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THE CHARGE OF THE CHALICE
By Rev. John T. Crestwell, Jr.

The Davies Memorial Unitarian Universalist Church
Growth & Diversity Story

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"This is an important story in our movement about what being welcoming and inclusive is all about!" –Rev. Dr. Tracey Robinson Harris, Director of Congregational Services, Unitarian Universalist Association

"This is one of the most exciting stories within Unitarian Universalism of this generation." – Rev. Tom Chulak, District Executive, Saint Lawrence District, UUA

"This is the most important book in our movement since Soul Work."– Paula ColeJones, founder of ADORE (A Dialog on Race & Ethnicity) 

THE CHARGE OF THE CHALICE

FOREWORD

"You write in order to change the world, knowing perfectly well that you probably can't…. The world changes according to the way people see it, and if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way....people look at reality, then you can change it." --James Baldwin

This is a story that needed to be told.  It is a story of vision, community building, courage, faith, and friendship.  Many people repeat the line, “Sunday at 11am is the most segregated hour in America,” but few people move beyond nodding their heads in agreement to actually figuring out how to change the situation.  The Davies story reminds us once again, that you must be intentional to create and sustain the multiracial, multicultural community.  There is a special ministry for ministers who see a new reality, then prepare a congregation for diversity.  Few have stepped into that role.

When Rev. Richard Speck first announced to the Joseph Priestley District Journey Toward Wholeness Transformation Team that Davies Memorial Unitarian Universalist Congregation had a three-year plan to double in size and grow in diversity, by reaching out to the surrounding predominantly African American community, it was the most progressive antiracism proposal I had ever heard.  Rev. John Crestwell and Rev. Don Cameron shared a vision and they were so enthusiastic about the plan that it was fun to see them in action.  I was thrilled to be assigned as part of a consulting team to the church.

My first Sunday service at Davies convinced me that their plan would succeed.  Members of the congregation were warm and enthusiastic.  The children were participants in the service.  John sat on the front row with his two-year old son on his lap, who he passed to his wife before going up to the pulpit to preach.  Then he preached a powerful sermon about the Gaia Theory and a unified theory of humanity and life.  That day, Don was happy to be in a support role helping to prepare for lunch and fellowship.  I shared my impressions with him after the service and complimented John’s preaching.  Don’s generosity spoke volumes.  He said, “If you think that was good, he’s got better sermons than that.”  I was sold!  It was the combination of people, caring, and spiritual message that grabbed me.  If I did not already have my home church, this one I could join.

About sixty people stayed for our afternoon workshop on being a multicultural congregation.  This was another good sign.  Being a believer in the “tipping point” possibility, the high turnout of congregants signaled a support for the plan and curiosity for what was to come next. 

The Davies story has a parallel to their namesake, Rev. A. Powell Davies’ ministry at All Souls Church, Unitarian in Washington, DC.  Rev. Davies had a vision for growing his faith community and for growing a multicultural congregation.  This was in the 1940’s and 1950’s during a time when the country was still tied to legal segregation.  Davies was successful at both growth and the multicultural community.  The story of his successful plan to start Unitarian congregations around the Washington beltway is legendary.  While he was alive, he led the formation of eight new churches.  His lesser known accomplishment is that Davies began the racial integration of the All Souls congregation.  He did so by leading the congregation to take strong public stands on issues that mattered to people of color.  Protesting segregated dining rooms and restaurants and establishing the first desegregated boys club in Washington, DC made the church visible and relevant to people of color in the surrounding community.  African Americans began to join All Souls Church.  The ministry of A. Powell Davies began to prepare the congregation for diversity.  Rev. Duncan Howlette followed Rev. Davies and is best known for his stance in 1968, when he told the congregation that it was time to call an African American minister.  In 1969, the congregation fulfilled Howlette’s request and called Rev. David Hilliard Eaton.  The church continued to grow intentionally as a multiracial, multicultural congregation over the 23 years of Rev. Eaton’s ministry.

Early in the consultation, Tom Chulak and I learned that Rev. Don Cameron and the Davies congregation always held onto the hope that they would become a multicultural congregation.  But hoping is one thing and knowing what to do is another.  Their partnership with John Crestwell invited the new energy and commitment of someone who thought he knew what to do.

It has been four years since the proposal to grow and diversify Davies Memorial Church was presented.    The vibrancy of the church continues to grow as the congregation grows. The staff and members know that their effort to build an inclusive spiritual community is something special. 

This church has ushered in a new paradigm, like the Olympic athlete who breaks a world record.  Once a record is broken, others begin to break that record because now they believe and know that it can be done.  This book is full of insights and guidance for ministers and congregations interested in leading their churches into a multiracial, multicultural future.  It is the first of its type for Unitarian Universalist ministers.  By sharing the intimate details of the joys and struggles to change church culture, John, Don and the Davies community may have “altered by a millimeter” the way some of us look at growth and diversity in our churches.  We hope that this book will be widely read and that leaders will begin to usher in a new paradigm that makes 11am on Sunday morning an hour when people from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds congregate for spiritual renewal and fellowship.

Paula Cole Jones
Anti-oppression Consultant

Introduction

I am in Providence, Rhode Island, visiting my friend Rev. Don Cameron. He has barely moved into his new home. There are new furniture, several unopened boxes and lots of space. The stillness of his new residence is interrupted by the sound of jazz. Don casually slipped one of his favorite CDs in to fill the empty space in the room. We both know the empty space is really in our hearts. We missed each other and the synergy we had when working together. As we sit and rest for a moment, we begin to reflect. We have a moment to talk as we prepare for his Service of Installation as minister of the prestigious 600-member First Unitarian Church of Providence. This is an exciting time. It’s been a long journey. As we discuss what has happened over the last five years, we laugh some, but mostly we contemplate our success and our sacrifice. We have both gained and lost, but we know the path we chose was well worth it. Don asks about former members he misses dearly, I ask how his transition into a new ministry is going. The Coltrane CD ends. We get our robes and head to the church…

This is the story of how a small, predominately White, Unitarian Universalist Church in Camp Springs, Maryland, became one of the most diverse congregations in the Unitarian Universalist Association. This is a true story of how a small church went from 8 people of color in 2001, to nearly 100 in 2006 (adult members, children and friends); from 100 adult members in 2001 to 150 in 2006; from 8% diversity in 2001, to nearly 40% diversity in 2006; from 5% diversity in our Religious Education program in 2001, to 50% diversity in 2006; from one White minister to a co-ministry model—one White, one Black minister—then back to a single ministry model with the church having its first African American minister. And all of this was achieved with negligible “White flight”! Just how did we do it? It has been an amazing ride that many still cannot believe is real.

If it is true that less than 10% of all churches in the United States are diverse, then what has occurred at Davies Memorial Unitarian Universalist Church could be viewed as a miracle of sorts. However, for me and many others it is not. It is a powerful example of what can be done when committed people come together with a vision and are willing to do the work necessary to make it reality. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Change does not come on the whims of inevitability but from the tireless effort of committed individuals.” This is the story of those committed individuals who sacrificed their lives for our dream to become more than just a utopian fantasy.

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