When Rev. Carlton E. Smith was last in our pulpit just over a year ago, it was in the midst of our building dedication. That Sunday morning, he spoke of understanding the assignment, meaning, as he said then, “being able to accomplish a task skillfully and prophetically, even though there are tensions between ways of being that seem to pull against each other. It’s being kind and tough. Smart and humble. Current and traditional.” At the time, he affirmed that BVUUF as a congregation understood the assignment of expanding its physical plant. Now that the congregation is on the verge of a ministerial transition, and the state of the world continues to shift and change, how do we move through our present circumstances with grace and vision?
Rev. Carlton E. Smith began his service as Lead for the Pacific Western Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association in June of 2020. Before that, he was a member of the UUA’s Southern Region Congregational Life Staff for seven years, and before that, he worked mostly in UU congregations in the Northeast Corridor. A native Mississippian and two-time graduate of Howard University, Rev. Carlton is also the author of Try My Jesus: Daily Reflections to Free Your Mind, Deepen Your Faith, and Invite Universal Love Into Your Life.
Led by Rev. Lydia Ferrante-Roseberry and Rev. Carlton Smith
Topics: Generosity