The Reverend Dr. William R. Murry, Minister Emeritus of the River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Bethesda, MD, and former President of Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago, died July 6, 2017.
During his 17 year tenure at River Road, Bill Murry had a strong pulpit ministry with a major emphasis on social responsibility. The membership nearly doubled in size and their community service and social justice work increased considerably. In his seven years as President and Academic Dean of the Chicago seminary, Bill led in the growth and revitalization of that graduate professional school affiliated with the University of Chicago and the Unitarian Universalist Association. He appointed six new faculty members, expanded the curriculum and saw the student body increase from 60 to 115 students.
He was the author of numerous articles and three books including: A Faith for All Seasons: Liberal Religion and the Crises of Life, in which he presents liberal religious perspectives on the question of life’s meaning, the problems of pain and suffering, loss and grief, and death and Dying; Reason and Reverence: Religious Humanism for the 21st Century, which articulates a humanism grounded in religious naturalism and responds to some criticisms of humanism; and Becoming More Fully Human: Religious Humanism as a Way of Life, which treats humanism as both a philosophy and a way of living with joy and responsibility.
His work for the Unitarian Universalist Association included serving three years as Chair of the planning committee of the National Social Justice Workshop, six years as Ministerial Settlement Representative for the Joseph Priestley District, and President of the Chesapeake chapter of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association.
Bill was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, in 1932. He held a B.A. from Oklahoma Baptist University, a Master of Divinity degree from Yale University and a Ph.D. in Theology and Culture from Drew University. He began his career as a Baptist pastor in Shelton, Connecticut, then accepted a joint appointment as University Minister at The Riverside Church and as the Campus Minister at Columbia University in New York City. Bill served from 1967 to 1970 as Chaplain and Assistant Professor of Religion at Goucher College in Towson, MD, and from 1970 to 1974 he was Assistant Professor of Religion at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.
Bill became a Unitarian Universalist minister in 1977, and was called to the UU Church of Bloomington, Indiana, where he served on the Board of Planned Parenthood and helped to start hospice in that city. In 1980, he was called to the River Road Congregation in Bethesda where he also became active in affordable housing work. He was a founding member and first board chair of the Montgomery (County, MD) Housing Partnership, and also helped found the Unitarian Universalist Affordable Housing Corporation, which continues to serve the D.C. area. In 1995, he was recognized for his work in affordable housing by the Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission.
After retiring from the Presidency of the Meadville Lombard seminary he continued his writing, speaking engagements and service as a board member of the UU Humanist Association. While living in Annapolis MD, he was a founding board member of the UU Legislative Ministry of Maryland and in 2012 was honored with the first “Creative Sage-ing Award” by the UU Retired Ministers and Partners Association. More recently he co-edited the anthology Humanist Voices in Unitarian Universalism.
At the 2017 UU General Assembly in New Orleans, the UU Humanist Association honored him as the first recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award “for extraordinary contributions to Religious Humanism and Unitarian Universalism.” Bill Murry was an inspiring teacher and mentor to a great many members of the UU clergy as well as countless laypersons and professed humanists across the country. The influence of his powerful sermons, lectures and books will continue to enrich and enlighten many.