Our Ministry: The Reverend Howard Dana
Rev. Howard N. Dana has been minister at the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg since August 2000. During his ministry the church has grown and changed. He is quite excited about the directions the congregation is taking in the wider Harrisburg community, in its own worship life, and in the care and nurture of its children and youth. Believing church is good for people, Howard strives to lead a congregation that brings people together across the generations. The congregation welcomes all, regardless of race, class, gender or sexual orientation, theology, or political affiliation. If you are open to working for common goals with people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs, perhaps the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg is for you.
Howard was born in Montana to a ranching family. He is the oldest of
4 boys and one girl. His family's relationship with a local Presbyterian
Church was a significant part of his growing up. It is this experience
that is the seed of his commitment to the Church as a vital institution
in modern
American life. It is also the place he first felt the call to ministry.
He remembers his years at church as life affirming ones that gave him a
place
to belong.
Howard's mentors at Church encouraged him to break from the ordinary
expectations of most youth in his hometown and attend college. He graduated
from Montana State University in 1991 with a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy
with a minor in Spanish. During his undergraduate years, Howard traveled
to Nicaragua and attended classes in Korea and Amsterdam. Howard's
vistas were expanded way beyond Big Sky Country to encompass a much
broader and
deeper understanding of the world of possibility. While attending college,
Howard maintained a strong connection to the Presbyterian Church and
was an active lay leader. During this period, Howard came out as a
gay man.
Following a move to Portland, Oregon, while working in community service
activities, Howard found the Unitarian Universalist church and became
active in the laity at First Unitarian Church. Here Howard found a
home - and the
call to ministry was rekindled.
The fall of 1995 found Howard enrolled in the Starr King School for
the Ministry in Berkeley, CA, where he received his Masters of Divinity
in 1999. While in the Bay Area, he remained active in community affairs.
Howard's
ministry began to blossom during the school years. He served as an
intern minister at the Birmingham Unitarian Church in suburban Detroit
where one
member said "…he must have been a minister in another life since
he seemed so practiced at ministering." Howard was described as very
mature, good with young children, warm, sincere and wonderful to work with.
Howard was brought into the Unitarian Universalist Ministerial Fellowship
in February, l999 and then ordained in September at the Birmingham
church. That year Howard served as the interim minister at the Mission
Peak UU Congregation
in Fremont, California. Howard helped them move through a difficult
period. After an extensive search for a settled position, Howard
responded to a call
by the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg to be its minister. He has
happily served them since. Howard enjoys living in the City of Harrisburg.
His life is rich with good friends and all the cultural and natural
activities that
abound in Central Pennsylvania.
See some of Rev. Dana's sermons.