Who we
are
FAQs
Worship
services
Meet
our ministers
Religious
Education
Programs
and support groups
Social
justice
Calendar
Committees
Directions
and Contacts
Other
UU sites
Home |
Ric Masten, 1929-2008
 Unitarian Universalist minister, troubador, and
author Ric Masten died on May 9, 2008 at his mountain home near Carmel,
California of prostrate cancer. He was 78. Masten
performed his music and poetry before congregations throughout the
United States over a career spanning five decades. He
authored 23 books, a dozen song albums, and the popular hymn "Let It Be
a Dance."
Masten was born in Carmel on June 20, 1929. He
graduated from Montezuma High School in Los Gatos, California in 1946,
and attended several colleges, but never received a degree, due in part
to undiagnosed dyslexia and a severe hearing impairment. He
is perhaps the only fellowshipped Unitarian Universalist minister never
to have graduated from seminary or college. A promising artist, Masten
studied briefly with Millard Sheets and Millford Zorn at Pomona
College, and with famed cubist Fernand Léger at the Ecole
des Beaux Arts in Paris in 1949. He also wrote and produced
musical comedies in Carmel, and became a contract writer for Warner
Brothers, ultimately having seventy-eight of his songs recorded in the
1950s and early 1960s.
Rev. Masten began his ministry in 1968, offering guest services in
California churches with the backing of Rev. Howard and Rosemary
Matson, culminating in an impressive performance at the Unitarian
Universalist Association's General Assembly in Cleveland. The
UUA then awarded Masten a Frank Billings Lectureship with the express
aim of "taking the spirit of liberal religion to college campuses and
churches around the country." Many of his poems explored how
race, religion, women's liberation, alcohol abuse, aging, and other
social issues impact the most intimate personal relationships.
Masten was ordained in 1972 at the Unitarian Universalist Church in
Arlington, Virginia as part of an effort of the Ministerial Fellowship
Committee to address the need for non-parish ministers engaged in
social action. The first of these so-called Specialized
Ministers was Howard Matson, who began working full-time with Caesar
Chavez and the United Farm Workers in 1969. The category of
Specialized Ministers was terminated in 1974, but Masten received his
Final Fellowship in 1975.
Over the years, Rev. Masten, usually accompanied by his wife,
Billie Barbara Masten, toured the country in their Toyota camper, "The
Homesick Snail," giving concerts and staying at the homes of the
ministers and parishioners they befriended along the way. Masten thus
earned the distinction of preaching in more Unitarian Universalist
churches - over five hundred in 49 states - than any other minister in
history.
Ric Masten presented his poetry in a variety of other venues as well,
including schools, prisons, and civic clubs. He had a regular
call-in spot on a talk radio station in Denver in the 1980s and
produced a weekly newspaper column, "Words and One-Liners" for the
Monterey Herald in the 1990s. These columns became the inspiration for
three illustrated volumes of poetry. Masten was diagnosed
with prostate cancer in 1999 and chronicled his battle with the disease
in a series of poems and blog entries, which expanded his ministry to a
new community, cancer survivor groups. He published six books
since his diagnosis, including Words and One-Liners: Take Three
(Sun-Ink Presentations, 2008) and the upcoming Going Out Dancing
(UUA/Skinner House Books, 2008).
Masten's other titles include Who's Wavin'? A Thin Body of Work (1970);
Sunflowers (1971); Speaking Poems (1977); Voice of the Hive (1978); His
& Hers: A Voyage Through the Middle Age Crazies, with Billie
Barbara Masten (1978); Stark Naked (1980); Even As We Speak (1982); The
Deserted Rooster (1982); They Are All Gone Now (1985); Notice Me!
(1986); Looking for Georgia O'Keeffe (1987); Ric Masten Speaking
(1990); I Know It Isn't Funny But I Love to Make You Laugh (1996);
Pacific Light: Images of the Monterey Peninsula, with Douglas Steakley
(2000); and Parallel Journeys, with Dr. Larry Lachman (2003).
In addition to his own books, Masten is the subject of Troubadour and
Poet: The Magical Ministry of Ric Masten (Trafford Publishing, 2007),
by Rev. Stephen Edington.
Largely ignored by literary critics throughout his career, Ric Masten
received numerous honors toward the end of his life. He was
named Troubadour and People's Poet of Carmel in 2003, Poet Laureate of
Prostate Cancer by the National Prostate Cancer Coalition in 2005,
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by California State University,
Monterey Bay in 2007, and Champion of the Arts - Luminary by the Arts
Council of Monterey County in 2008. "All you have to do is
catch a fatal disease and the awards just fall out of the trees like
apples," he joked.
Ric. Masten is survived by his wife of 56 years, Billie Barbara; their
four children, Jerri Masten Hansen, Dr. April F. Masten, Ellen Masten,
and Stuart Masten; and five grandchildren, nearly all of whom were with
him at the end, singing. A memorial service will be held June
20, 2008 at 1:00 p.m. at the Community Church of the Monterey
Peninsula, 4590 Carmel Valley Rd, Carmel, CA 93923. Memorial
donations in honor of Masten may be sent to the National Prostate
Cancer Coalition, 1154 Fifteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005.
_______________________________________________
UUA-L mailing list
UUA-L@lists.uua.org
http://lists.uua.org/mailman/listinfo/uua-l
Who we
are - FAQs - Worship services -
Meet our ministers
- Religious Education
Programs and support groups
- Calendar
- Directions and
Contact Info - Other
UU sites - Home |
Unitarian Universalist
Congregation
in Milford