Theme Speaker
Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout joined First Universalist of Minneapolis as Director of Worship
Arts Ministries in August 2021. Prior to that, he served the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann
Arbor, Michigan, in a variety of leadership roles since 2007, including most recently as Director of
Worship and Music. Known for his deeply collaborative creation of worship services for congregations and
national gatherings, Glen Thomas teaches worship design at Meadville Lombard Theological School and is
the author of the curriculum, De-Centering Whiteness in Worship, with Julica Hermann de la Fuente and
Rev. Erika Hewitt. Glen Thomas holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting from the University of
Michigan, and prior to the pandemic, traveled internationally to support the choir of his youth in its
ensemble tours.