Mark Beal
Mark Beal is a native New Englander and has lived with his wife Sarah in the Monadnock region for 23 years. An electrical engineer by trade, he graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a BSEE in 1982. Mark was raised Catholic, but had no religious practices prior to coming to Unitarian Universalism.
Victoria Burnham
A California native, Victoria Burnham lives in Bennington, NH, with her husband and three sons. She recently became a middle school teacher after completing certification. She has a BA in English and an MEd in Literacy.
She first came to the PUUC in 2003, and became a member in 2009. Victoria has been involved with RE as a committee member, and in various activities such as the winter pageant and Otterbrook farm program.
In her spare time Victoria enjoys reading, drawing, writing poetry, and generally being creative. You can often find her in her happy place, the great outdoors. She enjoys meandering, hiking, swimming, skiing, snowshoeing, and bird watching. Victoria loves to laugh, and tries to see the bright side of every situation.
Ray Dodge
A lifelong resident of the area, I was raised in the Catholic church and quickly abandoned that tradition upon reaching adulthood. Today, I am a practicing Secular Humanist. I am a retired police chief, serving for twenty-five years in various law enforcement capacities for several agencies in the region. I currently write software and work from home. I am involved with several activism projects. Most recently, I was very active with repeal of the death penalty in New Hampshire, including testifying before legislative committees on numerous occasions. I’m now immersing myself in jail/criminal justice reform and drug law repeal.
Since joining this church in 2007, I have been active on many committees, including the Standing Committee (the Board), Committee on Ministry, Stewardship, Fundraising and Social Justice. I’m grateful to call this community my spiritual home where I garner a lot of strength and compassion. I like being around people who share my values and opinions.
I’m 55 years old and currently single. I have two adult daughters and three grandchildren. I am very active and enjoy bicycling, kayaking, hiking, running, skiing (alpine and nordic), skating, snowshoeing, weight training, and softball. I’ve completed two half marathons and would like to complete a full marathon if my reconstructed left knee will allow for that. I do enjoy the friendship of a special person in my life who is the congregation’s musical accompanist. She shares in many of those activities with me as well as taking in plays, concerts, and travel.
Laura Gourlay
I am a School Counselor in the ConVal district, and my husband, Jonathan and I have raised two boys, Ethan, who is 18 and a college freshman at UMass-Amherst, and Becket, who is 16 and a junior at ConVal High School, in Peterborough. I have a BA in English from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT, and an M. Ed. degree in School Counseling from Keene State College. Prior to changing my career to school counseling, I was in the business world for 19 years in human resources, marketing, and conference and meeting planning at two large global business advisory firms.
I have been a member of the PUUC for 11 years, and served as an RE teacher for the lower primary for a number of years, as well as a stint on the Standing Committee. Jonathan and I were members of the Unitarian Universalist church in Stratford, CT before moving to New Hampshire. I enjoy hiking, skiing, reading, music and spending time with friends and family.
We call PUUC our spiritual home, and participate in the life of this church because it provides us with the opportunity to serve the greater good, to share in a welcoming community, and to explore our spiritual and philosophical beliefs with other like-minded people.
Jill Shaffer Hammond
I'm a semi-retired graphic designer, working from home for most of my career. I was born in Massachusetts, grew up in western Pennsylvania, attended college in Connecticut (BA, Connecticut College, Class '70), and moved to New Hampshire more than 35 years ago to take a job at Yankee Magazine. A few years later I went freelance, primarily designing books for Yankee and other publishers in the New England region. Currently, I share my big 10-room Colonial house in Peterborough, my home for more than 30 years, with my son and daughter-in-law, occasional roomers, two dogs, and four cats.
PUUC has been my spiritual home for more than twenty years, or much longer if one counts the years I attended the Lyceum regularly prior to joining the church. My religious background was generic American Protestant, but my mother studied Eastern religions, exposing me to ideas of reincarnation and karma long before meditation and yoga became the new thing during my hippy days.
While here at PUUC, I have served on the Standing Committee, the Finance Committee, the Endowment Restructuring Committee, and six years on the Lyceum committee. Outside of the PUUC, I served three terms (six years) as a NH state representative. My greatest pleasure was being able to vote for marriage equality when NH passed it.
In my spare time I like to take long walks with my fifth black dog, Savannah, a rescue from Tennessee.
Rick Miller
Rick Miller grew up in Centerville, OH, just south of Dayton, went to college in Indiana, earning an AB at Manchester College and an MBA at Indiana University. He pursued a career in production and manufacturing engineering, primarily marketing and sales positions in both small and large companies, and retired in 2007.
In 2004, Rick and his wife bought their home in Greenville, where he is very active in civic affairs. Rick has served his town on the recreation, beautification, and finance committees. He is a past president of the Souhegan Lions Club. He is the statistician for the Townsend (MA) Horseshoe League.
Rick has been a UU for 13 years and joined this church in 2008. He has served on the Standing Committee, Membership/Publicity, Property, Stewardship, and Grants/Fundraising Committee. He sings bass in the choir. During the Peterborough 275th Anniversary Celebration, Rick organized tours of our church.
Julie Flood Page
I have been a UU since 1979 when I realized I was taking the Gospel stories as metaphors and everyone else in my Episcopal church were going with Gospel truths. I tried a UU church and never looked back. I've been a member of PUUC since 2006 when my husband and I retired to live in Rindge, NH.
I worked 30 years as a Social Worker in the Home Care Department of a neighborhood health center in Boston. I worked with a team of nurses, home health aides, physical and occupational therapists in Dorchester, Roxbury, and South Boston. I loved my work and the mostly elderly people that we were able to help back to health. I received my BA in Social Work at Penn State and my MSW at the University of Maryland.
I am the mother of five adult children and grandmother of six. I like to garden, hike and dance. My husband and I both do a lot of volunteering at church and with other area non-profits.
