Our Board of Trustees

The First Unity Board of Trustees is composed of the senior minister and six other trustees. Members of the Board of Trustees, effective 2023, are as follows:

Mary Tumminello, President

Mary Tumminello joined the board in 2019.  She also served on the board in the early 2000’s as treasurer.  Mary has represented the Chaplain program for 9 years, is an assistant leader in the Welcoming Ministry and takes great pleasure in coordinating Ladies Night Out.

Mary came to First Unity Church in 1996  and knew at the very first lesson she had found her church home. She owned and assisted in the family business of Lucia’s Pizza Co. for 20 years. She has two sons and 9 grandchildren, which include a set of triplets.
Betty Jean Kofron, Vice President

Betty serves on the Board of Trustees because she believes in the Unity principles and is excited about the future of the Church, especially the Youth Ed Teenage program.

Working with children and young adults has always been an important part of her life. She enjoyed a 35 year career as Owner and Director of the Betty Jean Dance Studio teaching the art of dance. She started a new chapter in her life by becoming a licensed Real Estate agent.

Both careers have been most fulfilling, but Betty Jean’s greatest joy in life is being of service. It is her pleasure and honor to serve on the Board of First Unity Church of St. Louis.

Patricia Riess, Secretary

Patricia’s desire to serve on the First Unity Board of Trustees spoke to her from the heart, and she didn’t think twice. She is currently serving on the Welcoming Ministry, Co-chairing the Promotion Ministry, and has been the Editor of First Unity’s newsletter for three years.

Patricia is married with two daughters and two grandchildren, all living in Arizona. She has served as a national and corporate trainer for most of her career, honing her skills in communication, writing, photography, and design.

Patricia plans to make a difference in our church by bringing her skill and talent forward, helping to make our church’s prosperity a reality.

Lynn Mark, Treasurer

Lynn Mark has been a member of Unity since 2010 when she attended and then joined Unity of Naples, Florida. She has previously served on two church boards, including Unity of Naples. These days she is a Prayer Chaplain and loves this way of serving the church. She is a retired nurse and, as the author of two books, very much enjoys retirement writing. She volunteers as an immigration specialist two days a week. She is a mom of two adult children and is graced with two adorable grandsons. Lynn says, “Serving on the Board at First Unity is an honor!”

Julie Goede, Trustee

Julie Goede has been attending First Unity church for ten years or so. She attended a service at First Unity and continued to come because she liked the people, ministers, values, and messages. Julie says she can feel love when she walks into the building and feels like a valued member of the community. Julie and her husband Wayne have been married for 34 years, and they have a son named James, who is a computer programmer. Julie says she leads the First Unity community songs on two or three Sundays a month and loves doing this because it’s so much fun. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Community Service Ministry.

Julie says she treasures what First Unity is, and she wants it to continue to grow and be a safe haven for many people. She wants people to feel that they are loved, safe, and valued. She wants to help First Unity be a vital spiritual group.

Larry Gibbs, Trustee

Larry says that in 1996, after their first child Claire was born, he and his wife Cindy started looking for a church they could raise their family in. Cindy suggested they attend services at the nearby First Unity Church a couple of times and make an assessment or move on. Twenty-three years later and they have not moved on; they have moved in.

Larry says that during the time they have been attending First Unity, Cindy has become a Youth Education Teacher, and Claire has joined her mom as a teacher. Claire and Larry have played music (violin and flute) at services. Larry has given a couple of talks in the community room on services for Senior Citizens (Medicare, Medicaid, Medigap, Vets services thru the VA, senior housing), and he regularly delivers donated food to Feed My People. Also, Larry currently serves on the Community Service Ministry.

For the past thirty years, Larry has worked as a Gerontologist in several different jobs helping elderly citizens and disabled adults.

Larry says he feels very comfortable with the fundamental belief and message of Unity Church: that the Light of Christ is within every member and, in truth, everybody is created by God. We see this light in each other and also let our light shine for others to see. We are here to help/support/love each other and receive love from others.

First Unity Church of St. Louis Board of Trustees

The First Unity Church of St. Louis Board of Trustees is united in its love of our spiritual home and the practices and principles of Unity. Its purpose is to establish policies that further the harmonious functioning of our church, oversee the financial assets, practices, and procedures of our organization, and endeavor to establish and expand a positive and loving faith-based center of consciousness for First Unity. As stated in the bylaws of First Unity, the first duty and responsibility of the First Unity Board of Trustees is to:
  • Uphold the spiritual purpose of the First Unity ministry.

Other duties and responsibilities of the Board include:

  • Uphold the highest best interests of the membership in conducting the business of this ministry;
  • Be conversant with the bylaws and establish policy for the operation of this ministry;
  • Be faithful in attendance at services as well as Board and membership meetings of this ministry;
  • Determine the business needs of this ministry and authorize payment of funds for those purposes;
  • Administer the real and personal property of this ministry;

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