Frank Forrester Church IV (September 23, 1948 – September 24, 2009) was a leading

Unitarian Universalist Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present) ...

minister, author, and theologian. He was Senior Minister of the

Unitarian Church of All Souls The Unitarian Church of All Souls at 1157 Lexington Avenue at East 80th Street in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City was built in 1932 and was designed by Hobart Upjohn – Richard Upjohn's grandson – in the Neo-colonia ...

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, until late 2006 when he was appointed as Minister of Public Theology.Biography on All Souls NYC page
, retrieved 10 June 2007. He wrote about Christianity, Gnosticism, religious liberty in the US tradition, and his own father, a US Senator.

Biography

Church was born in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was ...

, while his father,

Frank Church Frank Forrester Church III (July 25, 1924 – April 7, 1984) was an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Idaho from 1957 until his defeat in 1981. As of 2022, he is the longe ...

, was a student at

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...

. Following graduation in 1950, the family returned to

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and W ...

. His father was elected to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

in 1956 and served four terms, until January 1981. Church was a graduate of Stanford University and

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, go ...

. He received a Ph.D. in early church history from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1978. In 1991, Church's affair with a congregant brought his ability to serve as minister into question, but most of his congregation supported him. On February 4, 2008, Church sent a letter to the members of his congregation informing them that he had terminal cancer. He told them of his intention, which he successfully realized, to sum up his thoughts on the topics that had been pervasive in his work in a final book, entitled ''Love & Death''. Church died of

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse vo ...

in New York City on September 24, 2009, a day after his 61st birthday. He is buried in Morris Hill Cemetery in Boise.

Writings

Church is best known as a leader of liberal religion. Between 1985 and his death, he wrote or edited more than 20 books. These include technical studies of

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

and

Gnostic Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...

literature, as well as over a dozen books addressing a wider audience. Books authored by Church include: * ''Father and Son: A Personal Biography of Senator Frank Church of Idaho'' * The trilogy ''A Humane Comedy: The Devil and Dr. Church'', ''Entertaining Angels'', and ''The Seven Deadly Virtues'' * ''Early Christian Prayer'' * ''Early Christian Hymns'' * ''The Essential Tillich'' * ''God and Other Famous Liberals: Recapturing Bible, Flag, and Family from the Far Right'', Walker & Company, 1996 () * ''A Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism'', with

John A. Buehrens John A. Buehrens (born 1947) is an American Unitarian Universalist minister and author. Biography Buehrens is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Divinity School. He was ordained in 1973 and served his first congregation in Knoxville, T ...

Beacon Press Beacon Press is an American left-wing non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is known for publishing authors such as James ...

, 1998 () * ''The American Creed: A Spiritual and Patriotic Primer'', 2002 () * ''So Help Me God: The Founding Fathers and the First Great Battle Over Church and State'', 2007 () * ''Freedom From Fear: Finding the Courage to Act, Love and Be'' () * ''Love & Death'',

, 2008 () * ''The Cathedral of the World: A Universalist Theology'',

, 2009 () Books edited by Church: * ''Restoring Faith: America's Religious Leaders Answer Terror with Hope'', Walker & Company, 2001 () * ''The Separation of Church and State: Writings on a Fundamental Freedom by America's Founders'',

, 2004 ()

Television appearance

Church can be seen offering commentary in the

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Dis ...

documentary ''Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas''.

References

External links

"For the Victims of the Day of Terror"
sermon by Forrest Church. All Souls Unitarian Church, New York City, September 12, 2001. *
Love and Death
Facing cancer with lessons learned from my parishioners, By Forrest Church i
UU World magazine

* ttp://www.uua.org/news/newssubmissions/151146.shtml Obituary at Unitarian Universalist Association site* Video:
''People'' magazine
- May 19, 1986 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Church, Forrester 1948 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American writers 20th-century Unitarian clergy 21st-century American writers 21st-century Unitarian clergy American religious leaders American Unitarian Universalists Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from esophageal cancer Harvard Divinity School alumni Stanford University alumni Unitarian Universalist clergy Writers from Boise, Idaho Writers from New York City 20th-century American male writers