Rev. Paul Werner (he/him)

Pastor

Rev. Paul Werner is originally from the New York metro area. He lived in the New York City borough of Queens, northeastern New Jersey, and on Long Island. He moved to Florida with his family after high school and spent a considerable amount of time in Florida. He returned to New York to serve as our Pastor in January 2022.

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Paul earned a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Language and Literature, a Master of Arts in Foreign Language Education (Spanish), and a graduate certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of South Florida in Tampa. He taught Spanish to middle school, high school, and college students, as well as ESOL to college students, for over 20 years.

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He began attending First United Church of Tampa when he was a teenager. He participated in various aspects of church life, and he ultimately decided to answer God's call to ministry by earning a Master of Divinity from the Florida Center for Theological Studies (which has since merged into St. Thomas University in Miami). Paul was twice awarded the UCC's William R. Johnson Scholarship, which is a competitive seminary scholarship for openly LGBTQIA+ ministerial candidates in the United Church of Christ. He was granted licensure by the Florida Conference in 2008, and he was ordained by the Florida Conference at First United Church of Tampa in 2013.

Having spent his adult life in Florida, Paul served in a few ministry roles in the Florida Conference of the UCC. Most recently, he served as an Assistant Pastor of First United Church of Tampa, a church that has made being Open and Affirming, multiracial and multicultural, anti-racist, and accessible to all some of its core values. He also served as the Pastor of St. Andrew UCC in Sarasota and the Designated Pastor of Trinity Congregational UCC in Winter Haven. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Conference. Paul now serves as Assistant Moderator of the Western Association of the New York Conference. He is also on the Church and Ministry Committee of the Western Association and is a member of its Pastoral Care Subcommittee.

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Paul comes from the perspective of liberation theology, so he has a passion for social and economic justice. He believes that the poor, oppressed, marginalized, and vulnerable are particularly loved by God, and that we are to emulate the actions and teachings of Jesus to work for justice and peace for all people and to end the sin of systemic injustice. Guided by the ethos of the United Church of Christ, he is especially interested in how churches can express a progressive Christian faith and witness with prophetic voices and actions to practice the gospel.

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As a techie, Paul enjoys computers and technology. He loves (usually) healthy cooking, watching live bands perform, a good beer (after all, he is half German!), strong coffee, and anything with chocolate. He is single and lives with two cats who know they are the ones in charge.