We are delighted to welcome Arif Mamdani as First Universalist’s new Director of Membership and Adult Ministries. He has officially started in this position as of August 1. As Revs. Jen and Justin wrote when they announced Arif’s hire, “We believe that Arif is the perfect person to build on the already strong foundation that Rev. Elaine Aron Tenbrink built in her tenure with First Universalist.” They continued: “In our interview, we were impressed by Arif’s thoughtfulness, his insightful questions, his deep curiosity, his open heart, and his obvious love of Unitarian Universalism.”

Arif brings over a decade of experience in non-profits, social justice organizations, and faith communities. He is a gifted facilitator, curriculum developer, organizer, preacher, and strategic thinker.

Arif graduated from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in May 2019. He has until recently served as a ministerial consultant at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Minnetonka. Prior to that, he served as a full time intern at Unity Unitarian Church in St. Paul, where he participated in the full breadth and depth of large church ministry. During his internship, he coached and supported the Men’s Retreat Planning Team as they led their largest retreat to date, and he served on the Beloved Community Staff Team, supporting the racial justice programming in the church. Prior to his internship, Arif served as the Associate Director of the Kaleo Center for Faith, Justice and Social Transformation.

Arif will be preaching on Sunday, Aug. 11, and he’ll be facilitating the upcoming Pathway to Membership class on Aug. 13 and 20. Arif will be reaching out to lay-leaders for fall and year-long programming in the coming days. He can be reached at arif [at] firstuniv.org and 612-825-1701 x124.