Richard (Rick) Hughes
The Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes began his ministry here at Union Congregational Church on March 1, 1992. A native of Whitman, Massachusetts, he served two churches in Maine before accepting the call to come to North Reading. His first call was to serve as the associate pastor at the First Congregational Church in South Portland, Maine before serving for a year as the interim minister at the First Congregational Church in Grey, Maine.
Rev. Rick attended Andover-Newton Theological School where he earned his Master of Divinity degree as well as a Doctor of Ministry degree in pastoral counseling. Despite his theological education he believes very strongly in a hands on ministry which can mean anything from sleeping on the floor for a sleep over at the church with our high school youth or spending an afternoon in the kitchen making his famous lobster bisque for our Lenten Luncheons. He also has a passion for music and enjoys singing with the choir and playing the bells with our North Parish Ringers.
During his free time Rev. Rick enjoys playing the piano and he is a self proclaimed cruise-a-holic. His cruises have taken him to over 50 countries around the world; all the way from the Arctic to Antarctica, from China to Easter Island and Tahiti. Rev. Rick will also tell you that he is an unapologetic chocoholic and that there isn’t a problem in the world that chocolate can’t solve.
It is when he is ministering to and with God’s people though that his “heart truly sings.” And what is the secret to being a good minister? After 34 years of ordained ministry he will tell you that the answer to that question is simple. “I always ask our student ministers what the most important thing is to being a really good minister. They usually say things like visiting people when they’re sick and giving a good sermon to which I will always reply, ‘Yes, that’s important but that’s not the most important thing when it comes to being a really good minister.’ Eventually, they’ll give up and ask me what the answer is to the question. At that point I offer them an answer and then ask them another question. The answer to the question is simple. The most important thing when it comes to being a really good minister is to make sure that your congregation loves you…and you know what the best way is to make sure your congregation loves you? You make sure they know that you love them!”
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Gayle McGlauflin
Pastor Gayle (she/her) was born in Winchester, MA and grew up in North Reading. During High School, she joined the Union Congregational Church and was active in our Youth Ministry. She has a bachelors degree in psychology as well as a masters degree in teaching from Northeastern University and she recently graduated with her MDiv from Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis.
After college, she spent a summer teaching in the Dominican Republic and then taught elementary school in Boston as well as education classes at Northeastern. After nine years of teaching in Boston, Gayle returned to the UCC as our Christian Education Director and also worked as the Director of Education for a maternal wellness company. During COVID, her role at the UCC organically grew into more of a church-wide leadership role and in 2021, the congregation unanimously voted to expand her role to become our Minister of Discipleship. Gayle works to bring the love of Christ that we feel in our hearts and within our church family, out into the community and the wider world. When she's not organizing our traditional Christmas Pageant or leading Confirmation, Children's Sunday, or any number of other activities for the youngest members of our church family, you can find her leading the townwide Easter Egg Hunt, collaborating with organizations in North Reading and surrounding communities, planning fun events like Paint Night and Charcuterie Board Making, finding service projects for our church family, or leading small discussion and book groups.
Pastor Gayle lives in Topsfield with her husband Rob (who grew up in the UCC), her daughters, Savanna and Ayla, and her dog Sasha. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, and is a big fan of Zumba and Yoga.
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