MARYSVILLE — Raised as a Southern Baptist, in adulthood she became a seeker. That’s how the Rev. Carmen TenEyck-McDowell came to the Unitarian Universalist faith.
This summer, she was welcomed as the new minister at Evergreen Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
Before TenEyck-McDowell was chosen by the Marysville congregation, Evergreen was led by the Rev. Linda Hart, an interim minister. Hart served after the departure of the Rev. Bruce Davis several years ago.
TenEyck-McDowell, 47, said Wednesday that the Unitarian Universalist faith transcends any dogma or creed.
Some come to the faith with Christian backgrounds. Others have different traditions. And some are agnostics or atheists. The Evergreen fellowship is a place, she said, “where seekers can come together on their journey.”
“My faith of origin is Christianity,” said TenEyck-McDowell. Yet she describes herself now as a “spiritual naturalist.”
“I connect with my source in nature,” said the minister, who is married and has a 21-year-old daughter. She and her husband live in Seattle but plan to move to Snohomish County.
TenEyck-McDowell holds a master of divinity degree from Seattle University and a master’s degree in nonprofit management from Regis University in Denver. Her selection was “totally democratic,” she said.
An Evergreen search committee considered 18 candidates for minister. After a weeklong process that TenEyck-McDowell jokingly called “trial by potluck,” the congregation of about 160 members voted for its new minister. The Unitarian Universalist Association is based in Boston, but TenEyck-McDowell said “my authority doesn’t come from Boston.”
It has no creed, but neither is the Unitarian Universalist faith an anything-goes denomination.
“Faith Without a Creed,” a booklet by Julie Parker Amery, explains that “Unitarian Universalist are encouraged to question and explore what is not known to them.” Answers, whether about God or an afterlife, are not dictated.
Unitarian Universalists are guided by seven principles. According to the Unitarian Universalist Association, the first of those is the inherent worth and dignity of every person. The others touch on the ideas of justice and equality, acceptance and spiritual growth, the search for truth and meaning, use of the democratic process, world community and peace, and respect for all existence.
With roots in Europe and England, the faith can trace its American origins to Puritan New England. By the 1700s, people who opposed Puritan ideas about sin, and who believed in free human will and God’s benevolence, formed Unitarian churches. The Universalist faith was based on belief in universal salvation. Unitarianism and Universalism merged in 1961.
Essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson was a Unitarian minister. American Red Cross founder Clara Barton was a Universalist.
Pam Gerke, director of lifelong learning at Evergreen Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, said the faith has an education focus. Stories and wisdom from many cultures are shared, she said.
For young people, there is sex education that covers reverence for the body along with the facts of life. “Our Whole Lives,” a curriculum known as OWL, is used by the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ. “It’s as much about how to form healthy relationships as it is about sex,” Gerke said.
Near the parking lot, Evergreen has a community garden. A sign in the garden invites anyone who is hungry to pick something to eat, and asks anyone with a moment to pull some weeds.
TenEyck-McDowell said social justice is at the heart of her faith. The fellowship hosts the free Marysville Community Lunch on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
“Some people see it as something bigger than religion. I do,” she said.
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.
Learn more
Evergreen Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is at 1607 Fourth St., Marysville. Services are at 10:30 a.m. Sundays. Information: www.evergreenuu.org
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/evergreen.uuf
Learn more: http://www.uua.org
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