Our Minister, The Reverend Burton D. Carley
Written by church member, Jack Richbourg
It could only happen here. Only at the First Unitarian Church of Memphis, the Church of the River, could the minister be a Mozart-loving, West Texas cowboy married to a country-music-loving Jewish woman from New York. No, that’s not a misprint. Go back and read it a couple of more times, if you need to. We’ll wait on you.
By the third reading, you should realize that Burton Dean Carley, the minister of the Church of the River, indeed, practices what he preaches. He really does believe that strength lies in diversity. It’s a darn good thing he’s Unitarian because not many other denominations could tolerate such cultural variety in just one, married couple.
For more than twenty-five years, Burton Carley has instilled a reason-tempered tolerance at the church by teaching the twin, time-honored, Unitarian, traditions of “Freedom of the Pulpit” and Freedom of the Pew.” Many milestones mark the journey. The original plan of the church building was completed with the addition of the educational wing, the Beatrix Potter wing, in 1988. A new Unitarian church was founded in eastern Shelby County in 1992, and a capital fund drive continues to insure, under his leadership, a truly unique and dramatic Unitarian presence on the banks of the Mississippi River for years to come.
Texas Christian University where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Religion gave him an appreciation for Texan self-reliance and independence. Boston University, on the other hand, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Masters Degree in Theology gave him an appreciation for both the Unitarian Church and the Boston Red Sox. For the former, we are grateful. For the latter, we are resigned. We overlook this one cardinal sin, here, in Cardinal Country because we know it is not easy being a minister. You have to be a chief executive, a counselor, a friend, a politician, a constant source of inspiration. So, let him have his Red Sox. Let him have his pipes. Let him have his tri-fold amen at the end of each sermon.
We allow these things because we know that what he has taught us is, in fact, true. We really do not deserve this day we have been given, but we know the day we have been given, is made more challenging by his thoughtful sermons and more engaging by his careful leadership.
And so, I ask you: Exactly what does a Mozart-loving, West Texas cowboy have in common with a country-music-loving Jewish woman from New York? They have the Church of the River in common. They have US in common, and, for that, we are truly grateful. For that, we give thanks.
OK, everybody, all together, now, are you ready?
“Amen and amen and amen!”
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