Rev. Wendy Pantoja comes to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palisades (UUCP) as our half-time consulting minister. She will lead worship twice a month as well as periodic adult programs, meet with the board of trustees, provide pastoral care, and serve as advisor and resource to teams and committees as needed. She can be reached at 201-568-5540 extension 1. Office hours are by appointment.
Wendy comes to UUCP after a successful summer ministry with the Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. As part of her preparation for the Unitarian Universalist ministry, she served as a student chaplain at Overlook Hospital during the summer of 2006. She also served as student minister at the First Unitarian Society of Plainfield and as intern minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair.
Wendy graduated from Meadville Lombard Theological School with a Masters of Divinity degree and was awarded a prize in ministry. While a student at Meadville, she served on the Catalyst for Change Committee, a joint committee of administration, faculty, staff, and students, working to undo institutional racism. She also participated in the Civil Rights Tour twice, first as a student and more recently as a staff member.
A native speaker of Spanish, Wendy is bilingual, English/Spanish. She received a bachelors of arts degree from Brooklyn College where she majored in Spanish and had a double minor in education and French. Her subsequent graduate work included a year of study in Spain and culminated in a masters of arts degree in bilingual education from New York University. Wendy went on to have a successful career for many years as an educator with the New York City public school system.
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wendy came to the mainland with her family when she was four years old. She lived in many parts of New York City most of her life before moving to Westfield, New Jersey about fourteen years ago. She has a son, Jason, who is a young adult living in Massachusetts.
Wendy has been a member of the First Unitarian Society of Plainfield since 1999 where she began serving as a lay leader almost from the time she signed the book. She is steeped in the anti-racism and anti-oppression work of our denomination, serving as co-chair of the Anti-Racism and Diversity Committee of the Metro New York district, facilitator for the Beyond Categorical Thinking program, and planning committee member for the Unitarian Universalist Living Legacy Civil Rights Pilgrimage.
