About Us

Rev. Paul Grenier grew up in Iowa and Southern New Jersey. He earned his Eagle Scout and followed his love of the outdoors to Marlboro College in Vermont, where he earned his BA. in Philosophy and Psychology. He then moved to New York City where he studied at Union Theological Seminary and earned both a M.Div focused on theology, and an STM focused on Church History. While retaining a love of academics, Pastor Paul received his first call as a Chaplain at Ancora Psychiatric Hospital. He is a clinically trained chaplain who has worked at several hospitals in the Mid-Atlantic Region. In addition he has been an interim minister for Pitman Presbyterian Church and Greenwich Presbyterian Church.

During the pandemic he started earning his Masters in Mental Health Counseling, while providing preaching and pastoral support to several churches in the South Jersey region. Paul is an amateur comedian and storyteller, who recently became a certified Biblical Storyteller with the Network of Biblical Storytellers International. Now Paul is the pastor for the Irondequoit United Church of Christ.

Paul was born without a nose and severely limited vision; this has given him a unique perspective on scripture and theology, and greatly impacted his ministry. He strives daily to challenge others to see the world differently, and to include those who are overlooked.

Rev. Grenier loves to travel around the world, and he has participated in several conferences. Before the Pandemic he accompanied a group of college students to Egypt as a co-leader for a January class on Church History and the Bible. His specialties include pastoral-care, church history, disability theology, alternative worship, and ecumenical/interfaith dialogue. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, reading, blind sports, storytelling, and spending time with family and friends.

Carla has performed in administrative roles during most of her varied career; she spent over 16 years working as an office manager for a large suburban law firm; was an office administrator for a local start-up company and prior to coming to IUCC, worked at ABVI (Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, now known as Goodwill of the Fingerlakes) in the Low Vision Center as a Medical Records Coordinator and medical transcriptionist. She has encountered and worked with different personalities and gained valuable experience learning to handle both challenging situations and exciting opportunities across the legal, corporate, and medical fields. She is happy and most satisfied now working for God and the IUCC congregation!

She is also licensed and is pleased to be our on-site notary public.

Carol Cowan 1953-2023

Carol Anne Hegenderfer Cowan, 70, of Rochester, New York passed away in her home, Sunday morning Sept. 24, 2023.

She was born Jan. 12, 1953 in Urbana, Ohio, to the late Irvan and Ruth Hegenderfer. She is survived by her children Jeff (Sarah) Cowan, Sara Cowan; grandchildren Emmelyn, Brennan and Jameson Cowan; ex-husband Paul Cowan; siblings Joe (Vickie) Hegenderfer, Wes (Maureen) Hegenderfer, and Melanie (Mike) Asman. She had many nieces, nephews, and dear friends.

Carol was a 1971 graduate of Urbana High School and a graduate of The Ohio State University in education. She worked and retired from Hilton High School where she taught Family and Consumer Science. In 1999, she got her Masters of Divinity in Pastoral Music at the Colgate Divinity School in Rochester, N.Y. She was actively involved with her church at Irondequoit United Church of Christ, where she led the bell choir and played the organ. She also was very involved with the church council for Irondequoit United Church of Christ. In her spare time, Carol enjoyed knitting, watching The Ohio State Buckeyes and spending time with her family.

She will be fondly remembered for her unwavering faith and dedication to her family.

In lieu of flowers donations can be directed to American Guild of Organists, Rochester Chapter (www.rocago.org/)