First Church and Parish - Dedham
A UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CONGREGATION - Gathered In 1638
Worship at 10 am Sundays
Amelia Shenstone
Minister
Amelia Shenstone (she/her) is a minister in fellowship with the Unitarian Universalist Association, serving First Church beginning in August, 2025. Most recently she was a staff chaplain at Massachusetts General Hospital focusing on oncology, after completing a yearlong chaplain residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She served as student and sabbatical minister at the First Religious Society (UU) in Carlisle, MA and earned her Master of Divinity degree from Harvard in 2023. She grew up UU in Lexington, MA and is a magna cum laude graduate of Mount Holyoke College.
Mel has always felt a strong call to serve people and planet. Her early career was shaped by long-term volunteering in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, and by intensive experience organizing campaigns on clean energy issues in a diverse array of US communities in Appalachia, Florida, and the Midwest. While living in Atlanta, GA for ten years she directed advocacy at a clean energy non-profit and served as a lay leader in her UU congregation.
Mel’s ministry is driven by ecologically-grounded cosmology. She believes we are at our best when we feel connected to something larger than ourselves, and that we need one another to make it. Through worship, administration, advocacy, and all facets of life in religious community, she brings a spirit of connection and invitation. Personally, Mel finds spiritual nourishment in singing, going outside, biking, and in decades of learning relationships with horses.
Mel’s work days are Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday, with Fridays reserved for study and writing. You can reach her by calling the office at 781-326-7463.
Minister and Staff
Grace Peña
Office Administrator
Grace has been a member of First Church with her family since 2007. She started helping around First Church by teaching in our children's RE program. She is now our church administrator and oversees rentals of our building spaces. You can reach Grace at firstchurch@dedhamuu.org.
Lisa Pilat
UUEP (Religious Education) Director
Lisa Pilat has been a member of First Church and Parish for 13 years along with her 3 children, Lexi, Lilly and Maddoc. She is a resident of Dedham living with her son and mother. Lisa has been involved with the Religious Education program for 13 years as well teaching and serving on the RE committee for the past 3 years.
In September 2021 Lisa joined the team as the UUEP Assistant. In September 2022 she took on the role of UUEP Director. She can be reached at lisapilat@dedhamuu.org.
Darry Dolezal
Music Director
Darry Dolezal is a versatile classical musician who has taken part in an array of diverse experiences. He has conducted orchestras and choruses in New England and the Midwest and currently serves as music director of First Church in Dedham and the Sippican Choral Society in Marion, MA. A proponent of contemporary music he has helped created festivals devoted to new music, including the Warebrook Contemporary Music Festival in Vermont, and has premiered over 200 works. He served on the faculties of several universities, including an appointment as artist-in-residence at Boston College and a position as a tenured professor at the University of Missouri. As a concert cellist he has performed in venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to the Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro, and has toured extensively with chamber groups such as the Artaria Quartet, the Esterhazy Quartet and the Concordia String Trio. He currently performs with the Thoreau Piano Trio based in Boston, and has recorded for the Albany, Capstone, Centaur and CRI/New World labels.
More can be found on his website: www.darrydolezal.com. You may contact Darry at darrydolezal@dedhamuu.org.
Carld Auguste
Part-time Church Sexton
Carld began at First Church in August of 2015 as our part-time Church Sexton. Carld has worked as a senior project manager for National Grid, has a MBA from Curry College and Practical Electrician Certification from The Benjamin Franklin Institute. Carld currently works full time as a manager for ESCO Business Management and helps us to keep our buildings clean, organized and more sustainable.
You may contact Carld by emailing him at sexton@dedhamuu.org.