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And that is exactly what he did in 2012 when he decided to leave a three decades-long pastoral position for United Methodist churches in Michigan. He led the Unitarian Universalist Community Church in Portage, Mich., before transferring to the Miami Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (MVUUF) on Yankee Street in Washington Twp.
He lived in Dayton.
He served as the church’s official pastor from mid-Nov. 15, 2015, until this past Feb. 12 when tragedy struck. Martin was only 58 when he suffered a massive heart attack while traveling in New England. Memorial services were held both in Michigan and Ohio over the weekend of Feb. 18-19.
The Rev. Sharon Dittmar presided over a memorial service at MVUUF on the 18th, and the message for the congregation that Sunday centered on loss. She referenced “The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver, one of Martin’s favorite poems. It ends with these words: “Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
“He had some sincerely held issues with rectifying who he was and the teachings of the Methodist faith,” said MVUUF board president Gail Cyan. “In particular, he came out as a gay man. And he couldn’t find a way for those to go together.”
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Martin was also compassionate about the less fortunate. Food security and hunger issues were important during his entire pastoral career.
“When he first arrived, he asked church members to spend a week volunteering and serving food at St. Vincent, House of Bread and The Castle in Centerville,” said Cyan, a resident of Yellow Springs. “We had great participation rate from our 190-member congregation.”
Church members were already used to helping the food insecure. MVUUF had a regular food ministry, serving meals once a month at St. Vincent, and delivering bread from DLM to the Wesley Center on Delphos in Dayton. In February, the church held a fundraiser for a new Food Co-op planned for Salem Avenue, and raised a total of $1,500. According to Cyan, Martin had a facilitative leadership style that challenged church members to go above and beyond what they were already doing.
Around the time of his installation as the new paster at MVUUF, he had this to say about his views on ministry:
“My life has taken many rich and rewarding turns, and I have found a home in Unitarian Universalism. My background and experience are especially suited for guiding others from more traditional religious backgrounds to explore this exciting, non-creedal, open and inclusive faith.”
Martin had a master of divinity degree from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.
He is survived by his parents, Jim and Eleanor Martin of Dowagiac, Mich., his daughters Katherine Martin-Browne and Alexis Martin-Browne, and his former wife, the Rev. Jennie Browne.
“He constantly had a book in his hand, and was constantly challenging himself and the people around him to open their minds,” said Cyan. “He had talked to me about how his faith had really expanded beyond Christianity. Universalist includes a breadth of ideas and religious values from all the world’s religions, as well as secular views on humanism.”
Contact this contributing writer at PamDillon@woh.rr.com.
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