"David Hilliard Eaton (1932-1992) was the first African American to serve as senior minister in a large Unitarian Universalist church. During his tenure, All Souls Church, Unitarian in Washington, DC became a center of community service and social action, and was the first congregation within the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) to achieve a racially balanced black and white membership."
From the Dictionary of Unitarian Universalist Biography
I reprint this prayer poem by David Eaton in preparation for All Soul's Day.
A Common Destiny
All living substance, all substance of Energy,
and Being,
and Purpose,
are united and share the same destiny
All people,
those we love and those we know not of
are united and share the same destiny.
Birth -to- Death
this unity we share with
the Sun,
Earth
our Brothers and Sisters,
Strangers
Flowers of the field,
Snowflakes
Volcanoes and Moon Beams.
Birth-Life-Death
Unknown-Known-Unknown.
I pray that we will know the Awe
and not fall into the pit of intellectual arrogance
in attempting to explain it away.
The mystery can be our substance.
May we have the faith to accept this wonderful Mystery
and build upon its everlasting Truth.
Clyde, do you know if there are any other congregations within the UUA that have a "balance" of black and white congregants? Or white and people of color congregants?
Hafidha,
Community church of NY and First Chicago have significant diversity, which in churches serving a metropolitian area is signficant. There is a congregation in the Cherokee national capital -Tahlequah- with significant native participation. Several other Oklahoma congreations also have smaller but not insignificant Native participation. Restoration in Philadelphia has had a good African American presense. San Jose has had significant Latino/a presense. We have congregations with diverse memberships in which whites still are the majority...and many congregations with about 8% non white. I think critical mass is about 15% non white. After that folks start to prize their cultural diversity in a non token way.
"Balance" or "no one is a majority" may require a multicultural staff with a public ministry led by a minister of color.