Our Minister Emerita
Rev. Gail Tapscott

 

Reverend Gail Tapscott served as our spiritual counselor and settled Minister for 17 years from September of 1999 to June of 2016.  
She is in full fellowship with the Unitarian Universalist Association. 
Gail holds a Master of Divinity Degree from Harvard Divinity School. Gail now holds the designation of Minister Emerita as bestowed
by the congregation as she moves on to her new adventures.  
Her most immediate plans see her returning to Mississippi,
the home of her childhood.

Rev Gail's Work at UUCFL and the Greater Ft Lauderdale Area

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Over the years at the church, Gail presented myriad inspirational Sunday Services on a wide variety of topics spiritual, motivational, intellectual, whimsical, and always thought provoking. She led many successful series
of Adult Religious Education classes which were moving and life changing
to many of our members. Gail was always found popping in on our special focus groups and providing her insightful thoughts to the committees of our church. The door to her office was a shrine of cartoons, photos, and clever sayings.
 

She was active in the greater community working with Lifenet4Families - Broward's Cooperative Feeding Program, Interfaith Alliance groups, Empty Bowls to feed the hungry, Interfaith Worker Justice, BOLD Justice (Broward Organized Leaders Doing Justice), Black Lives Matter among other groups, appearing at sit-ins, commission meetings and working to cause much needed change in our community for people and groups who are systematically marginalized. She also occasionally appeared at on radio 
and television talk shows.
 

While Minister, Gail ventured down to SWIM, the Southeast Unitarian Universalist Winter Institute at Miami, to present a workshop, and she was
a regular at SUUSI, the Southeast Unitarian Universalist Summer Institute, where she would either lead a worship service, do a workshop, or serve as Minister of the Day. Each summer, SUUSI attracts 10 to 20 members of our congregation.
 

Rev. Gail made an annual pilgrimage to General Assembly, the annual gathering of Unitarian Universalist where she renewed ties with fellow professionals and would collect ideas for the coming year. She was active with FUUMA, the Florida Unitarian Universalist Ministers' Association and their continuing education programs.  From thoughtful essays in the Journey, our newsletter, sermon topics, acting out in our attempts at theater, traveling to conferences, times of remembrance, or feeding the hungry, Rev Gail was and always will be forever in our midst.

 

Professional Work Prior to UUCFL
 

Gail came to us following a consulting ministry at UU Fellowship of Flagstaff, AZ, for ¾ time plus Pulpit supply at West Valley UU Church, Peoria, AZ, for ¼ time. She also served an Extension Internship for the Flagstaff and Phoenix congregations. Previously, she was a lay minister and religious educator at the UU Fellowship of Flagstaff, AZ. Prior to that, Gail also served as a leader in women's spirituality programs at the Winchester Unitarian Society in Massachusetts. She was a Director of Religious Education at the UU Church of Marblehead, Massachusetts.

In her pre-ministry professional life, Rev. Gail was an advertising and editorial assistant for a Journal on Water Pollution Control and then a teacher of English and Journalism in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She then spent almost twelve years as an environmental journalist in Washington, D.C. She worked for seven years on a trade newsletter that covered the toxic chemicals and pesticides regulated by the then fledgling Environmental Protection Agency. Then she helped start several new newsletters on state environmental policies, hazardous waste control and finally became the Executive Editor of "The Hazard Communication Exchange." During her journalism years she also had a column called "On the States Side" for the trade magazine World Waste.

During and right after her time at Harvard Divinity School, Rev. Gail worked at a business publishing firm and sold books and journals and eventually became the Director of the Training Department there. Her final pre-ministry career was as the Director of the National Telephone Fund Raising office for Greenpeace in Flagstaff, AZ. She also coordinated some Greenpeace campaign work and protests on mining issues while running the Flagstaff operation.