First Unitarian Universalist Church of New Orleans
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Reading Before Sermon, from the First Church History webpage,
with contributions by Meg Dacjowski, Mary Jo Day, and Rev. Melanie Morel-Ensminger
…On November 23, 1823, the church was organized along formal Presbyterian lines, Presbyterian standards were adopted and the congregation petitioned the Presbytery of Mississippi to be enrolled as The First Presbyterian Church in the City and Parish of New Orleans…. In the spring of 1824, Reverend Theodore Clapp took his seat for the first time at a meeting of the Mississippi Presbytery.
From the beginning, Clapp's ministry was controversial. In 1824, he was elected as President of the College of Orleans. While President, he was charged with promoting an inter-racial dance in which slaves and free people of color had come together with white citizens at a ball. For this, Clapp was fined $20.00 though charges were later dropped. In 1824 Clapp began to question the doctrine of eternal punishment for sinners. In his autobiography, Clapp claimed to have received a revelation of universal salvation “by witnessing the profusion, splendor, and beauty of a social entertainment” – i.e., a party held at the home of a parishioner.
From 1826, when Clapp was formally charged until 1832 when he was convicted of heresy, there was a continuous exchange of accusations, charges, recantations, rewording of statements, and other exchanges between Clapp and the Mississippi Presbytery. Some charges were doctrinal, others reflected personal conflict with members over "unChristian" (that is, immoral) conduct. The conduct charges were dropped but the doctrinal charges remained. These included the charge that Clapp refuted the doctrine of original sin, denied the Trinity, did not hold the doctrine of “decrees of God,” denied the Deity of Jesus, regarded observance of the Sabbath as optional, and did not believe in intercessory prayer. At his trial, after much debate and eloquent impassioned speeches on both sides, Clapp was suspended from the ministry until he showed “signs of repentance” on December 22, 1832.
Clapp's congregation had never been a particularly orthodox one, nor all that attached to being Presbyterian, and Clapp’s support in the church increased as the controversy with the Presbytery continued. On February 26, 1833, the congregation rejected his offer to resign and voted by a margin of 86 to 26 to continue Clapp as their pastor; the majority retained the church building and communion silver. (The minority retained the name First Presbyterian and purchased another building.) Later that year, the church was incorporated as the First Congregational Church of New Orleans. In 1837, the congregation was recognized as Unitarian by the American Unitarian Association, and was listed as First Congregational Unitarian Church in subsequent AUA directories as one of the churches of the “west.” So ends our Reading.
Sermon
On the evening of Sunday, February 26, 1993, I knelt on the scarred cork floor of the Sanctuary of the old church building at 1800 Jefferson Avenue, and the voting members of First Church pressed forward, linking hands in a living chain to lay hands on my shoulders to ordain me to the Unitarian Universalist ministry. In the living links of the chain of hands were 3 present and former ministers of the church – the Rev. Suzanne Meyer, Rev. Michael McGee, and Rev. Albert D’Orlando – as well as the Rev. John De Wolf-Hurt, District Executive of the Southeast District, and Rev. Bill Schulz, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association. I was nearly smothered from the press of people around me but it was one of the most meaningful events of my life, right up there with the birth of my son and marrying Eric.
My ordination by this church 18 years ago launched me into UU ministry at congregations as widespread as Ellisville, Mississippi; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Auckland, New Zealand; and Cherry Hill, New Jersey, before my return to my hometown and my home church 2 years after Katrina in August of 2007. I know I brought to all the churches I served a sense of the New Orleans spirit and the fervor for justice and good worship that I learned here at First Church. (This was not always in my best interest; in some churches I was accused, rightly as it turns out, of not loving that city as much as I loved New Orleans, and not loving that church as much as I loved First Church.)
I hope I have been able to bring here to you what I’ve learned and gained from those disparate locations and those years of ministry away from the church and city that I love so much. I hope I’ve grown and matured in these years of ministry, and I hope I have contributed in some small way to First Church’s and the city’s recovery and renewal.
What many First Churchers may not realize is how much this congregation and this city have contributed to MY recovery and renewal. Although I was living away at the time of Katrina, I too was traumatized by Katrina’s aftereffects, and being teased for over a decade for having an unusual accent and a strange obsession with food and music takes its toll on a person. It is not only good to be home, it is healing and comforting and fulfilling to be home.
That 18 years ago day was not only meaningful to me but also to the First Church congregation, because at the morning service earlier that Sunday, the congregation marked its 160th anniversary as an independent religious community. One of only 2 Unitarian churches to survive the Civil War, the First Church congregation had up to that time overcome 3 congregational splits, 6 wars, innumerable yellow fever and influenza epidemics, moves to 5 buildings in 3 locations, and several serious financial crises (once we were rescued by New Orleans Jewish philanthropist Judah Touro, and one crisis was solved, ironically enough, through redress from the state lottery).
The hoopla surrounding the church’s 160th anniversary gave the congregation a sense of accomplishment and feelings of hope for the future. Within a few years, the congregation made the brave step of selling its historic location at the corner of Jefferson and Danneel and moving down to this much larger campus on a major city artery. With the increased visibility and capacity came dreams of an increased urban ministry.
First Church has always had a history of urban ministry. The history page on our website by necessity can tell only a part of the whole story. It might sound like bragging, but it is only the truth that this church and members of this congregation have been involved in or leaders of nearly every single justice issue in the city of New Orleans since our breakaway from the Presbytery in 1833. Women’s rights, welfare of the poor and children and disabled people, improvement of the city’s drainage and water purity and flood protection, welfare of animals, education at all levels, the right of working people to organize, interfaith cooperation, free speech and free association, civil rights for people of color and gays and lesbians, speaking out against unjust wars, and care for our fragile environment – all these and more have been part of First Church’s agenda. It is a proud history, and an important legacy.
Today we are faced with some familiar challenges we have faced before as well as some new ones. We have rebuilt our building after a disaster before – only the last disaster before this one was fire, not water. We have come back before from heavy financial losses and giant deficits, and while this time there won’t be a Judah Touro or a Louisiana lottery to save us, we have saved our own selves at least once before. We have regained members before after precipitous drops in congregational membership. One of the best things about being a congregation with a 178-year history is that we have so much past to look to for inspiration and courage and hope.
We are poised once again to fulfill the promise of our history. Even though our building is not yet completely rebuilt from the Flood, we are already a center for community activities to promote spirituality, physical health, and wider justice. The Center for Ethical Living and Social Justice Renewal, the non-profit organization founded by the 3 New Orleans UU congregations which rents the 2nd floor of our Religious Education wing for the New Orleans Rebirth Volunteer Center, has hosted thousands of volunteers from all over the country and has brought its “Race, Race, & Recovery” dialogue to even more out-of-town volunteers through partnerships with other recovery organizations. Our close relationships with Community Church and North Shore have made all 3 congregations stronger and better-known. In a matter of months, our Community Kitchen will finally open and begin a new multi-parish food ministry, both by the church and by our partners the New Orleans AIDS Task Force. Our forums concerning the Gulf Oil Spill have garnered national media attention, and our efforts on behalf of local workers and in favor of a smaller Parish Prison are already bearing fruit.
But this is just the beginning. While I have always held that First Church could, and ought, to be a much larger church in terms of members than it has even been in the past, the number of members is not the only measure of a church’s health. Just as important to me is the quality of our congregational life and the vibrancy of our urban ministry, no matter our size. And I continue to believe that a church that “walks its talk” through putting its faith into action in the wider community will naturally attract like-minded people, who want a strong, muscular spirituality that makes a difference for the better in the world.
I pray that both First Church and I have many years of productive ministry ahead of us, and that our shared ministry aids in the rebirth and renewal of the city we all love. And I thank First Church for first recognizing my ministry, supporting and nurturing me in my quest for the ministry, and for being willing to ordain me. And now all these years later, allowing me to come home and serve the church and the city. I cannot imagine what my life would have been like if I hadn’t found First Church. I am forever in your debt.
When I first found this church, back in 1983, one of my first thoughts was, “I can’t believe this church has been here so long and I didn’t know about it.” I would have been religiously satisfied, and my life would have been enriched, a lot sooner if I had only heard of Unitarian Universalism quicker. Think of all the folks in the greater New Orleans area whose lives would be improved if they heard our saving message of justice and hope and inclusion. Let’s celebrate our 178th anniversary by making sure that many more people get the word. May more and more people hear the good news of our liberal faith and join us in our efforts to make New Orleans more just and more equitable. So might this be! AMEN – ASHE – SHALOM – SALAAM – NAMASTE – BLESSED BE!
Benediction
From Rev. Clapp:
However separated in space,
May we be cemented by tender and hallowed memories on earth,
And beyond the grave meet again,
To unite in that…temple not made with hands…
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God our Father,
And the communion of their Holy Spirit,
Be with you all,
Now and forevermore. Amen.
From Rev. Suzanne Meyer:
May the peace that passeth understanding
And the love that casts out fear
Be with us now and forever. Amen.
