Melissa O’Brien- Interim Pastor

Melissa O’Brien has been appointed Interim Pastor of the Saratoga Unitarian Universalist congregation, returning to serve the community where she was raised. O’Brien grew up in Saratoga Springs and attended Lake Avenue Elementary School and Saratoga Springs High School before continuing her education at St. Lawrence University, then earning a Master of Education from the University of Vermont and a Master of Arts in pastoral care from Fordham University. Her professional background includes work as a hospital and hospice chaplain, Congregational minister, teacher, writer, and community leader.

In her interim role, O’Brien will focus on strengthening congregational life, supporting lay leadership, and guiding the community through a period of transition and discernment as they prepare for a dynamic new chapter in the life of their congregation, including the construction of a gorgeous new meeting house  on Louden Road in Saratoga. O’Brien will serve the congregation for the next six month. “I’m very much looking forward to being back in my hometown, near friends and family, and engaging with this great group that has deep ties and meaningful history here,” says O’Brien. “We are living in a time when spiritual connection to self and neighbors are more important than ever. I look forward to doing the important work of building community and, hopefully, inspiring others to fill this world with more love, acts of kindness and joy.”  Contact Melissa at melissao12866@gmail.com

Juliana Bodensieck

Congregational Administrator

Juliana joined our staff in April 2024. Her previous experience at Notre Dame-Visitation Church in Schuylerville NY as well as many years in customer service, and office management had her well prepared to take on the role. She lives in Schuylerville in what was once the rectory of Visitation Church, with 5 cats (Molly, Jade, Blackberry, Springtail and Mousse), her dog (Balthasar), her daughter Lillian who is currently attending SUNY Oswego, her ward Jacob Sherwood of Austin TX, and occasionally, her husband, Eric. She also has two grown sons, William and Xavier. The nameplate on her desk in the office reads, “What would make your day better?”

You can reach Juliana at administrator@uusaratoga.org

Judith Thomas  Pianist

Judith Thomas is a well-known national/international pianist and music educator with a specialty in the group “Orff Schulwerk” approach, who holds a BME in Music Ed from Illinois Wesleyan University, and an MM from the U. of Illinois in Piano and Choral Conducting where she held an Assistantship, plus a Special Year Certificate from the Orff Institute in Salzburg.

She taught for over three decades at the K-5 elementary level in Rockland County, NY, while presenting summer and weekend Orff Schulwerk courses around the world at such universities as UCLA, NY University, George Mason, U. of Denver, and at Orff Chapters, Orff Institute Symposiums in Salzburg, Austria Prague Symposiums, and at the U. of Taiwan and “ Theme and Variation” in Devon, London.

Her publications include a college text: “Working the Word: Music, Movement and Movement” (Prentice Hall) co- written with poet Susan Katz, and other books which aimed at elementary recorder learning, and musicals in the Orff style such as “The Raccoon Philosopher,”(Schott) and “Greek Myths in Modes”. She has contributed to the Schott American edition of Music for Children, and was a K-3 editor for Scott Foresman/Pearson Publishers for two decades, which created the “Making Music” K – 8 series still being used in elementary schools.

She has served as National President of the American Orff Schulwerk Assn, and received their highest award, that of Distinguished Service, as well as Nyack, N.Y.’s district “Teacher of the Year Award” and Sabbatical to Austria. Most recently she was awarded the “Woman of Distinction” title for 2024 from the NY. State Assembly. For the past 13 years Judith has been the Music Director of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Saratoga Springs. where she lives with her husband, Rabbi Josef Solomon.

Carol Ann Elze

Choir Director

Carol Ann is a collaborative pianist in the Departments of Dance and Music. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from the Crane School of Music. Upon graduation, Carol Ann discovered her love of playing for ballet at Union College, where she had the good fortune to play Master Classes for Founding Artistic Director of Miami City Ballet, Edward Villella, and former NYCB Principal Dancer, Kyra Nichols. She served as music instructor at St.Mary’s/ St. Alphonsus Regional Catholic School in Glens Falls, where she founded a comprehensive choral and music instruction program for elementary through middle students. From 2009-2014 Carol Ann served as Music Director and Conductor of the Glens Falls Symphony Children’s Chorus, and has been accompanist for Adirondack Voices, a community chorus, since 1999. She maintains an active accompanying schedule in the music department, rehearsing, coaching and performing with both instrumentalists and vocal students, and continues working with standout regional high school musicians. She joined UUSaratoga in the Fall of 2024 and brings thirty years  of experience as a church musician, and is delighted to have found a spiritual and musical home here!

…and coming soon, Rev. Viola Abbitt!

Rev. Viola Abbitt (she/they) loves Unitarian Universalism and has great faith in its potential as a driving force in making a positive change in the lives of people and in the world as a whole.

Rev. Viola served as the settled minister at Coastal Virginia Unitarian Universalists in Virginia Beach, VA for six years, prior to coming to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Saratoga Springs. Before that she served as the half-time minister for two Unitarian Universalist congregations in New York State, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Poughkeepsie and the First Unitarian Society of Westchester, and the Intern Minister at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Greater Springfield in Massachusetts. In addition to the congregations she has served in various capacities, she has had the privilege of preaching in congregations in Virginia, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Ohio and St John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She also served as a Minister of the Week at the Ferry Beach Retreat and Conference Center in Saco, Maine in the Summer of 2021, and at the International Affairs Conference at Star Island in New Hampshire in the Summer of 2025. During her time here, she will also be serving as the Minister for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Glens Falls.

Rev. Viola was a contributor to the liturgical materials for the Unitarian Universalist Association’s (UUA) Promise and the Practice of Our Faith Campaign in 2018, BLUU: Notes

An Anthology of Love, Justice, and Liberation, and an upcoming anthology to be published by Skinner Books. She is currently a member of the Nominating Committee of the UUA, an Advocate in the UUA’s Office of Ethics and Safety and a Good Officer with the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association. She previously served on the UUA’s Journey Toward Wholeness Transformation Committee and the board of Camp Unirondack in Lowville, NY.

She is a member at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady.

Prior to ministry, Rev. Viola was the Director of the Office of the Ombudsman in New York State where she managed a state agency program responsible for advocating for the rights of incarcerated youth in the juvenile justice system.  Before that she was a Deputy Bureau Chief in the New York State Attorney General’s Office where she supervised the prosecution of cases involving environmental crime, tax fraud, securities fraud and public corruption. Earlier in her legal career she served in Bronx County, New York as an Assistant District Attorney and later as the Deputy Counsel for the Borough President of the Bronx.

Rev. Viola received an MDiv from Meadville Lombard Theological School, a JD from Fordham University School of Law, an MSLS from Long Island University and a BA from Binghamton University. She was a participant in the Spiritual Direction program at The Rowe Unitarian Universalist Camp and Conference Center in Rowe, MA.

Rev. Viola likes to be in nature, thinks of herself as an amateur photographer, and is a lover of games, autobiographical books (paper and audio), science fiction and horror movies, and all forms of dance and music. She has one adult son who also shares her love of music and has made a career of it.

Rev. Viola currently shares her home with her two rescue cats, Cricket and Fluffy.