The First Parish in Malden welcomed Rev. Otto Concannon as Settled Minister in August of 2017. This is Rev. Otto’s first settled ministry position and he brings with him a great deal of enthusiasm as well as experience from his work as a Ministerial Intern at the Waysmeet Center, the United Campus Ministry to the University of New Hampshire; at Brigham and Women’s Hospital; and at the First Parish in Sherborn, MA. He holds a Bachelors of Science in Policy Analysis and Management from Cornell University, as well as a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Arts in Global Interreligious Leadership from Andover Newton Theological School. He is particularly interested in how Unitarian Universalists can better engage in interreligious dialogue and be in solidarity with marginalized religious communities.

Otto was born outside Toronto and grew up in Ottawa, Canada. As a child he was always fascinated by outer space, science fiction, and ultimate questions about the Universe. As a high school and college student, Otto identified strongly as an atheist and was heavily involved in the Atheist and Agnostic Club at Cornell University before a conversation with a Mormon friend of his sent him on a spiritual search that brought him to Unitarian Universalism in 2006. Otto was moved by the church’s radical message of love and inclusion and found himself called to the ministry shortly afterwards. Otto is committed to loving across difference and believes in the power of relationship and community to transform our world.

Otto uses the pronouns he/him/his and has also worked extensively in the LGBTQ+ rights movement. He is interested in the ways in which our identities impact our experiences in the world and is constantly striving to live his values in his daily life. He currently lives in Malden with his wife, Amy, and their children. In his free time he enjoys board games, comic books, and other similarly nerdy hobbies. He is a Boda Borg Quest Master (if you don’t know what it is – look it up!).