First Unitarian Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Learning through Leading: Encouraging Diversity in Unitarian Universalist Ministry, One Step at a Time
January 18, 2008
In his landmark book, Black Pioneers in a White Denomination, Mark Morrison-Reed writes, "Our history in regard to racial justice is brave enough to make you proud, tragic enough to make you cry, and inept enough to make you laugh—once the anger passes."Changing that history has been an up-and-down road, with plenty of potholes and snags along the way. But progress is being made, and the minister, board, and congregation of the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh (PA) are learning about the process as they navigate a new path to expand their ministry and grow their congregation. Through the Unitarian Universalist Association's (UUA) Diversity of Ministry initiative, this congregation has been offered an historic opportunity to help write a more promising chapter in the story of Unitarian Universalist (UU) efforts to promote racial justice.
According to minister David Herndon, the opportunities for his congregation and the UUA connected at the right moment: "the Pittsburgh congregation has 427 voting members and nearly 300 attending services. Another minister is needed." Herndon noted that his own ministry was shaped by his presence, years ago, at a service at All Souls Church Unitarian in Washington, DC. There, he listened to a sermon given by Rev. David Eaton and was moved by what he saw as the congregation's commitment to equality and diversity. Eaton, in his writing and his preaching, put forward a model for All Souls to be a congregation that offered a gospel of hope, inclusivity and affirmation for its members.
Herndon and his congregation's board see similar opportunities in front of them: "We believe we have a mandate to grow our ministerial staff and are enthusiastic about the prospect of diversifying our leadership. This is perhaps, the most ambitious endeavor the church has undertaken in twenty years, as we will need substantial increases in both membership and pledging per member to support this. However, we believe that this is the right thing to do, and that the time is ripe. A second minister will help us to better meet the needs of our vital congregation, facilitate greater participation in social action projects and attract new members, thereby spreading the UU message through words and deeds. [And] right now, Unitarian Universalism has an historic opportunity to fulfill our dreams by promoting diversity, at least in our ministry, and perhaps also in our congregations, by taking extra care to ensure that these individuals have realistic opportunities to serve Unitarian Universalist congregations as they graduate from theological school over the next two or three or four years."
While the opportunity is great, the challenges are as well. UUA President William G. Sinkford, issuing the congregational charge to the First Universalist Church of Southold (New York) at the installation of Rev. Addae Watson in 2008, said: "Deep in our souls we know that Unitarian Universalism will betray its promise if it remains primarily a sanctuary for upper-middle class whites in an increasingly pluralistic world. In this society, no one escapes the impact of race and racism. [Being] color blind does not make space for that part of a minister's identity which is bound up with race and culture."
Sinkford charged the congregation to carry forward "three not-so-simple things: First, talk, out in the open, about the impact of race on your ministry, remembering that none of us are color blind and that forgiveness is readily available. Second, accept the responsibility to be in continual learning mode and be willing to share what you learn. Third, bless and support these ministers' leadership in our faith."
Three not-so-simple things that can, step by step, encourage our engagement in anti-racist anti-oppressive multicultural behavior and promote the diversity of ministry within Unitarian Universalism.
Rev. Dr. Tracey Robinson-Harris, a member of the UUA staff who serves on the Diversity of Ministry team observed, "We can not afford to lose this opportunity to open our faith to more diversity. The state of our world, the presence of so many persons of color preparing for our ministry, and the leadership of those ministers of color who have and continue to serve us faithfully–as well as the unfortunate history of our past actions and neglect— call out for a new chapter to be written. The promise of the Diversity of Ministry initiative is that it can help us do this soul-saving work: how can we not take that first step?"
David Herndon reflected, "I do not need to remind you that the long history of racial injustice is one of two original sins of the United States, the other being the dispossession of the indigenous inhabitants of this land. I do not need to remind you that the continuing effects of that history of racial injustice constitute one of the most difficult challenges facing this nation even today. And I do not need to remind you that one of the most enduring hopes of Unitarian Universalism has been to make a positive contribution toward racial justice.
"I ask that we hold onto the hope that new life can go beyond the life that has been. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, 'Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.' May we be willing to take that first step in response to the challenges and opportunities that come to us in all part of our lives."
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Last updated on Friday, January 18, 2008.
