Minister & Staff
Visiting Minister:
The Reverend Danielle Di Bona
We are grateful to have the Rev. Danielle Di Bona serving as our Visiting Minister as we conduct a formal ministerial search process. Rev. Danielle will preach one Sunday a month and is available for pastoral care. We are thrilled to have her continued presence at First Parish Scituate.
Danielle Di Bona has served Unitarian Universalism for over 30 years, and is the 2018 recipient of the Award for Distinguished Service to the Cause of Unitarian Universalism. Chaplain. She now serves on the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee Nominating Committee, and as a Chaplain to the UUA Board of Trustees. Rev. Danielle identifies as bi-racial. Her father was born in Italy and came to the United States when he was 7. Her mother was Wampanoag, a tribe that has lived on the south shore of Massachusetts for thousands of years.
Rev. Danielle retired this year as the Palliative Care chaplain at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, MA. In her retirement she trains and shows her dogs at Westminster and other competitions.
minister@firstparishscituate.org
Danielle Di Bona has served Unitarian Universalism for over 30 years, and is the 2018 recipient of the Award for Distinguished Service to the Cause of Unitarian Universalism. Chaplain. She now serves on the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee Nominating Committee, and as a Chaplain to the UUA Board of Trustees. Rev. Danielle identifies as bi-racial. Her father was born in Italy and came to the United States when he was 7. Her mother was Wampanoag, a tribe that has lived on the south shore of Massachusetts for thousands of years.
Rev. Danielle retired this year as the Palliative Care chaplain at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, MA. In her retirement she trains and shows her dogs at Westminster and other competitions.
minister@firstparishscituate.org
Minister Emeritus:
The Reverend Richard Stower
At our 381st Annual Meeting in May 2015, our congregation voted to honor the Rev. Mr. Richard M. Stower with the title of Minister Emeritus. This is the first Minister Emeritus in our church’s long history and we are happy to recognize him for his long and respected service to our community and congregation.
Rich Stower received a Ministry of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School in 1990. He was ordained at the First Parish in Concord, MA and has served as a part-time minister in Andover, NH and as interim minister in Keene, NH before serving First Parish, Scituate from 1992-2011. He is the author of A History of the First Parish Church in Scituate, Massachusetts: Its Life and Times, which won the 2013 Congregational History Award from the Unitarian Universalist History and Heritage Society. Rich is married to Nancy Richards-Stower, an employment law attorney. In 2016, Rich and Nancy retired to Yarmouth, ME.
Rich Stower received a Ministry of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School in 1990. He was ordained at the First Parish in Concord, MA and has served as a part-time minister in Andover, NH and as interim minister in Keene, NH before serving First Parish, Scituate from 1992-2011. He is the author of A History of the First Parish Church in Scituate, Massachusetts: Its Life and Times, which won the 2013 Congregational History Award from the Unitarian Universalist History and Heritage Society. Rich is married to Nancy Richards-Stower, an employment law attorney. In 2016, Rich and Nancy retired to Yarmouth, ME.
Music Director:
Danica A. Buckley
Danica A. Buckley joined First Parish Scituate in 2025. She brings to her role as Music Director a lifelong love of choral music and deep roots in both sacred and community singing and conducting.
She previously served as Music Director at First Parish Brookline (2005–2009) and First Parish Brewster (2013–2021). Beyond church music, Danica is well known for her leadership in community choruses. From 2006 to 2023, she served as Music Director of the Simmons University Chamber Choir, and she just celebrated 20 years as Artistic Director of the Choral Art Society of the South Shore (CAS). She travels internationally to sing and conduct. In addition to her conducting work, Danica is a longtime adjunct professor of English literature and composition, currently teaching at Wentworth Institute of Technology and other Boston-area universities. She holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Boston Conservatory.
Being raised in and around multiple faith traditions shaped her musical path and ignited a passion for diversity and community. That spirit of collective purpose led her to found Sing for Good on Cape Cod, an initiative that brings choirs together to raise money for organizations such as Habitat for Humanity. She looks forward to making more music together at First Parish Scituate, and to sharing the joy, beauty, and connection that choral singing can bring.
She previously served as Music Director at First Parish Brookline (2005–2009) and First Parish Brewster (2013–2021). Beyond church music, Danica is well known for her leadership in community choruses. From 2006 to 2023, she served as Music Director of the Simmons University Chamber Choir, and she just celebrated 20 years as Artistic Director of the Choral Art Society of the South Shore (CAS). She travels internationally to sing and conduct. In addition to her conducting work, Danica is a longtime adjunct professor of English literature and composition, currently teaching at Wentworth Institute of Technology and other Boston-area universities. She holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Boston Conservatory.
Being raised in and around multiple faith traditions shaped her musical path and ignited a passion for diversity and community. That spirit of collective purpose led her to found Sing for Good on Cape Cod, an initiative that brings choirs together to raise money for organizations such as Habitat for Humanity. She looks forward to making more music together at First Parish Scituate, and to sharing the joy, beauty, and connection that choral singing can bring.