Building Bridges Faculty
Rev. Dr. Kristen Harper
Reverend Dr. Kristen Harper is a lifelong Unitarian Universalist who has served UU churches in Chicago, IL; Lansing, MI; New York, NY; and Ormond Beach, FL. Prior to entering the ministry, she worked for six years with women who were HIV positive and at the UUA in the Office of Diversity Resources. Rev. Harper received her undergraduate degree in print journalism from Boston University and her graduate degree from Meadville Lombard Theological School and the University of Chicago. She is only the second woman of African descent to be called to a UU church as senior minister.
Rev. Nell Fields
Rev. Nell Fields was formerly an editor and journalist, Rev. Nell spent the bulk of her career as a publisher for a publicly-traded newspaper company in Los Angeles. She then moved to the technology and financial services sectors where she held executive management positions in each. Importantly, Nell worked with her colleagues at Falmouth Jewish Congregation to revive the town’s No Place for Hate group, a community organization whose purpose is to build bridges, combat bias based on race, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and religion, and to promote respect for all people through advocacy and education. In 2019, Nell co-founded Upper Cape Interfaith Coalition.
Dr. Nancy Dann
Nancy Dann started her career as a teacher of pediatrics, a medical-surgical nurse and then a nurse practitioner. After taking time off to raise her children she felt called to the ministry, earned a Doctor of Ministry degree in Faith, Health and Spirituality, became a Board-Certified Interfaith Chaplain and was ordained in the United Church of Christ. She spent the next several years working as a chaplain, providing pastoral care to cancer patients who received radiation, chemotherapy and surgical treatment, mainly as outpatients. In retirement, she converted to Islam and moved to Cape Cod. Currently, Dr. Dann is a member of the Cape Cod Daughters of Abraham, the Islamic Center of Cape Cod and is Chairperson of the Refugee Support Team of the Nauset Interfaith Association.
Rabbi David Freelund
Rabbi David Freelund came to the Cape Cod Synagogue in July of 2005. Rabbi Freelund has brought a spirit of peace, joy, and positive energy to Cape Cod’s first Synagogue. Under his leadership, the Cape Cod Synagogue has grown in new directions, deepening the cultural, musical, and spiritual connections of the community. Rabbi Freelund has been involved in the larger Cape community and currently serves on the Leadership Council of the Cape Cod Interfaith Coalition. Prior to his position here, Rabbi Freelund served Temple Emanu-El of Tucson, AZ as Director of Education and Associate Rabbi from 2001
James Kershner
James Kershner is a professor emeritus at Cape Cod Community College. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Marietta College and a master’s degree from Penn State University. He has been meditating for more than 50 years and was ordained by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh as a meditation leader in 2002. He has been leading a meditation group, the Cape Sangha, since 1997. He has taught workshops in a variety of settings. He is the author of a spiritual memoir Becoming Peacemaker.
Rev. Abhi Janamanchi
Rev. Abhi Janamanchi is Senior Minister of Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalists, in Bethesda, Maryland. A native of India, he is a member of the Brahmo Samaj, a Unitarian-Hindu reform movement that shares many similarities with Unitarian Universalism. He says he resonates strongly with the central teachings of Islam: the oneness of God (“or that invisible creative force that undergirds existence”), religious tolerance and human equality, and showing compassion for the poor.
Robert Peters
Robert Peters is a Mashpee Wampanoag Artist, Poet, and Author. Robert’s family moved to the Wampanoag homeland of Mashpee when he was ten. Here his father Russell entered a life-long battle to regain land and sovereignty for the Mashpee Wampanoag People.
As a child, Robert witnessed the 1976 Wampanoag Indian land claim, trial and the tribe’s quest for Federal Recognition.
Today Robert continues writing, painting, and working with youth. He is a fire keeper and a keeper of oral tradition.