Rev. Marjorie Bowens Wheatley

Ancestar

Rev. Marjorie Bowens Wheatley
August 6, 1949 – December 10, 2006
All Souls Church Unitarian, Washington, DC
and Community Church of New York

  • Born and raised in Philadelphia; graduated from Dobbins Vocational-Technical School with a major in business education in 1967; subsequently worked as a legal and medical secretary
  • Double majored in Radio, Television & Film and Pan-African Studies at Temple University; earned a Master of Arts degree in International Development and Visual Media at American University
  • Served as press attaché to Grenada’s ambassador to the United States
  • Began seven years of work in public television during the 1980s on WHUT’s shows, Black Perspective on the News and Evening Exchange; won an Emmy for a show she produced with Maya Angelou
  • Received the World Hunger Media Award for “After the Rains,” an hour-long documentary exploring drought
  • Director of Public Affairs at Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
  • Program manager with the Veatch Program (currently Unitarian Universalist Society in Shelter Rock), identifying nearly one million dollars per year in funding for progressive social change organizations
  • Received Master of Divinity degree (cum laude) in 1994 from the Wesley Theological Seminary; ordained at All Souls Church Unitarian in Washington, DC
  • Affiliate and Associate Minister at Community Church of New York City; District Extension Minister for the Metro New York District; Field Consultant for the UUA Department of Faith in Action
  • Served as Co-Interim Minister with her husband Rev. Clyde Grubbs at First Unitarian Universalist Church in Austin, TX
  • Adult Programs Director – Religious Education department, UUA (2000); called to UU Church of Tampa where she served from 2003 to 2006
  • Founding member of African American Unitarian Universalist Ministry, board member Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation
  • Co-editor with Nancy Palmer Jones, Soul Work: Anti-Racist Theories and Dialogue
  • Contributing author to numerous publications including UU World magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, The Loretta Journal and Women’s Federation Communicator
    “If recognizing the interdependence of all life we strive to build community, the strength we gather will be our salvation.”
  • Called to serve as the Associate Minister at First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego in 2006, but passed away before she was able to be installed.