A Unitarian Universalist Congregation
All Are Welcome!
Reverend Addae Ama Kraba
On October 21, 2007, the congregation of The First Universalist Church of Southold, Long Island voted unanimously to extend a call which was accepted to the Reverend Addae Lee Watson as their settled minister. In the summer of 2008 Rev. Kraba spent two weeks traveling through West Africa, spending time in Egypt and Ghana. The highlight of her trip occurred on August 1st where she participated in a name changing ceremony in the presence of a traditional elder’s council in the village of Elmina Ghana West Africa. She retained the name Addae which is Ghanaian, relinquished Lee Watson, and became Addae Ama Kraba. She was gifted the name by Nana Kwesi Tandoh IV, a member of the National House of Chiefs. Ama Kraba was his late great grandmother, and a queen from a very respectable line of royals in Edina Essaman, a township in the municipality of Keema. Summing up her familial connections and name change, Rev. Kraba has this to say “It matters very little whether I have proof of blood ties to Africans in Ghana, Mali, Senegal, or any other part of the African Diaspora, because what binds us is deeper than the water that divides us, and that is our common linkage of a common heritage to one Mother, Africa”.
Fully embracing her call to ministry, and excited about weaving the fabric of diversity within her own congregation, Rev. Addae which she is fondly known as, considers herself a bridge between the church and the community. Her theology embraces a belief that we are all spiritual beings living a human existence. The ultimate challenge is to continue growing in mind, body and spirit while supporting each other along the spiritual path. She encourages her congregants to be of service and to spread the Good News of Unitarian Universalism. Meanwhile practicing what she preaches Rev. Addae is a member of the Southold Rotary Club, and works collaboratively with neighboring ministers in pulpit exchanges, and other projects in the Southold community.
Rev. Addae's service to our faith movement includes:
*Member of the Anti-Racism/Anti-Oppression and Multicultural Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association (UUMA)*Member of Diverse and Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist (DRUUMM)Multicultural Ministries
*Congregational Envoy to Unitarian Universalist-United Nations Office (UU-UNO)
*Trustee on the Board of the Murray Grove Retreat and Conference Center
Prior to seminary, Rev. Addae worked for over fifteen years as a mental health counselor in community mental health organizations, from the East coast to the West coast, and the Hawaiian Islands. She describes her call to ministry as the second volume of life. “Volume one” was all about marriage and being a stay at home mom with her five children--four sons and a daughter. All grown up, they have contributed six grandchildren, all of whom reside in various parts of the country. She is joined in the church parsonage with her daughter Shannon Rene and her 12 year old grandson Ali, along with loving pets, 15 pound Maine Coone cat Charlie and two Toy Poodles, King Solomon and Queen Maked
