Name: Barb Malat

Place of Birth: Minneapolis, Minnesota

When did you come to the Verde Valley and why? March 2014. My husband and I started looking for a retirement location and came to Sedona for 3 days and got Red Rock Fever. We bought a house in January and moved here in March. We have had no regrets.

What is your religious background? I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic grade school, high school and college. When I was pregnant with our first child, we sought help from the Catholic Church to prevent my husband from being drafted for the Viet Nam war. There was no support. Fortunately, he was able to stay in school until Richard Nixon stopped the draft. That ended our relationship with the church.

What brought you to SUUF? I was reading the newspaper and saw an article with a picture of Reverend Anthony, Rabbi Magal and another man. I was happy to see the diversity and decided to come to Easter service. I was so impressed with the friendly reception I received.

How does SUUF fit into your spiritual journey? SUUF has given me the opportunity to attend a service that opens my mind to consideration of where I am in my life and evaluation of what’s important to me. I feel happy and peaceful when I leave the Sunday service but do my best to carry the feelings all week.

[This article appeared in the SUUF Newsletter for December, 2022]