons.
