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We are Open and Affirming Rev. David J. Huber, Pastor 2010 Moholt Dr. Eau Claire, WI 54703 715-835-5475
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I have been priveleged to be the pastor of this congregation of wonderful people since 2004. Not only do we have some of the best cooks in the Eau Claire and in the Wisconsin Conference (come to one of our potlucks to experience that!), we are a people who pray for one another and care for each other and live out Jesus’ command to love one another and to love the world. As you can see in other parts of our website, we are dedicated to a number of social outreach (we call them "ministries") programs, from a ministry of food to the hungry to a ministry of dignity to the people in Eau Claire who live on the streets. This congregation not only cares for one another, but cares for its neighbors as well. As a pastor, I cannot think of any higher compliment about a church. We may differ on how we read the Bible, or interpret God's presence in our lives, or how to be the church, but we are united in belief that the church exists to serve the people on the outside. Our congregation is not large, but our ministry in Eau Claire is. For that I am most thankful, and happy to serve with the people of Plymouth as we live out our mission.
We are also a casual people. You might see people in shorts or Hawaiian shirts sitting next to folks in ties and fancy hats. On Sundays that the Packers play, our acolytes usually wear Packers jerseys. Our music includes the traditional and beloved hymns of the past centuries, as well as some of the newest and most progressive music accompanied by guitars and percussion. We often give percuission instruments to the congregation to play along with as well! We like to sing and be joyful, we pray for one another, the older folk know the names of the children and the children know the names of the older folk. And if one is really lucky, one may be invited to come sit at the children's table, the table of greatest honor, during a potluck lunch or other gathering.
As for me, my path to being a pastor started with a career in engineering (graduate of Kettering University, previously known as GMI Engineering & Management Institute), followed by some time studying music theory and quantum mechanics at the University of Wisconsin, then I moved to New York City to attend Union Theological Seminary. Prior to serving this Plymouth church, I served Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims in Brooklyn Heights, NYC; Broadway UCC in Manhattan, Scarsdale UCC in Scarsdale, NY, and Central Union Church in Honolulu, Hawaii. I also spent a few years as the Executive Assistant to one of the Partners of the management consulting firm McKinsey & Co., and then was Executive Assistant to the Head of Equities Strategy at Lehman Brothers.
I continue to be intrigued by the dialogue between science and religion, two fields which have been unfairly separated over the years. I am part of the Chippewa Valley Dialogue on Science and Religion, a group of clergy, science professors, and interested lay people that reads books on science and religion. I have written a number of articles on this topic as well.
One of my passions in the church is worship leading, especially exploring how to bring our contemporary daily lives into the worship life of the church while maintaining the integrity and mystery of our ancient rites.
I am a huge fan of Star Trek, Star Wars, roleplaying games, science fiction and fantasy novels, painting, and cooking.
I serve the wider church as a member of the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Conference’s United Church Camps, Inc., the organization that guides our two amazing outdoor ministries at Moon Beach and Pilgrim Center. I am also the secretary for the Northwest Association of the Wisconsin Conference UCC. I have helped with our summer camping ministry as a camp director for MADD (Music, Arts, Dance, and Drama) camps and Adventure Camps, doing workshops on drama and writing. And I have led workshops around the Conference, and at our Conference’s annual meetings, on youth ministry, inclusion of LGBT people in the life of a congregation, and leading/writing worship.
Locally, I volunteer at the Eau Claire Arts Center, am part of the local ecumenical clergy group, write articles for the Leader Telegram local newspaper, and chair the Board of Directors for Northern Spirit Radio, a local organization that produces religious/spiritual radio pograms broadcast around the world that explore personal spiritual journeys through interviews, and also justice and peace issues here and around the world. I serve as the local liason for Equality Wisconsin, a social justice organization for LGBT rights and inclusion, and am involved with the First Friday Partnership, a coalition of local service organizations, religious institutions, police, social workers, probation officers, political leaders, business leaders, and concerned citizens that is building relationships between the many agencies that serve people so that we can be more efficient with resources, be more helpful to those who need our help, and share information with one another to reduce deuplication of efforts and wasted resources.
I sing with the Master Singers choir in Eau Claire, but am currently taking a year hiatus. I served for six years as the Chair of the Wisconsin Conference Youth Ministry Team and led the Conference’s Youth Drama Team for 7 years.
You can read or listen to my sermons from our worship page. Scroll below to read my articles. Pastor David
Christmas Celebrations. As we celebrate the holidays, let us also remember that many suffer from hunger, homelessness, and poverty
God's economy. God's economy is based on love, not money. Money is a helpful tool, but more often than that, it betrays us.
What if life exists on other planets? We discovered many planets outside our solar system - what if we find life one of them, or somewhere else in the universe? We will need to rethink many things about God and grace.
Sometimes I just sits. Take a break once in a while, and just sit and do nothing. It is good for the soul.
Red light, green light. Life is often lived at the red lights - times we are forced to stop, slow down, or take a different route.
Science and Religion are friends. Religion and science need not be enemies.
Easter joy! Some things, like joy, are better expressed through dance and music than words. Easter is a time for joy, and is worth dancing about.
Science and Religion. More on the intersection of science and religion.
God's Economy. Continuing the thought of God's economy being based on love is the truth that we are valued by God simply because that is who God is. Our value does not come from how much we posses or how much we earn.
No Doomsdays. In 2011, and many other times, "doomsday" prophets like Harold Camping have predicted the date that God would destroy the world because of its evil - they have never been right, and they never will be, because God's final plan is the redemption of creation, not its destruction.
Gay and Christian? Yes, one can be gay and Christian.
Christmas celebrations. While celebrating, remember also all those who are not able to do so with their families because they are deployed overseas in the military or Peace Corps or as missionaries; or are alone; or otherwise are not in a position to do so.
Evolution - not for belief. The theory of evolution is not something to be believed in, as though one can also choose not to believe in it. Evolution is to be accepted, because it is real. We do not have the option to disbelieve that which is real.
Is there a Hell? God's love is much too big to have created a "Hell" to send the bad people. God's nature is love and forgiveness, and that applies to all of us.
Halloween is fun! We need not fear Halloween. It is a time for fun, for playing, for pretending, and also the even of All Saints Day.
A War on Christmas? There is no "war on Christmas", except the one being waged by us Christians who continbue to try to turn the holy day into a shopping, consumerist extavaganza.
Easter love. Easter is God's promise that forgiveness, God's forgiveness, trumps all our failures. And we should be as forgiving to our neighbors as well.
Suicide. Suicide has been increasing, especially among returning veterans and among LGBT teens. It is time for us to have a real public dialogue about the topic, and end the shame and taboo nature of the fact of suicide.
I also have some articles at the Clergy Letter Project, which is dedicated to the truth that science and religion can exist together; that faithful people don't have to ignore science to stay true to the faith (as the creation science/intelligent design movement proclaims); and that scientific people don't have to disregard the truth of religious expression, belief, and experience (as some atheists proclaim). See also the UCC's Not Mutually Exclusive campaign for more on that topic.
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