First Unitarian Church of Toledo

Rev. Dr. TK Barger is the senior minister at First Unitarian Church of Toledo, Ohio. His name is pronounced Tee Kay BAR grr; he goes by Tim or Reverend Tim in person and TK in print; and he uses “he/him/his” pronouns but also answers to “they/them/theirs.”

The Toledo Unitarians ordained him to the ministry in 2013 when he was religion editor for the Blade, Toledo’s daily newspaper, and at that time he was a community minister for First Unitarian. The congregation called him to be the settled, full-time minister in 2016, and he began that ministry in early 2017. As the senior minister, Reverend Tim leads Sunday services and other ceremonies, provides pastoral care, supervises staff, manages Toledo Unitarians media, and represents First Unitarian in the community. His previous career was in publishing as a writer, editor, researcher, and consultant for national and local publications. In print and online, his byline or writer’s credit appears in books, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and scholarly journals.

Reverend Tim continues to do some public speaking and writing beyond First Unitarian, including giving sermons at Unitarian Universalist and other congregations; being interviewed for TV, radio, and podcast programs; serving as a presenter, panelist, or host for conventions, classes, and other gatherings; and reporting features or writing commentary for freelance assignments. He is a graduate of Meadville Lombard Theological School, earned a Ph.D. in mass communications and media administration from Syracuse University, has degrees in library science and journalism from the University of Texas at Austin, and received a bachelor’s in humanities from Hendrix College.

Reverend Tim has lived in Toledo, Ohio, since 2012, and earlier spent significant time in New York, New York; Austin, Texas; and several places in Arkansas.