A new chapter in Union's good book

For the first time in its nearly 200-year history, Union United Methodist Church will have a woman pastor. The Rev. LaTrelle Miller Easterling was introduced as the Columbus Avenue church's new pastor at its weekly worship service on Feb. 17.

Easterling will assume her duties in July. She will succeed the Rev. Martin McLee, Union's pastor since 2000. McLee was recently appointed by Bishop Peter Weaver to the position of district superintendent for the denomination's Metro Boston Hope District, which means he'll oversee 75 United Methodist congregations in the Greater Boston area.

Easterling, a native of Indiana, has for the past several years served as the pastor of Old West United Methodist Church on Cambridge Street. Prior to that she led Brockton's Pearl Street United Methodist Church from 2002 to 2005. Easterling graduated Summa Cum Laude from Boston University School Theology with a Master of Divinity in 2004. Prior to her ordination, Easterling was an attorney, working as a prosecutor in Colorado Springs, Colo., and then as the first attorney to specialize in worker's compensation for that city.

Her husband, the Rev. Marion Easterling, Jr. pastors a United Methodist congregation in Marshfield. They have two children, Garrett Walter and Miles Teronza.

Easterling gave a glimpse of a fiery preaching style in brief remarks to the congregation. "I want you to know I love the Lord!" she said by way of an opening. "I love the Lord!"

By the time she finished the congregation was on its feet in a standing ovation. "We gonna be all right!" came a voice from the center aisle.

In a short interview before she headed out of the church, Easterling acknowledged that she is both enthusiastic and a little overwhelmed at the prospect of assuming the leadership of the congregation, the oldest historically black church in the denomination's New England Conference and the first predominantly black United Methodist Church in the country to become a Reconciling congregation, or one that fully accepts gay and lesbian worshippers into the life of the church. "This is a fantastic dynamic congregation. It has such a wonderful history in the city of Boston. It has meant so much for African Americans in Boston and it has meant so much that this congregation, as the first African American congregation in the country to reach out and become a Reconciling congregation. So it means so much now for Methodism across the entire country. So coming to a place that has that kind of legacy and that kind of history is humbling, it's a little bit overwhelming, but at the same time God doesn't send us anywhere that God doesn't carry us and help us. As I said this morning my power doesn't come from me, my power comes from God. And I'm just excited about what God's going to continue to do here at Union through this congregation, through all the people that assist in this congregation and then through myself as pastor."

As for how she feels about being Union's first female pastor, Easterling smiled and said, "I try not to think about it too much because I don't know if want to cry or shout. But it's an awesome, an awesome responsibility but it's also an awesome opportunity. I've been first a lot of times in my life," she said, noting that she was the first African American attorney hired by the city of Colorado Springs and the first African American clergy at the Pearl Street church and the first African American woman to pastor at West Street church. "That doesn't scare me or stop me anymore," said Easterling, "but I do know that it means that the path that you as a trailblazer blazes you need to not only think about yourself but you need to think about what you're leaving for those who will come behind you."

Kempton Fleming, the chair of Union's Staff, Pastor and Parish Relations Committee, which helped in the search for McLee's replacement, said the congregation is "blessed" to have Easterling.

"The biggest selling point, as you heard, is she loves the Lord," said Fleming of the reasons why Easterling was chosen to lead the congregation. He also cited her ministry to the sick and home-bound and her desire to bring people into the church through such programs as Bible study. Additionally, Easterling's support for Union's Reconciling ministry was "a big factor" in selecting her for the post, said Fleming.

Under McLee, the church has opened its doors to gay and lesbian people, hosting community events like last year's annual Boston Pride Interfaith Service and welcoming gay people to participate in all aspects of church life.

McLee said that Weaver, who makes the final decision on clergy appointments, could not have made a better choice for his replacement. "He found a pastor who's progressive ... who understands the pulse of the city and who lines up with who Union is as a congregation theologically, culturally, spiritually," he said. "So it's going to be an amazing journey."

In reference to her status as Union's first woman pastor, McLee joked, "The good thing is she doesn't have to fill my shoes, because she has some nice Manolo Blahniks of her own."

On a more serious note, he expressed pride that the church continues to break new ground. "Union continues to push the edges of what folk traditionally expect from churches generally and black churches specifically," he said. "So I'm really honored to have been part of the journey of Union's doing these things and I'm so grateful for how she will be received by the community."