Unity Church of Dallas - Rev. Debenport's Message


Rev. Ellen Debenport

A Message from
Rev. Ellen Debenport,

Letter to the New Minister

My last day at Unity Church of Dallas was New Year’s Eve, and I know it will be months before a new minister is selected and starts work. I am writing this letter to an unknown leader, the one Spirit is now preparing for the church.

Dear Reverend:

Welcome to Unity Church of Dallas! I wanted to tell you what to expect, but by the time you read this, who knows in what wonderful ways the church already will have changed? After working through the search process, I imagine the congregation will be closer and have a clearer vision about the work it is to do and the kind of leader it wants. I expect the people will have bonded even more with Revs. Ed Townley and Kurt Condra, who were my associate ministers, and you will come to see both men as gifts from God.

I can’t predict exactly what your experience will be like at UCD. But a few things will probably be the same for you as they were for me in my four years as senior minister.

First, if anything can be improved about your appearance, you will hear it immediately. If your clothes don’t fit, if your hair isn’t right, if your teeth aren’t white, you will be given instructions. And, male or female, you will be accessorized. Just go with it – this is North Dallas. The same goes for your personality. You will be told, directly and often, if you fail to meet any needs in any way. But you also will be amazed by this crowd’s willingness to love you from Day One, as I was.

I can tell you right now what this church wants from you. They want you to have all my strengths and make up for all my weaknesses. By the time you arrive, they’ll also be comparing you to Rev. Ed and want you to duplicate his great talents as well. You know that’s normal for every church hiring a new minister. Break it to them gently that you are human. And you’re not Ellen. Or Ed.

You’re not Donald Curtis, either. You might think that’s obvious, since “Dr. Don” left the church in 1992 and died a few years later. But you’ll discover as you spend time in Dallas that the city is full of people who attended the church in the 1970s and ’80s when Donald Curtis was the minister. They will regale you with stories of the church’s heyday – Curtis’ radio show, his larger-than-life presence, the cape he wore on special occasions. Some of the Curtis-era people still attend the church, and – although they are polite about it – the church for them will never be the same. You will never live up to his legend. Remember it’s a legend. He was human, too.

You’ve got to give Dr. Curtis credit – he built a beautiful church. The senior minister’s office is probably the loveliest in the Unity movement, with its balcony overlooking the blossoming trees and the creek patrolled by swans. The office was decorated by one of the designers in the church and, for me, it was a peaceful haven. But it has a colorful history. Ask Erica, who has been the assistant to every minister the church has had, to tell you stories of all that has gone on in that room!

Which brings me to the staff. I am a protective Mother Bear when it comes to the staff, so let me insist right now that you appreciate them, all 20 of them. They are the most wonderful, hardest-working, most creative and dedicated people on earth. They are at the church because they believe in its mission. They not only work well together but they like each other. When I left, they had no intention of standing still to wait for your arrival. All the activities at the church, all the projects we had planned for the future, were getting under way for 2008. You will feel as if you are jumping onto a moving train.

So there, I have revealed my major control issue: I want you to be grateful! Not to me but to God, to fate, to whatever alignment with the universe has put you here now. I want you to be ecstatic about walking into a healthy, functioning church with an absolutely great staff and congregation who are committed to Unity Church of Dallas beyond all reason because it has made such a difference in their lives. I want you to thank God every day for a place where people really do believe they are creating their own experience and are working consciously together to do so. I expect you to be thrilled by the incredible music and agog at the massive sanctuary and in love with the swans.

I hope you will lavish the people with love and inspire them with your words. I hope you will relish the interesting characters and admire the tenacity of this 65-year-old organization that is a spiritual life center for Dallas. It’s not perfect, of course, and on the days when ministry seems to be the hardest job in the world, call me. I will agree that it is. But I will also remind you that there’s no better church imaginable than UCD.

(signed) Ellen
Rev. Ellen Debenport

Message date: January 3, 2008