AURBURN

The First Universalist Church of Auburn, Unitarian Universalist, will ordain Donna Dolham into the Unitarian Universalist ministry.

The service, which is open to the public, will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 16, at the church, located at 169 Pleasant St.

Dolham has served as intern and sabbatical minister with the First Church and Parish, Unitarian Universalist, in Dedham, Massachusetts, and will being serving Denton Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Denton, Texas, as interim minister beginning in August. She has a masters degree in social work from Boston University, and a masters of divinity, with a certificate in ethics and justice and a focus on interreligious dialogue, from Andover Newton Theological School.

Prior to attending seminary, Dolham worked as a community health social worker for Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice. She also practiced clinical social work in both Auburn and Union, with a specialty working with transgender and genderqueer folks and their families. Since her early 20s, Dolham has been involved in community organizing efforts to increase access to basic rights for people living on the margins. Her interests have recently engaged her in several immersion courses exploring Buddhism in Myanmar, Sufi practice in California, and multireligious education in Israel.

Dolham’s discovery of Unitarian Universalism began when she entered the doors of Auburn’s First Universalist Church in 1991. She has since served two different UU congregations as president of the board of trustees, among other positions. She has been a volunteer facilitator for the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Beyond Categorical Thinking program, for congregations in ministerial transition, since 2001.

The BCT program helps congregations recognize and deconstruct bias, as it relates to their settled ministerial search process. This work has taken her to more than 50 congregations throughout the Northeast. She has also worked for the New England Region of the UUA as a peer facilitator, engaging congregational leaders through leadership retreats.