Dunn to receive Distinguished Alumnus Award
“Marshall Dunn is a pastor par excellence. For over 50 years he has led congregations and communities as a rigorous teacher and a practitioner of ministry that cares for the soul with competence and heart.”
“He has been for me and others what is best of the Disciples of Christ: working towards wholeness, modeling deep Christian spirituality, loving compassion, and a passion for justice.”
J. Marshall Dunn, Minister Emeritus of University Christian Church, Hyattsville, Maryland, will be honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award. The Alumni/ae Council will present the award on July 15 at DDH's luncheon at the General Assembly in Memphis.
Marshall Dunn entered the Divinity School as a Disciples Divinity House Scholar in 1965. Encouraging his fellow students in the new DMin program to live at DDH, he helped to usher in the ecumenical student community that exists to this day. He interned at the Coordinating Council of Community Organizations on Chicago's south side. When Dr. King came to Chicago to confront northern racism, Marshall's passion for racial justice grew. After his ordination, he served two south side congregations, which would merge under his leadership. He was the founder of Reach Out, an ecumenical crisis center for families in need. He became the first president of the Illinois-Wisconsin College of Ministers.
In 1974 he was called to University Christian Church near the University of Maryland, where he would serve for 31 years, building a multi-racial and culturally diverse congregation that has been deeply involved in vibrant worship, community outreach, and transformational ministry ever since. He led the church through significant decades in the relation of church and society, which included exemplary participation in Week of Compassion and Reconciliation programs and remarkable local action. For example, in the eighties and nineties, the congregation partnered with the high school next door and the Early Head Start program to support teen moms and their children. In 1991, he was honored with the Brotherhood/Sisterhood Award by the local chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews for his service to the community, especially for his efforts on behalf of the poor and his commitment to race relations and social justice. In 1995, he helped to found and then chaired Congregations United in Compassion and Empowerment (CUCE) a non-profit organization that provides a nexus of social services and information for the Prince George's County area that continues to this day.
His commitment to work with youth and young adults is legendary. He has spent the equivalent of more than one year of his life counseling or directing church camps--and only recently retired from that. He has been sought, too, as a mentor to rising generations of ministers.
After his retirement in 2006, Dunn provided interim leadership in local congregations, as regional minister in the Capital Area, and as Temporary Associate General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). His commitment to camp counseling and his responsive social compassion continued.
Dunn was elected to the DDH Board of Trustees in 2012. As chair of its House Committee, he is currently leading efforts to reimagine and renew DDH's two residential floors and to prepare for the future of ministry.