Rev. Dianne M. Daniels was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up resisting the restrictive, overly harsh tenets of her mother’s former Baptist upbringing. Her father’s resistance to “organized church” encouraged her to find her way, both religiously and spiritually.
Rev. Dianne married her high school sweetheart, Aaron L. Daniels, the same weekend as their 10-year high school reunion. They are each other’s second spouses and have enjoyed a solid 35+ year (and growing) marriage, and have three grown children (laughingly called His, Mine, and Ours): Christoper, Ronald, and Ariana.
Rev. Dianne was introduced to the UU Congregation of Norwich by Ms. Lottie B. Scott (RIP). She and Aaron loved the people and the atmosphere so much that they’ve been members for over thirty years.
Rev. Dianne felt the call to ministry while attending services in Norwich. She recalls, “I fell in love with the people and the messages I heard from the pulpit.” She graduated from the Starr King School for the Ministry in Oakland, California, graduating with her Master of Divinity degree in 2021. She was ordained in October 2023 by UUCN and the Universalist Church of West Hartford, where she served as Sabbatical Minister from August 2023 through January 2024. Rev. Dianne has guest preached in and around eastern CT, western Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Her previous technology experience helped her feel comfortable with preaching via Zoom to congregations as far away as Washington State.
Rev. Dianne preaches at UUCN on the first and third Sundays of each month and also serves as the Consulting Minister at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Storrs, CT, on the second Sunday of each month.
Stories connect us across generations and cultures, reminding us of our shared humanity. Rev. Dianne reflects on storytelling as a radical act of truth-telling, empathy, and justice — a way to both honor tradition and envision transformation