Installation of Rev. Matt Tittle

The Central Unitarian Church of Paramus, N.J., will install the Rev. Dr. Matt Tittle as its sixth settled minister on Sunday, Nov. 14 at 5 p.m. in the church sanctuary at 156 Forest Avenue.

The installation will include the Rev. Rosemarie Bray-McNatt (the Fourth Universalist Society in New York City), the Rev. Terry Sweetser (Unitarian Universalist Association Vice President for Stewardship), Gini Courter (Unitarian Universalist national moderator) and Emma's Revolution (singers/songwriters).

Rev. Tittle comes to Bergen County after six years as senior minister of Bay AreaUnitarian Universalist Church in Houston. He has also served congregations inIllinois and Indiana. Ministry is a third career for Tittle. He is a 2004 graduate of Meadville-Lombard Theological School in Chicago, where he received a Master of Divinity degree. He was previously an assistant professor of educational psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the assistant director of the school's campus honors program. He earned a Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Illinois in 2001. Rev. Tittle also holds an M.A. in the teaching of Russian from Illinois, an M.A. in national security affairs from the United States Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., and a B.A. from the University of South Carolina. He is a graduate of the United States Defense Language Institute, and is a certified teacher for grades 6 through 12.

Before his academic and ministerial careers, Rev. Matt served on active duty as a naval officer for more than 11 years and as a reservist for another nine. He retired from the Navy in 2003 at the rank of commander. During his naval career, he served as a nuclear weapons inspector in Russia; conducted research for theDepartment of Defense POW/MIA Office; saw combat action in Grenada andLebanon; and had the opportunity to travel to more than 30 countries on five continents. Most of his military service was as an intelligence officer specializing in Soviet/Russian military affairs. In his spare time, Tittle is an amateur marathoner and triathlete. He has completed more than a dozen marathons (including this year's!) and as many triathlons, including the Ironman Arizona triathlon.

The Central Unitarian Church (CUC) was founded in 1897 in Hackensack, and in 1956 moved to its current location at 156 Forest Ave in Paramus. CUC's membership includes residents from more than 60 towns in Bergen, Passaic, and Rockland Counties.