About Rev. Raymond J. Pontier

After serving 33 years as an ordained minister of the Reformed Church in America, the Reverend Raymond J. Pontier became a Unitarian Universalist in 1975. Much of the story of that transition—from religious orthodoxy to religious liberalism—is reflected in his personal journey and years of ministry.

During his years as a Reformed Church minister, the Rev. Pontier served congregations which were, at most, mildly orthodox—never fundamentalist nor intolerantly conservative. He is grateful to the good people of Berne, Kingston, and Port Jarvis, New York, along with the Allwood Church in Clifton, New Jersey, for providing him with the opportunities to serve as their minister.

His personal and internal struggles with Reformed Church creedal and doctrinal orthodoxy came to a head during the tumultuous years of the 1960s. That, along with his bent for social activism, led to his resignation from the Allwood Reformed Church in Clifton, N.J., and finally to his transition to becoming a Unitarian Universalist minister. The years following became new experiences of intellectual liberation.

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