Rev. LoraKim Joyner, DVM and Rev. Meredith Garmon, PhD, were called to be our ministers by unanimous congregational vote in April 2006, and began serving in August.

Both ministers were born and raised in the Southeast, and served as co-ministers to the Unitarian Universalist Community of El Paso for two years before coming to Gainesville.

LoraKim and Meredith met in Nashville and married there in 2000. Meredith has two grown children: daughter Morgen is in New York studying Library Sciences, and son John is at the University of Georgia studying agricultural economics. Meredith and LoraKim have adopted two Honduran refugees who live with them: Yency Contreras (b. 1987) and Osman Sanchez (b. 1988).

Their coministry will end on July 31, 2010 when Rev. LoraKim Joyner leaves parish ministry to pursue community multi-species ministry.

Rev. Meredith Garmon was overwhelmingly elected sole full-time minister at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville on January 31, 2010, at a congregational meeting following Sunday service called for that purpose.

Meredith is a life-long Unitarian Universalist, raised by UU parents, and attending several UU churches throughout his life.  As a layperson, Meredith served as president of the UU Fellowship of Waco, TX, as Vice-president of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church - UU in Charlottesville, VA, and as chair of Adult Religious Education at First UU of Nashville, TN.

Meredith has five degrees in four different fields: BA, philosophy, State University of West Georgia, 1979; BA, English, State University of West Georgia, 1980; MA, communication studies, Baylor University, 1985; MA, philosophy, University of Virginia, 1991; PhD, government: political theory, University of Virginia, 1992.

He was an assistant professor of philosophy at Fisk University (Nashville,TN) for four years, 1992-1996 before studying for the ministry. Meredith attended seminary at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities (New Brighton, MN) for one year (2000-01); Shaw University Divinity School (Raleigh, NC) for one year (2001-02), and Meadville-Lombard Theological Seminary for one year (2003).

He was admitted to the Fellowship of UU ministers in 2004, and was ordained later that year at the UU Community of El Paso, where he served as half-time co-minister with spouse and fellow minister, Rev. LoraKim Joyner, DVM (2004-6).  While co-minister in El Paso, he was the half-time sole minister to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Midland, Texas for a year, 2005-06.  In 2006, he was again called to co-ministry with Rev. Joyner at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville, FL and will serve in that capacity through July 2010.  In 2008, he received Final Fellowship at the UUA General Assembly. Meredith has also served as a consulting minister to the UU Church of Tarpon Springs (2008), and to the UU Fellowship of Marion County (2009-10).

Meredith has studied and practiced Zen Buddhism since 2001.  He currently runs the UU Zen Center from the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville, with meetings on Friday evenings.  He also leads a Saturday morning UU Meditative Worship Service.

LoraKim was an avian veterinarian before going into ministry.

• Bachelor of Science, avian sciences, University of California at Davis, 1979
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, nondomestic animal medicine, UC-Davis, 1986
• Masters in Preventive Veterinary Medicine, avian research, UC-Davis, 1990
• Master of Divinity, Vanderbilt University, 2000

Though LoraKim doesn't practice as a veterinarian anymore, she maintains her license. She lived for almost five years in Guatemala where she worked on parrot preservation projects. She taught on the faculty of the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, 1995-97. Prior to beginning co-ministry with Meredith, LoraKim was the full-time sole minister in El Paso for two years, 2002-04.

LoraKim is an Initiate on the Sufi path.

Ruth Lewis received the Master of Fine Arts degree in organ performance from the University of Florida in 1986, studying both organ and harpsichord with Willis Bodine. She also holds the Teacher's and Performer's Diplomas in piano from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and a Bachelor of Arts degree from UF. She has been an active performer in the Gainesville area, presenting concerts and recitals as soloist, chamber musician, and choral director. She especially enjoys featuring new or seldom heard works. Her programs have included such themes as "Organ Treasures from Scandinavia," "The Harpsichord — Celebrating a Century of Revival," "Music in Praise of Music," and "A Centennial Tribute to Paul Robeson."

Ruth began teaching piano at the age of 12 and has continued doing so to this day. She currently maintains a private piano studio in Gainesville. She holds state and national certification from the Music Teachers National Association. She is active in a number of musical organizations and recently completed two years as president of the Gainesville Music Teachers Association.

Ruth serves as Minister of Music at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville, where she founded and directs three choirs for adults, children and youth. Two years ago the congregation honored her for 30 years service by secretly commissioning a choral anthem, Summon Our Voices, from Unitarian Universalist composer Rev. Jason Shelton of First UU Church of Nashville, with words by Reverend Dr. Kendyl Gibbons, minister at the  First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis, and bringing the composer to Gainesville to conduct the premiere performance of the anthem.

In March 2007, Ruth organized the first Florida District Unitarian Universalist Choral Festival, with choirs from 6 congregations around the state attending Saturday rehearsals and workshops and then singing, 70 voices strong, for the Sunday service the following morning. The 2008 Second Annual Florida District UU Choral Festival was held in Orlando with ten groups participating! The Annual Choral Festival has become an important event in the Florida district.

Eddie Neimann began his piano studies at the age of six with his grandfather, Arthur Kurtz, a student of the legendary Nadia Boulanger.  He demonstrated remarkable talent at an early age and won several piano competitions in the St. Louis area.  At the age of 15, his family relocated to Fort Dodge, Iowa, and he began studying with Cyndie Caruth.

While studying with Cyndie, Eddie won numerous competitions and appeared with several orchestras.  He won first place in both the IMTA and MTNA (state of Iowa) high school piano competitions.  As a result of winning several young artist competitions, Eddie appeared as soloist performing concertos by Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff with the Kansas City, Sioux City, and Fort Dodge Symphonies. He also won the Terrace Hill Governor’s Piano Competition and was accepted by videotape audition into the Performer’s Program at the prestigious TCU/Van Cliburn International Piano Institute in the summer of 1997.  In the fall of 1999, Eddie accepted a full scholarship at the University of Northern Iowa where he studied with Howard Aibel.

During his time at UNI, Eddie won the MTNA (state of Iowa) collegiate piano competition and was twice a finalist in the Schubert Competition.  He also won the prestigious Presser Scholarship during his senior year.

After graduating from UNI, Eddie continued his studies as a graduate assistant at the University of Florida where he received the Master of Music degree in Piano Performance as a student of Boaz Sharon.

Coming soon.

Jane Edwards has a Masters in Creative Writing and for twenty years taught literature and writing to students in middle school through college, as well as basic skills to brain-damaged and emotionally disturbed children. 

She has been socially active as a VISTA in Appalachia in the '70s, organizer of an environmental conference featuring keynote speaker Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and member of the board of the Mental Health Coalition of North Florida.  She has received recognition for her work with the homeless mentally ill. 

She has been a "closet UU" throughout her life and stepped out of the closet when she came to UUFG.