My name is Eden Johnson (he/him) and I am so excited to be doing a piece of my internship with Eliot Chapel in addition to my work with Metro East Unitarian Universalist Congregation. I made my entry into UUism because I needed a place where all the parts of me could have room to belong. After I finished seminary with my Masters in Divinity from Boston University School of Theology in the spring of 2022, I was hired to start an LGBTQ+ youth group as a shared ministry with a UU and UCC congregation in the suburbs of Boston. Something that still makes me smile is that this shared ministry between congregations across the park from each other, is the first ministry they have shared since their split from each other over 100 years ago, and how the work of care can be a uniting force across difference. In UU spaces I found a spiritual home where I was able to sing familiar hymns, do the work of care and justice, and be in a place that made room for questions without presumptions of answers. 



In the fall of 2024 I moved from Boston to the Saint Louis area seeking an affordable life and to give my gifts of ministry in service to the social and spiritual fabric I now inhabited. I started supporting Metro East UUC in January of 2025 and now serve as their Ministerial Fellow part time, taking on the responsibilities of worship, spiritual life, and co-creative ministry. 

I am originally from Atlanta, Ga and received my undergraduate degree in Religious Studies with a minor in Business Administration from Birmingham-Southern College. In my free time I enjoy walks in the park and crafting.