Steven Ferraro

Steven Ferraro

I am so pleased to have the opportunity to share with you what Beacon means to me. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Steven Ferraro, and I have been a member at Beacon since February 2019, along with my wife Katie, and my children Penny and Graham.

When my wife and I decided to get married, it never occurred to me that we would choose to hold the ceremony in a church. Spirituality was always important to me, but I never found a home in the established religious institution I grew up with. When my wife suggested that we get married in a Unitarian Universalist church in Manhattan where we lived, I said … “what’s that?” However, after some research and our first meeting with the minister, we not only understood where to hold our marriage ceremony, but I started considering how to incorporate Unitarian Universalism in my life.

After moving to New Jersey, we found a home in Beacon. Each week, Beacon has provided me with a reset. Whatever challenges, stress or obstacles occurred in the week prior, I have found our Sunday services to provide clarity. Specifically, during the worst parts of the pandemic, Beacon was one of our only connections to “normal life.”

When I think of Beacon, I also think of how lucky we are to raise our children in a progressive and welcoming community that doesn’t seek to teach our children what to think, but will guide them in their own journey. We never felt that Beacon simply accepted our children in Sunday services, but actively wanted and appreciated their presence. We're so excited for our children to start in Beacon's religious education program, and watch them share in our collective values and develop their own spiritual path.