First U welcomes Cummins Ministerial Intern, Nico Van Ostrand
News –
From Nico:
I am honored and excited to be joining First Universalist Church as Cummins Ministerial Intern. My call to ministry first came over a decade ago, and it has been a wonderful and winding journey since. I started out as a religious educator, which continues to ground my approach to ministry. You may witness this in my love of multigenerational community, storytelling, and relational youth leadership. I am called to and moving towards BIPOC-centered UU ministry; I strive to follow the lead of BIPOC UUs, connect Filipino tradition and culture to my faith, and help make the culture change necessary for antiracism in Unitarian Universalism.
While I will likely share quite a bit of myself with you all during this ministerial internship, part of my work this church year is to practice setting and holding boundaries around my privacy, time, and spirit. Still, there are a few non-UU things about me that I want to share. My partner Jinhee and I have three cats: Max, Louie, and Subi. I like dinosaurs, birds, Star Trek, and puzzles. I grew up playing piano fairly intensely and now play daily just for myself. Being trans and nonbinary is an increasingly visible way I show up in the world. I love and am loved by the local Filipino community. I bring all of this and more with me everywhere I go.
Over the next several months, I hope we will talk about UU theology, the things you love about this congregation, and your fears and dreams for the world. I hope to learn from and with you about the life and workings of a large UU congregation in this political and cultural moment. I hope that when we let each other down, we will figure out how to get back into covenant together. I hope our time together is beautiful, challenging, imperfect, and playful. I am looking forward to connecting with and getting to know you all in coming weeks!
From Rev. Jen:
What a joy it is to welcome Cummins Ministerial Intern, Nico Van Ostrand, to First Universalist! Nico began their internship with us on September 7th, and will be with us through June of 2026. I’ve already been impressed by their insight, enthusiasm, and wisdom—I hope you’ll join me in welcoming them to our ministry team.
What is an intern minister?
An intern minister is someone in the process of becoming a Unitarian Universalist minister who works alongside and under the supervision of an experienced minister for the equivalent of one year of full-time ministry. The internship may occur near the end of the candidate’s time in seminary or after graduation from seminary. Along with a Masters in Divinity and other training, evaluation and paperwork, the internship is a requirement to become a minister with the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).
What is a teaching congregation?
Teaching congregations make a commitment to serve our Unitarian Universalist movement by helping form new ministers. The congregation makes a financial commitment to provide compensation for the intern. The congregation also provides an internship committee to support and provide feedback to the intern. Staff works with and supports the intern, and a portion of the Senior Minister’s time and energy goes toward mentoring. The congregation gains the benefit of having a new perspective on the church, a new voice in the pulpit, new energy, and the skills that come with each intern.
What is unique about First Universalist’s internship?
First Universalist has a strong history as a teaching congregation, and we honor the legacy of The Reverend John Cummins and Dru Cummins by continuing their active dedication to Unitarian Universalism and emerging ministers. Impediments to a successful and life-giving career in ministry are many, and they are historically (and presently) much greater for ministers of color and ministers with marginalized identities. We hope to offer an internship experience supported by a multicultural, multi-racial ministry team and a congregation eager to offer experiences of mutual learning and support. First Universalist offers internships that run from mid-August through June, and that include regular preaching opportunities and flexibility to engage in a wide variety of projects from leading lifespan faith formation experiences to engaging in social justice endeavors. The intern gains well rounded parish experience working in this vibrant large congregation.
How can congregants support the intern?
There are many ways to support our interns in their ministerial formation. If you are interested in being part of a future internship committee, please talk to Rev. Jen. Another is to welcome Nico in, treating them as a member of the ministry team, and inviting them to offer ideas, feedback, leadership, and spiritual care. And as always, a warm welcome at church, an invitation to go on a walk or meet up for coffee for a conversation about theology, spiritual practice, and how your faith comes alive in the world are great ways to support Nico throughout their internship with us.