Our New Minister Frank Placone-Willey

Frank was born in Alabama and raised in Texas. He was baptized an Episcopalian, and later confirmed as a Presbyterian. As a teen and young adult he lived and worked in an ecumenical street mission in Austin, where he attended the University of Texas and later graduated with highest honors from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

He was ordained in 1985 and ministered in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. until 1997, when, for reasons of conscience, he requested honorable release from the practice of ministry in that denomination. Frank reports, "As I evolved religiously, it became increasingly difficult for me to adhere to the christo-centric and discriminatory teachings of mainline Protestantism. I discovered Unitarian Universalism, finding here a religious community where I belonged."

Frank has over twenty-five years of professional experience in institutional ministry and psychospiritual care. He has ministered in congregations, hospitals, theological schools, hospices, denominational agencies and counseling centers. As a UU he completed a two-year internship at Summit Fellowship. Over the past 8 years he has served as consulting minister for the Coronado Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego, and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Dieguito. Frank's peripatetic work throughout our cluster once moved the Rev. Tom Owen-Towle to refer to him as our region's "utility infielder."

He has volunteered with community agencies serving the homeless in Illinois and Kentucky, a variety of fundraising causes as a paid professional and volunteer, and local ministerial associations. He is an approved Fellow in the American College of Chaplains. In 2003 he was awarded the Sally Breuner Howe Spirit of Caring Award by the Sharp Healthcare Foundation for his work with the dying and bereaved.

A life-long learner, Frank holds masters degrees in divinity, marriage and family therapy, and counseling psychology. He completed his Ph.D. in the fields of psychology and religion. His post-graduate studies have included the study of liberal theology under Professor Thandeka at Meadville-Lombard Theological Seminary, counseling internships in Austin and San Diego, and a year-long fellowship while a spiritual counselor and team case manager at San Diego Hospice and the Institute for Palliative Medicine.

In 2007, with his wife Pilar, Frank transferred membership from First Church San Diego to Summit Fellowship. They have two children, Ian and Claire, who, at age 27, are both busy creating families, working, and exploring the larger world. Their third child, Zeke—whom Frank insists is a rare breed of Moroccan sheepdog—is, at age 50 (in dog years), still living at home.

"Our common ministry at Summit Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is rooted in that living tradition celebrated in the services and life of our congregation. "Frank enthusiastically exclaims, "Come out and join us!"