Biography
I was born in Birmingham, Alabama in the late sixties to politically active Southern white liberals. My mother Lillian Foscue Vann was a journalist with the Birmingham Post-Herald and my father David J. Vann was a mediating attorney during the Civil Rights Movement, and was later elected mayor of Birmingham. My parents' legacy of justice work has had a profound influence on my life and ministry.
My parents adopted my brother Michael, a refugee from Vietnam, when I was eight years old, introducing me to a hands-on response to the injustices of war. My religious upbringing included input from United Methodist, Unitarian Universalist, Episcopalian, Christian Scientist, Jewish, and Roman Catholic sources.
At sixteen I felt a call which led me first to an MAEd in marriage and family counseling and then to seminary and ordination in the United Methodist Church. I served eleven years in parish ministry before going on leave to care full-time for my children. Because my younger child has special needs, I homeschooled them both. During that time, we began attending the Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham, and after careful consideration, I subsequently severed my Methodist ties.
During my fourteen years at the U.U. Church of Birmingham, I served in many leadership roles including Board President, and I volunteered my services to assist each of our ministers. In 2017 I was asked to step in as Interim Director of Religious Education for two years.
When my husband Bill Malone retired from his job in internet technology and took over care of Angus while Liam completed high school, I decided to pursue ministerial credentialing with the Unitarian Universalist Association. Eighteen months later, I received Preliminary Fellowship, and in November of 2022, I received Full Fellowship from the UUA.
I have served with joy and satisfaction as contract minister at two U.U. fellowships on the Florida panhandle. I look forward to continuing to fulfill my call and my passion for Unitarian Universalism by serving a new congregation and helping them achieve their mission.
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Faith Identity
I am a skeptical panentheist liberal Christian Unitarian Universalist with Humanist and Earth-centered sympathies. The narratives and wisdom from the Hebrew and Christian testaments were foundational for my spiritual development. As a panentheist, I believe the divine presence resides in everything, but the skeptic within remains uncertain, and I am content with the paradox.
I am continually learning from traditions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Paganism, and Humanism. All these sources inform and energize my preaching and teaching, worship design, administration, team leadership, staff supervision and pastoral care.