Minister

Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley

The Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley ministers to the North Universalist Chapel Society in Woodstock, VT. He is a lifelong Unitarian Universalist. The church of his childhood was the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Monmouth County in Lincroft, New Jersey. From this church (and from its minister, Reverend Harold Dean), Leon learned about the sweetness of life. He learned about compassion, peace, and possibility.

Leon received his undergraduate degree from Tufts University and his Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh. He studied the traditional drumming of Ghana and the Republic of Zaire, the Kora tradition of Senegal, the Gamelan traditions of Java and Bali in Indonesia, the African American Blues and Jazz tradition(s) throughout the Americas. Most recently, he has taken an interest in Bluegrass and Country Blues.

The joy of life is the best within us becoming possible. So then, how do we best foster the joy of life? A poet writes,

Reaching to the past, we find ourselves less distantly,
trying to remember our tale
Asking of tomorrow just the simple gift of peace,
oceans over ourselves
And, here, to give oneself upon an altar high,
trying to remember our tale
To see and hear within the stillness, to touch and taste the sky,
trying to remember our tale
As if the golden light was in our hands,
As if Silence had whispered my name…
Beholden and here I am
Silent and singing away

How do we commit ourselves to our highest hopes and aspirations? How do we challenge the barriers, the impediments that hold us back?

Leon is currently writing a book entitled The Flower of Impossible Soul. It explores the meaning of spiritual growth and radical forgiveness in the presence of violence and racial strife.