By Elizabeth Corbett, Programs & Membership Coordinator
I took a minute to talk with Leslie for this column. She joined Westside a few months ago, and I hope you’ve met and welcomed her.
Elizabeth: Can you tell me a little bit about your childhood and young adulthood?
Leslie: I grew up in Westchester County (New York) in a middle-class family, and I’m the oldest of five children. I attended parochial school through grade 8, but went to public high school and then attended Pace University. Because Pace was near where we lived, I lived at home and commuted. I studied math and science and graduated with secondary ed certification. After college, I soon moved with my husband to Ontario, Canada. Ontario didn’t recognize my teaching license from NY so I started a career in another direction. I’ve never done any teaching in a secondary classroom, but I’ve ended up teaching in a number of other capacities.
Elizabeth: How about your religious background and/or history?
Leslie: I was raised Catholic, but I left church/Catholicism in my teens because I did not philosophically agree with what I was hearing. I wasn’t “anything” for a long time. While we were in Toronto, I found a UU church and started going there in the late 1970’s. If you remember, many Canadians did not like the US. at that time due to issues from acid rain so my time at the Toronto UU did not feel very welcoming but was definitely a learning experience. After almost 10 years in Canada, we moved to Westchester again, and I became a member of The Fourth Unitarian Fellowship of Mohegan Lake, NY.
Elizabeth: Tell me more about your involvement with this church.
Leslie: I was an active member for 40+ years. It was a small church community, fewer than 120 members, and it was lay-led most of my time there. The church became the center of my life. I was a single parent, and my kids grew up in an awesome community. During my years as a member at Fourth U I served as RE teacher, RE Committee chair, Youth Advisor, Minister Search Committee and on the Board of Trustees as trustee, secretary and president. After years of wearing many hats, I found it difficult to reduce my responsibilities while still remaining a member and I ended up leaving the church. But I had made good friends during my time there and I remain in touch with many of those friends.
Elizabeth: Do you have a favorite book or movie?
Leslie: I read a lot, and I’d say my favorite book is A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. It’s about India in the 1960’s and 1970’s. I’d like to go to India someday. I like to cook Indian food, but I haven’t yet found a favorite Indian restaurant in town yet. I’ve thought about joining the Book club so that may happen this year.
Elizabeth: What brought you to Westside?
Leslie: I had a circuitous journey getting here. In 2021, my fiancé and I bought an RV and planned to travel around the USA and Canada. But he passed away unexpectedly before we were able to do that, so I thought about places to land for the next chapter in my life. My daughter lives in East Tennessee, so I moved here to start again. I want to develop a new (local) community of friends, so I decided to start at Westside. I’m excited about Westside. I see new people every month, young families attending service, and I’m really excited with the growth, and I hope it will continue.
What a fine introduction to Leslie! If you’d like to be part of the Membership column one month, please let me know. And if you have any other questions or suggestions, email me at membership@westsideuuc.org.
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