Dec
16
In Memoriam: the Reverend Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley, 1949-2006
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This piece was sent by Deborah J Weiner, Director of Electronic Communication at the UUA.
With great sadness, the Unitarian Universalist Association reports the death of the Reverend Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley on December 10.
In her fifty-seven years of life, Bowens-Wheatley moved in circles of art, social policy, media, and ministry.
She was born on August 6, 1949, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended Temple University. In 1979, while studying in media and public relations, she was offered the opportunity to work as a press attaché to the Ambassador from Grenada to the U.S. Returning from that assignment, she worked in public broadcasting and media, and received an M.A. in International Development, Visual Media and Public Relations from American University in 1982.
She joined the staff of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee in 1986, serving as Director of Public Affairs. In 1988 she joined the staff of the North Shore Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program as a program officer, where she helped shape many Unitarian Universalist programs which influenced both secular social change organizations and the public voice and outreach initiatives of the UUA. She left Veatch in 1991 to enroll at Wesley Theological Seminary and graduated from Wesley in 1994, magna cum laude.
Following her ordination she served congregations in New York City and Tampa, Florida, and also served as a consultant for the Metro New York district of the UUA. She served on the staff of the Religious Education department of the UUA from 2000 through 2003. She had been called in April, 2006, to the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego, California to serve as Minister for Social Justice and Community Life, but withdrew because of illness.
Bowens-Wheatley’s ministry shaped contemporary Unitarian Universalist Association programs and practices in significant ways. She was a founding member of the African American Unitarian Universalist Ministry (AAUUM); board member of the Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation (1991-93); and a member of the UUA Commission on Appraisal (1993-1999 and chair, 1996-1998).
She served as co-editor, with Nancy Palmer Jones, of Soul Work: Antiracist Theologies in Dialogue (Skinner House Books, 2002); wrote the Adult Study and Process Guide to “Belonging: The Meaning of Membership” (UUA Commission on Appraisal report, 2001); co-authored “Interdependence: Renewing Congregational Polity” (UUA Commission on Appraisal report, 1997); and was a contributing author for Weaving the Fabric of Diversity, an anti-bias curriculum for adults, (UUA, 1996). She wrote “A Case for an Actual Racism 101,” (Christian Science Monitor, 1988), and numerous articles in periodicals, including UU World, First Days Record, Inward Springs, the LREDA Journal, The UU Women’s Federation Communicator, and others.
UUA President William G. Sinkford said, “Marjorie has been a part of my ministry since I knew that I would become a minister. We met for the first time in 1991 at a gathering of the African American UU Ministry. She was in seminary at Wesley and I would start at Starr King the following year. We served on committees and commissions, teams and task forces, and shared work on the UUA staff. I preached for her congregation in Tampa and, just last week, had the privilege of visiting with her and saying goodbye. She has been friend, confidant, co-worker and so much more. Like so many others, my grief at her passing is deep. But I know that her gentle, competent and loving spirit will remain with us, helping to guide us in the years ahead.”
A service celebrating Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley’s life and ministry will held on December 30, 2006 at 2:00 p.m. at the Community Church of New York City, Unitarian Universalist. The Reverend Bruce Southworth and the Reverend Rosemary Bray McNatt will co-officiate.
An article honoring Bowens-Wheatley’s life and ministry can be found [here at UUA.org].
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