Rev. Sonia Ketchian (Minister) is an Interfaith/Inter-Spiritual Minister, Love Activist, Spiritual Counselor, and Meditation Facilitator. She received her ordination from One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in 2013.
Soon thereafter, Rev. Sonia co-founded One Spirit in Action (OSIA), the sacred service and activism arm of One Spirit Learning Alliance. During her years as co-director, OSIA facilitated initiatives in response to homelessness, poverty, racism, religion and violence, xenophobia, domestic violence, LGBTQ issues, climate crisis, gun violence, and mass incarceration. As a native New Yorker, she’s drawn to street ministry and opportunities which serve NYC’s underserved communities.
Rev. Sonia joined us at UUCP in the midst of the pandemic in 2020, bringing along years of experience in activism, extensive knowledge of interfaith traditions, and a profoundly compassionate heart. As a Love Activist, she works to help dissolve the illusion of separation she feels is at the core of humanity’s experience of suffering.
When asked what’s her religious affiliation? She shares “Love is my Religion and is at the core of it all.”
Rev. Philippa “Pippa” Jones (Associate Minister) is currently living and working in Cape Town, South Africa, where she is an active member of the Cape Town Interfaith Initiative, serving on the Board and leading their Interfaith and Intercultural Youth Program.
As a longtime resident of New York City, Pippa pursued her lifelong interest in global spirituality and practices, graduating from One Spirit Interfaith Seminary (Class of 2012) as an ordained Interfaith minister. Since then, her passion for learning has taken her to Australia for a Bachelor’s degree in Theology, then to the Netherlands and South Africa to prepare for a Master’s in Interfaith Studies. As part of her Master’s research, she recorded several oral histories of key figures involved in Interfaith during the Liberation Struggle in South Africa; she is also now involved in an ongoing research project on global Indigenous Knowledge Systems and activism.
Pippa is a teacher by profession. She specializes in adult education, Academic English, and the Cambridge English Exam Preparation Courses for international students.
As an active member of the ministerial team for ‘Interfaith Sydney’ in Australia, she regularly contributed to their monthly services at Pitt Street Uniting Church (2013-2016) and co-founded the Sydney Sacred Center in 2017. Pippa also served as a Board Member for One Spirit Seminary, New York (2017-2021).
An avid world traveler, Pippa is profoundly interested in old and new cultures, and a lover of the written word, especially sacred poetry and the wisdom traditions. Pippa seeks to use her knowledge and skills to help build cross-cultural awareness and tolerance, and to become an ambassador of healing, reconciliation and greater understanding between communities, locally, nationally and internationally.
She has been an associate minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palisades since May 2022 and holds twice monthly services online.
