UUCOD in Rancho Mirage selects Rev. Ian W. Riddell as new settled minister

RANCHO MIRAGE — The Rev. Ian W. Riddell has been called as the next settled minister for the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Desert in this community.

Riddell, who was ordained in 2012 after graduating from Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago, will begin his new role July 1. He previously served two years as a contract lead minister for the church.

“I am excited about all the possibilities that Rev. Riddell brings to our congregation,” Linda Savard, president of the UUCOD board of directors, said in a statement. “His experience, his compassion, his humility, and his commitment to bringing justice and equity to our world make him the right person to partner with all of us at UUCOD. I look forward to the years of living into our shared principles together.”

“I am honored and delighted that the congregation has decided to embrace and deepen our shared ministry,” Riddell said in a statement. “It has been a joy to grow together over these past years and I’m so looking forward to what the future will hold as we share in the work of justice, spiritual growth, and the building of the beloved community in our congregation and in the wider Coachella Valley. The world needs the congregation’s voice of inclusion and love more than ever and I’m so grateful for their invitation to lead with them.”

Before relocating to the Coachella Valley with his husband, Mark, Riddell served as minister of music and worship arts at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego and as developmental minister for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Las Vegas. He also served three Unitarian Universalist congregations as music director. He previously was an academic editor, a director of LGBT community choruses, and a public-school teacher.

Riddell’s ministry and his spiritual and ethical life grow from the prophet Micah’s admonition to do justice, be steadfastly faithful, and to move humbly through the world and from Ursula K. Le Guin’s affirmation that love has to be made new, every day.

UUCOD, located at 72425 Via Vale, is a sanctuary for diversity, spiritual growth and social justice. Additional information about the church and its values and about upcoming services and events is available at uucod.org

 

 

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  • Rev. Ian W. Riddell: Unitarian Universalist Church of the Desert