Unitarian Universalist Church of Catawba Valley: About Our Minister

Rev. Bob MacDicke

Bob MacDicken was called to UUCCV as minister beginning in January, 2002.

Bob was born and raised in Tacoma, WA. He received his BA from the University of Redlands (CA) (Cum Laude in Religion) and his MDiv from American Baptist Seminary of the West in Berkeley. He was ordained as an American Baptist Minister in 1967, and became a Unitarian Universalist in 1982, while maintaining his Baptist credentials.

He has served as pastor, assistant minister, interim minister, minister of youth, or minister of music for several different congregations (primarily part-time) representing 8 different denominations, ranging from a small Presbyterian Church in Quilcene, Washington, to a large African American Baptist Church in Washington, DC.

Rev. Bob, as he is often called by church members, now finds substance for his own spiritual journey, and for his sermons, from a wide variety of religious and secular writing. His special interests include an affinity for the study of World Religions, begun when he read the Hindu epic The Bhagavad-Gita in a college literature class as an undergraduate.

Bob has taught courses on World Religions for community colleges, churches and community groups, often with a special emphasis on non-Christian religions among the American population.

In 1977 he was selected by the U. S. Army Chief of Chaplains Office to direct the production of two handbooks entitled Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Religious Groups, including 45 “lesser known” groups, all of which had appeared among soldiers in the Army.

In addition to his ministry in churches, Bob has more than 30 years of teaching and training experience.He has planned, directed and/or led more than 250 training events and workshops for more than 5,000 people, including people from every State. In addition to courses on religion, his training has included social action, social programs, and community organizing, couples communication (in several workshops, he worked with his wife, Eileen), team building, administration, and human resources management.
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Bob and his wife, artist Eileen Ross, live in Black Mountain. They are parents/step-parents of six adult children, and their family also includes four daughters-in-law, a son-in-law, and three grandchildren.