About Our Minister
Rev. Lisa Romantum Schwartz has served as the Fellowship’s minister since September, 2003. Lisa was raised as a Presbyterian, and after rejecting the creedal statement and the discrimination against GLBTQ people, she spent several years saying “I’m not a church kind of person.” (The universe, she is fond of saying, has a great sense of humor.) Lisa discovered Unitarian Universalism in 1983, and it was love at first sight. For the first time she experienced a context in which her long-time call to ministry made sense, and in 1990 Lisa began seminary at Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City. She earned her Master’s of Divinity there in 1994.
Rev. Lisa believes that the universe is abundantly loving and that religion should strive to connect all creatures in a harmonious relationship. One of the most powerful things Lisa finds at the UUFT is a sense of deep and beloved community, with a shared sense of investment in and passion for the mission of the Fellowship among lay leaders and professional staff.
Someone once said that the creator made people because of a love for story, and Rev. Lisa loves to oblige. She is a gifted storyteller, and gets in a few jokes now and then, too. Her B.A. in Anthropology (KU, 1985) engenders a love for a diversity of tales from many sources, and leads to a fascination with the way cultural change affects congregational life.
Lisa is an advocate for various social justice causes, because “it is worth hoping that congregational life can effect cultural change, as well.” She serves on the YWCA of Topeka’s RACE committee (Resources and Advocacy for Change and Equity) and helped develop their Adopt-a-school project. She has testified before state legislative committees on behalf of comprehensive sexuality education and reproductive freedom. And, as an outspoken advocate of equal rights for GLBTQ people, Lisa is proud to have been named to the “Roster of the Damned” by Topeka’s own Fred Phelps (and she has waited in vain for years for the T-shirt to arrive).
Prior to accepting the call to UUFT, Lisa worked for seven years as the Chaplain at Valeo Recovery Center, a residential addiction treatment center in Topeka. She has also been a chaplain at Stormont-Vail Hospital and Topeka State Hospital. Her basic Clinical Pastoral Education training was at the Colmery-O’Neil VA Medical Center, and she served a year-long residency in advanced CPE training at Topeka State Hospital.
Lisa lives in Topeka with Jim, her beloved husband of nearly 25 years. Their daughter Libby lives out of state. In her free time Lisa enjoys walking with Jim and their dog, playing piano, riding her bike, organic gardening, crocheting, and reading.
Office Hours
Rev. Lisa keeps office hours from 11:30 to 3:30 Mondays and from 1:30 to 3:30 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. She is often available for appointments at other times, including weekends and evenings. Walks in the woods and coffee shop chats are welcome. Call the Fellowship office at 272-9233 to make an appointment, or drop by during office hours. On Mondays from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fellowship members gather for an informal brown-bag lunch with Lisa and the Director of Religious Education, Dr. Judy Sasser. Participants discuss issues of interest in the Fellowship, their lives, and the world. All are welcome!
