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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 15, 1996)
just out ▼ m arch 19, 1990 ▼ 17 Catholic? The pastoral scene First Unitarian Church of Portland welcomes an openly gay minister to its fold ▼ by Inga Sorensen A fter 33 years, Thomas Disrud feels like he’s finally found his niche in life. PHOTO BY LINDA D isrud, the son o f W isconsin cheese-makers and a former copy edi tor for M innesota’s Duluth News-Tri bune , was recently installed as the associate minis ter of Portland’s First Unitarian Church. Disrud is openly gay. “[At the Tribune] I was president of the news paper guild, which was a labor union that repre sented reporters and other paper employees,” says Disrud, a 1985 graduate of Marquette University, a Catholic university in Milwaukee, where he ma jored in journalism and philosophy. “I would do pretty run-of-the-mill things,” con tinues Disrud, who worked for the Tribune from 1985 to 1991. “For instance, there was an em ployee— I think he was a janitor— who got sick but was not covered by health insurance due to a tech sound like a Unitarian.’ At that point I didn’t know what a Unitarian was, so I checked it out,” he says. ‘‘I again discovered that this was different from the type o f experience I had as a youngster. We were told as Unitarians that the Bible was simply one of several documents that has wisdom— that there are many different and legitimate ways o f living as a full and spiritual being. That really appealed to me.” Each of the components o f Disrud’s life were finally beginning to coalesce: “ I was gradually coming out of the closet. I found a spiritual outlet that fit my needs, and ultimately I found my profes sional calling,” he says. Last May, Disrud was ordained a minister at the Unitarian Church of Davis, Calif. One week earlier, with 96 percent of the congre gational vote, Portland’s First Unitarian Church called Disrud to become its associate minister. He moved to Portland in August, and began his church “What we essentially do is work to create a sense o f community and fellowship, and come together in our common search fo r life’s meaning Gay? Lesbian? Bisexual? Transgender? Fallen-away? Lapsed? Alienated? V Beaverton 646-3824 4000 SW 117th Corbett 244-3934 5909 SW Corbett Division 233-7374 3016 SE Division Fremont 288-3414 3449 N E 24th Hillsdale 244-3110 6344 SW Capitol Highway Marketplace at Mill Plain (360) 695-8878 8024 E. 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I knew I needed something else.” In 1991, Disrud left his newspaper job to study at a Unitarian Universalist seminary in Berkeley, Calif., called the Starr King School for the Ministry, from which he graduated in May 1994. “I grew up going to a small church that seated maybe 30 or 40 people,” he says. “My family followed a mainstream branch o f Lutheranism. I can remember as a youngster asking questions like what would happen to people in China who didn’t know about Jesus Christ. I was essentially told that they wouldn’t be saved. That was disturbing in and o f itself, but so was the feeling that I got that you simply were not supposed to ask questions at all — that there was a firm set of rules and that was that.” In his late teens, Disrud left the Lutheran church. “Though I never spoke about it, I was becoming aware of my sexual orientation and somehow knew that I wouldn’t be accepted there,” he says, adding he soon began dabbling in Catholicism. “ I met a very accepting priest friend and began learning that all religions were not so closed,” he says. “It marked a real turning point for me.” While in Duluth, where Disrud says he lived a “very quiet and closeted life,” the journalist got involved with the local Unitarian Universalist Church. “ I would walk by the church and there would be interesting quotes outside it from people like Emerson. Oftentimes they were not religious quotes at all. I thought ‘Hmmm, that’s interesting.’ Then one day I was talking to a friend who said ‘You duties in September, before being officially in stalled in late February. “It’s been a real whirlwind experience,” says Disrud. A primary tenet of the Unitarian Universalist Association, which has about 200,000 members nationwide, is to value the inherent dignity o f all human beings. “What we essentially do is work to create a sense of community and fellowship, and come together in our common search for life’s meaning. This is a journey we take together,” says Disrud, who will supervise a staff of 23, consult with lay ministers, and preach six to eight times annually. “This con gregation is also very social-justice oriented, which I think is wonderful.” First Unitarian Church’s congregation has grown dramatically, due in large part to its response to Ballot Measure 9. During that divisive campaign in 1991-92, a large ribbon was wrapped around the building declaring the church a hate-free zone. With an estimated l ,300 members, First Unitarian Church has become one of the largest Unitarian congrega tions in the country. For his part, Disrud says he’s found his spiritual home with the Unitarian Universalists. “ I finally found something that really feels right,” he says. As for his new geographical domicile, Disrud, who lives in Northeast Portland’s Irvington neigh borhood, says: “I love Portland. It reminds me a lot of Milwaukee. People are very relaxed and friendly. And it’s so beautiful here. It’s green and lush. I have a lot more to explore. Quite honestly. I’ve been so busy with the church that I haven’t had a chance yet to ftilly get acquainted with the area or to meet a whole lot of people. 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