Chad Petrovay

My name is Chad Petrovay. 

My husband and I are transplants to New Jersey, as we were both born and raised elsewhere. Before this pandemic, we were already geographically separated from our friends, but as stay at home became the norm, we found an even greater divide between ourselves, our colleagues, friends and family. 

In the midst of this isolation, I reconnected with an old college friend. We talked about how hard it is to connect with people and make friends, and how lonely we were feeling even with loving families. After that conversation, I resolved that it was time to make some changes in my life – I wanted to engage more deeply with a community. And that's when I discovered Beacon.

I was baptized and raised in the Lutheran church, and while I was aware of Unitarian-Universalism, I had never attended UU services before. The more I read and learned about UU, the more I recognized that the 8 Principles aligned with my own core beliefs. I found that Sunday morning services left me feeling spiritually refreshed – Something I hadn’t felt for awhile. One of my favorite things is the Virtual Social (Half) Hour on Zoom – I have been able to meet new people, and find out more about them through the ice-breakers and anecdotes that they share. If you haven’t dropped in for Social Hour, I highly recommend it. It’s given me a greater sense of community, and I look forward to meeting you face-to-face.