Rev. Ron Phares

I am a father for 12 years, a husband for 11, and an ordained minister in the Unitarian Universalist faith tradition for 10. Before that I was a long-haul student, aspiring writer, and knockabout and paid the rent doing things long-haul students, aspiring writers, and knockabouts do. Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, I have lived in and learned from New York, Australia, China, Washington, D.C., Austin, Tucson, and North Vancouver, B.C. 

I’ve been drawn to things spiritual since I was little, long, long before I was introduced to Unitarian Universalism. I was raised in a liberal methodist church but eventually found I had to do too many theological gymnastics to make it work. So I rejected the whole institution of religion while still being keenly interested in its poetics. 

My pendulum swung toward the material, working in politics and getting a master’s degree in international management. I learned so much from those false starts, mostly, that they were not who I was. I’m a nerd for spirit, for the ecstasy of meaningfulness. But it wasn’t until I attended a UU church that I found my proverbial team to play for. I’ve dedicated my life to it ever since. 

For the purposes of this website, the thing I think I’d most like you to know about me is that I feel deeply called to aid and abet the shifting of our paradigm from one of separation and control to one of partnership and mutual care. The two primary places I try to do that are in my family and in my ministry. 

My twin girls, Minnie and Cora, are the light of my life and my greatest teachers and Katie, my spouse, is the perfect partner and co-conspirator for me. While the former impacts my ministry without knowing it, Katie and I are equally called to vision and work for the shift the world seems to be asking for. It is a rich life. 

I currently reside in North Vancouver, BC with my family, which includes those mentioned above as well as my mother, Jill, our dog, Ruby, and our cats, Cosmos and Phoebe.