Following the departure of Rev. Carmen McDowell, the Vashon Island Unitarian Fellowship (VIUF) has welcomed a new minister, Rev. Heather Christensen.

Christensen, who along with her partner and daughter recently moved to Vashon from Alaska, will be the fellowship’s first minister to live on the island.

“It’s such a beautiful place to live,” she said. “And the people here are so friendly. … The first time we went to Thriftway, we felt like we’d stepped back in time.”

VIUF, which meets Sundays in the fellowship hall of the Burton Community Church, will be the first Unitarian fellowship that Christensen has served. Having worked in Ohio and Michigan as a Presbyterian minister and hospital chaplain, Christensen moved to Alaska in 2005 with her partner, Liesl Fitzenrider, where Fitzenrider trained as an airplane mechanic.

During their time there, Christensen successfully completed the requirements for ministerial fellowship with the Unitarian Universalist Association.

While on a recent family trip involving a ferry from Alaska to Bellingham, a trailer and a lot of driving through the Pacific Northwest, Christensen learned of the open position on Vashon.

“We were looking for something new, so we decided to make the move,” she said.

The couple and their 15-month old daughter moved to Vashon this month. Christensen also writes a regular column and curates blog content for the Unitarian Universalist web magazine Liberal Religion and Life at uuworld.org.