Rev. Dr. Frances Sink, UUC Minister Emeritus

Frances Sink was the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation (UUC) in Stamford from 2012-2020.  She was ordained by the congregation in January of 2013. Rev. Frances came to us as a Developmental Minister — a minister with the abilities and vision necessary to help a congregation assess its mission, develop its programs and presence in the community and grow. She has been an enthusiastic supporter of our congregation’s historical mission to be a liberal religious presence in downtown Stamford as we discover the new expressions of that legacy for today’s world.  In Rev. Frances’s words:

Stamford is a hopeful and resilient city, rich with an amazing diversity of people across cultures, generations, with both long-time residents and new immigrants. Our congregation — on our downtown Stamford corner — is immersed in this vibrancy and potential. We bring to the mix an open and inclusive spiritual home — for seekers, for people hungry for meaningful community and for people wanting to express their values in service and community connections. We invite people to creatively join their emerging life mission to ours to the benefit of themselves and our larger community.

Rev. Frances completed her Masters of Divinity (M.Div.) degree at Yale Divinity School in 2010 and entered Preliminary Fellowship with the Unitarian Universalist Association in 2012. Before coming to Stamford, she completed a ministerial internship in Mt. Kisco, NY, and also provided consulting ministry in Stratford, CT.

Rev. Frances pursued Unitarian Universalist ministry after a successful career of over 20 years in public and private clinical psychology practice in Boston, MA, and Fairfield County, CT. Her commitment to Unitarian Universalism grew through her years in service as a congregational lay leader and then as a consultant to congregations for the UU Metro NY District. Rev. Frances felt her life calling shift as her personal spirituality deepened and she witnessed the power of congregations to transform lives.

While at Yale Divinity School, Rev. Frances studied religious environmentalism and world and indigenous religions. In those studies, she cultivated the theological grounding for a spirituality that embraces scientific reason and intellectual curiosity within a reverence for life and its mysteries. Her spiritual practice is mindfulness mediation in the Vipassana tradition, which she continues to study, and she facilitates a weekly practice group and workshops at UUC.

Her work as a psychologist in hospitals and social service agencies prepared Rev. Frances for the strong social justice emphasis of the Unitarian Universalist tradition. In her words, “When you work in community service, the needs can at times feel insurmountable. It is easy to become discouraged. But our liberal religious tradition inspires us with its commitment for the long haul. We know that our efforts today build on those who came before. We do the same for the next wave. Justice making is a journey that continues onward as we each do our part.”

In July 2020, Rev. Frances retired from congregational ministry.  Because of the outstanding work she did with UUC during her period of serving our congregation, Rev. Frances was bestowed the honor of Minister Emeritus.