This Sunday, September 8, we’re making a departure from our regular Sunday Morning Worship to remember the life and ministry of Rev. Dr. Dick Allison. We’ll gather as the body of Christ and remember our friend Dick through word and song on Sunday morning at 11:00am in our sanctuary.
We had originally hoped he could make it to Hattiesburg to preach as a part of our 60th Anniversary Celebration this year, but those plans changed when he fell ill earlier this summer. We’re compiling a collection of stories about him to share with all who are here. Whether or not you call UBC home these days, if you knew and loved Dick and his wife, Jane, you are invited to join us a we remember a man we all felt saw us the way God does.
To many in the UBC world, Dick was more than a pastor. He was a friend, a mentor, and a colleague. Whatever he was to those of us who call UBC home, he was, to the broader world, a shining example of Christian discipleship. Dick followed wherever the spirit led. Sometimes it led him to the pulpit to recite the Sermon on the Mount from memory. Sometimes it called him into hospital rooms to sit with those in pain. Sometimes it called him into prisons to remember the forgotten, to hear the stories of those who had few to listen to them, and to baptize them into freedom in Christ. Throughout his ministry, Dick quite literally proclaimed with his life what Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah: bringing good news to the poor, proclaiming release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and letting the oppressed go free.
No one is perfect. Earlier this summer, Lea Matthews shared how at pivotal point in her life, Dick let her down. She also reminded us how Dick reached out, when he realized his mistake, to seek forgiveness and offer a heartfelt apology – a gesture that picked her right back up. He may have preached the Word to many people over the course of his ministry, but most importantly, he lived it through his life.
Dick has said on more than one occasion that his time at UBC changed the trajectory of his ministry, but we all know that it was Dick who helped shape and solidify our trajectory. We’ll always look to him as a living example of who God calls us to be.
If you can be with us in person, join us on Sunday morning. If you can’t, we encourage you to listen live on our website. Wherever you are, we hope you’ll join with us in giving thanks to God for disciples like Dick Allison.

Kat and Brett