Our Minister
Reverend Kent Hemmen Saleska
Phone: 952-473-5900
Office Hours:
Tuesday and Friday: 9:00 am to 2:00 pm; Wednesdays: 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm; Thursday Study Day and Monday off
In the spring of 2007, Kent was called as the seventh settled minister to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Minnetonka and began his service to the congregation in August. He was ordained into the Unitarian Universalist Ministry and installed as minister of UUCM on March 9, 2008.
Kent began his seminary education at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, and graduated from Meadville/Lombard (Unitarian Universalist) seminary in Chicago. In the process of his ministerial formation, Kent engaged in a one-year internship at the First Unitarian Society of Denver and subsequently served as Student Minister to the Green Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Wisconsin. After graduation, he completed a 12-month Chaplain Resident program at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.
Kent is the son of two Unitarian Universalist minister parents, and as a teenager was deeply involved in the UU youth movement. Significant among his youth involvement was his participation in Common Ground, the two-year transition process from Liberal Religious Youth (LRY) to what is now known as Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (YRUU). His involvement with YRUU as a teenager inspired his ten years of youth work as an adult, and is a foundational component of what eventually propelled him into ministry.
Kent and Heidi were married at the White Bear Lake UU Church in Minnesota in 2004. Their son Parker was born in October 2006 and their daughter Mirek Joy was born in March 2009. Heidi enjoys reading, cross-stitching, piano playing, financial management, and playing with Parker. Kent enjoys all manner of music, writing, creativity and outdoor activities (especially biking and rollerblading), and playing with Parker. Parker loves to climb on things and play with his parents.
After having a child, Kent writes, “I see more and more now how the way we raise our children is a direct reflection on how we engage the world. From birth to old age we are constantly exploring and discovering what it means to be who we are in relationship with the world beyond our own skin. We are continually helping each other learn what it means to discover our identity and our faith, to read and tell each other great stories, to listen for and pay attention to the breathing and heartbeats and cries of pain or need in the world around us, and finally, to experience beauty and come safely home.”
In his ministry, Kent seeks to inspire humor, awe, and reverence while on the spiritual journey toward creating lives that unite the world of belief with the world of action.