The UUA is a justice-seeking institution committed to accountability and safety for our faith communities and the people we serve. This includes transparency regarding clergy who have been removed from UUA Fellowship due to violations of the UUMA Code of Conduct or other behavior deemed unbecoming of a minister by the Ministerial Fellowship Committee of the UUA, which has sole authority over the granting of ministerial credentials as well as the removal of such credentials. Recognizing that the standards for clergy conduct have evolved, and continue to do so as our understanding has grown about the nature of abuse, the list below is in no way a complete historic record. It represents only cases where there were formal misconduct complaints filed, adjudication by the Ministerial Fellowship Committee (MFC) and a minister was either removed from Fellowship or resigned in the midst of a misconduct process.

The UUA’s commitment to Congregational Polity means that only congregations have the right to ordain ministers, and thus the MFC does not have the power to remove ordination, or even to force a minister to resign if a congregation does not vote removal or termination. In the interest of accountability and the safety of the congregations and communities we serve, the UUA believes that a minister who has been removed from Fellowship is unfit to serve under the ethical standards we expect from UU ministers.

Ministers Removed from Fellowship by the Ministerial Fellowship Committee

(NOTE: Misconduct involving a minor will be noted. No notation will mean the misconduct involved an adult).

• 1968 Karl Hultberg: Removed from Preliminary Fellowship for Conduct Unbecoming (sexual misconduct)
• 1985 Don Wheat: Removed for Settlement System Violation (reinstated in 1987)
• 1988 John Harold Hawkins: Removed for Non-disclosure of Previous Felony Conviction (sexual misconduct with a minor)
• 1990 Anthony Friess Perrino: Removed for Conduct Unbecoming (sexual misconduct)
• 1992 Jonathan Dobrer: Removed for Conduct Unbecoming (sexual misconduct); 1992 appealed; 1993 removal upheld
• 1993 Mack Mitchell: Removed for Conduct Unbecoming (criminal conviction for statutory rape and kidnapping)
• 1996 William G. Wagner: Removed for Noncooperation and Noncompliance; appealed to Board of Review and returned to fellowship
• 1998 Don Bissett: Removed for Conduct Unbecoming (sexual misconduct); 2002 applied for reinstatement; appeal denied
• 2014 John C. McCarthy: Removed for Conduct Unbecoming and Noncooperation (financial malfeasance)
• 2017 Ron Robinson: Removed for Conduct Unbecoming (criminal possession of child pornography)
• 2020 Todd Eklof: Removed for Noncooperation (bullying and abusive behavior)
• 2021 Scott McNeill: Removed for Conduct Unbecoming (bullying and abusive behavior in the workplace); appealed to Board of Review; appeal denied
• 2022 Kate Rohde: Removed for defaming and interfering in the ministry of colleagues
• 2022 Terry Cummings: Removed for concerning behaviors towards staff and an inability to maintain successful professional relationships
• 2022 David Morris: Removed for Noncooperation (refusal to complete probation)

Ministers Who Resigned Fellowship Pending Misconduct Reviews

• 1966 Ross Alan Weston: Plagiarism complaint
• 1973 William Fortner: Financial Malfeasance (also asked to resign from congregation & in 1977 was removed from Accredited Religious Educators list)
• 1984 Alexander (Sandy) McEachern: Conduct Unbecoming (sexual misconduct - criminal conviction for child molestation)
• 1984 John Quirk: Conduct Unbecoming (sexual misconduct)
• 1991 Peter Jenkins: Conduct Unbecoming (sexual misconduct)
• 1994 Forrest Whitman: Conduct Unbecoming (sexual misconduct)
• 1994 Andrea Greenwood: Resigned Preliminary Fellowship (investigation incomplete)
• 2000 G.C. Bartlett Gould: Conduct Unbecoming (sexual misconduct)
• 2002 George D. Exoo: Conduct Unbecoming (conducting a ministry of assisted suicide without accountability or oversight)
• 2005 Doug Strong: Conduct Unbecoming (non-disclosure of previous criminal conviction; and conviction of public exposure)
• 2007 David Ord: Conduct Unbecoming (sexual misconduct)
• 2008 Louis Schwebius: Conduct Unbecoming (plagiarism)
• 2008 Calvin Dame: Conduct Unbecoming (sexual misconduct)
• 2009 Jennifer Justice: Conduct Unbecoming (ethical boundaries violation)
• 2011 Nathan Stone: Conduct Unbecoming (sexual misconduct)
• 2013 Lauren J. Thomas: Conduct Unbecoming (sexual misconduct)
• 2013 Eliza C. Galaher: Conduct Unbecoming (sexual misconduct)
• 2014 Barbara Jamestone: Conduct Unbecoming (ethical boundaries violations)
• 2016 Stephen Sinclair: Conduct Unbecoming (ethical boundaries violation)
• 2019 Aaron McEmrys: Conduct Unbecoming (sexual misconduct)
• 2019 Roger Mohr: Conduct Unbecoming (sexual misconduct)
• 2019 Daniel S. O’Connell: Conduct Unbecoming (bullying and abusive behavior in the workplace)
• 2019 Justin Osterman: Conduct Unbecoming (bullying and abusive behavior in the workplace)
• 2023 Stephen Furrer: Conduct Unbecoming (sexual misconduct)
• 2023 Craig Schwalenberg: Conduct Unbecoming (bullying and abusive behavior in the workplace)