Co-ministers of Canton Unitarian Church retiring

CANTON — K. Anne Marsh and Wade T. Wheelock are retiring after 16 years as married co-ministers of the Unitarian Universalist Church, but will remain as members of the congregation.

"It makes it a little easier to say goodbye to the role of minister because we'll still be here," the Rev. Ms. Marsh said. "Otherwise, it would be very difficult."

The couple has a role model in the Rev. Max A. Coots, who died March 3. He was the church's minister for 34 years before his retirement.

"His contribution in the congregation was a real gift," the Rev. Ms. Marsh said. "In 50 years, the congregation's only had two ministers. I think that says something about the congregation."

The couple will continue part-time as ministers for a Saranac Lake congregation.

"That much we know," the Rev. Mr. Wheelock said. "The rest is unwritten script."

Their last service will be June 28. An interim minister will be named shortly while a search committee looks for a permanent successor.

"We don't even pretend it's going to be a replacement," said Carol S. Pynchon, chairwoman of the search committee. "It's a tall order."

The couple was looking for a post together after completing Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago, where they went to take on second careers.

The Rev. Ms. Marsh had been a librarian at the University of Virginia and the Rev. Mr. Wheelock a professor focusing on religions of Asia at James Madison University in Virginia.

They met when someone wanted to start a fellowship at the Rev. Mr. Wheelock's school and his future wife came to help.

"We had both decided we wanted to become ministers independently," he said.

The Canton church is the only Unitarian Universalist congregation in St. Lawrence County, so its membership of 220 adults and 100 children comes from throughout the area. The church was open to a team ministry rather than a single person, which is slightly unusual.

The husband-and-wife team mostly split leading the service.

"We really respect each other's competencies," the Rev. Mr. Wheelock said. "By and large, we complement each other's styles."

Some found it hard to believe they worked so closely, but the Rev. Ms. Marsh said it helped to look to each other.

"It's actually been a great joy and comfort to have a partner that really understands what this job is," she said. "I think it's difficult for some spouses of ministers to understand that it is a 24/7 job."

During their tenure, the congregation raised $450,000 for a building addition, restored stained glass windows and improvements to the organ.

The church started a social justice committee and has vegetable gardens in Potsdam and Canton for sharing food with the hungry. Members staff a GardenShare booth at the Canton Farmers Market that helps food stamp recipients. The church also is active in supporting gay rights. It invested part of its endowment with the St. Lawrence County Housing Council for loans for first-time home buyers, and has money in a fund for microenterprise loans abroad.

The church's annual Rachel Somers Grant Social Action Award, which honors those who work for a more humane and progressive community, will go this year to the Rev. Mr. Wheelock and the Rev. Ms. Marsh.

"We feel they're really appropriate recipients because they have led by example and encouraged us to be more concerted in our social activities," Mrs. Pynchon said.