Lay leaders guiding UU congregation

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October 2, 2008

New chapter for Locke Street church

By Bethany Bray

Lay people and guests are leading the Unitarian Universalist Congregation on Locke Street after an amicable parting with Ralph Galen, the community's minister for the past five years.

Galen left this summer to pursue other endeavors in Lawrence.

The Andover congregation is taking the transition in stride, said Bob Rougvie, congregation president, and congregation members, guest speakers or visiting ministers lead services. Unitarian Universalist, or UU, congregations are often lay-lead, he said.

The Andover congregation, located steps from Main Street at 6 Locke St., is not looking for a new minister currently, and has no plans to do so in the near future.

"Nothing has changed as far as our outlook. We haven't decided (about a new minister). We're going to see how things go for a little while," said Rougvie. "At any one time, up to one-third of UU congregations are lay-lead, either by choice or by circumstance. We'll make decisions (about a minister) early next year. The congregation will decide, and everybody will be involved."

The Locke Street congregation has a fluid membership of about 80 to 85 adults. The congregation will continue with its focus on social outreach, he said, including volunteering for Habitat for Humanity and other organizations.

Galen now lives in Lawrence and has started the Center for Mindful Living, a center for meditation and yoga, a coffeehouse featuring folk music, and a new congregation called "The Community Church of Immigrant City."

"He did a wonderful job when he was here, and made a lot of friends. We wish him well in his new endeavors in Lawrence. It's a great situation for him," Rougvie said.

Galen said he left the Andover congregation because he felt called to work in the city.

"In a sense, the five years (at the Andover UU congregation) were preparation for this chapter in my life," Galen said. "I realized I was moving in that direction, and why not capitalize on it. It was a very amicable parting."

"I decided that I'm 60 years old now, and it's high time I stepped out on my faith," he said.

Galen grew up in Manhattan, on a street that was labelled the worst street in New York City, he said. His family was the only non-Hispanic family on the block.

"America is a nation of immigrants, and we do best when we mix it up," Galen said. "This is an amazing area of the world. Lawrence has gotten a bad rap. It's a pretty exciting place to be."

Galen is teaching English as a second language at the Cambridge College Center for English Language Learners, as well as at Lazarus House in Lawrence. At Lazarus House, he's also teaching English to some who are English-speaking but not literate, he said.

Galen's new church, which has been meeting for about a month, is not in competition with his old congregation, he said, and he's not soliciting members from the Andover UU group.

The Community Church of Immigrant City is a "church of all faiths, including the faith that wishes to be critical of religious institutions," Galen said. "The world needs as many true skeptics. We need to be asking more questions."

Galen is also president of Merrimack Valley People for Peace and involved with several nonprofit organizations in Lawrence. His Center for Mindful Living is located at 60 Island St., Lawrence, the former home of a woman's sportswear factory, he said.