Staff

Office Hours  —  In addition to Sunday mornings, Sarah is in the office on Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday.  She works remotely on Wednesdays to help reduce the carbon footprint of her commute from Norwood, and is available other times by appointment. Mondays are her day off, and she is unavailable in person and by email.

The Rev. Sarah Napoline serves as the Assistant Minister for Families & Community Outreach at First Parish. Sarah coordinates programs and outreach for school-age children, youth, and their families, supports community engagement, and oversees our digital media strategy. As a fully ordained minister, she also assists Jeff with program development, worship, and pastoral care.

Sarah is a lifelong Unitarian Universalist and has served congregations across Massachusetts as a minister, religious educator, and youth pastor. She grew up attending First Parish in Concord, completed her internship at First Parish in Brookline, and most recently served as the minister of First Parish in Stoughton, where she was the first woman to serve as minister in three centuries of the congregation’s history.

At a national level, she has served Unitarian Universalism as a vocational advisor and credentialing liaison for candidates to the ministry, and as chaplain for the annual young adult caucus. She has traveled to Transylvania three times for pilgrimages as a choir member, youth chaperone, and family minister. She believes that religion can be a powerful force for good, helping us explore our own spirituality, become better people, and build a better world grounded in justice, mercy, and love.

Sarah holds a degree in psychology and religion from Mount Holyoke College and a Master of Divinity from Andover Newton Theological School (now affiliated with Yale Divinity School). In addition to her pastoral education, Sarah completed a Master of Theological Research at Andover Newton; her academic research focuses on Mary of Nazareth (i.e., the Blessed Mother or Virgin Mary) in the context of feminist and liberation theologies, laying the groundwork for a constructive theology of Mary centered on humanism and religious pluralism.

Sarah studies yoga daily as a spiritual practice and is in a 200-hour training to become a certified yoga instructor. She enjoys reading, knitting, and the dubious honor of being a Red Sox fan. She lives in Norwood with her husband (and high school sweetheart), Dr. J. Wesley Napoline, a chemist for a biopharmaceutical company in Cambridge. In their spare time, they enjoy cooking together, discussing audiobooks & podcasts, and taking walks with their rescue dog, Henry.