Ministry shouldn’t be boring, Bo told us
As the Presbytery of the Mid-South was reorganizing in 2003-2004, Rev. Bo Scarborough was our moderator. When meetings turned tense with uncertainty, Bo would look out on the congregation, cock his whitehaired head to the side, and offer words of assurance: “We’re going to be OK, folks. We’re going to be OK.”
The tension eased, and the gathering took a collective breath. Being in Bo’s presence has that effect. We’re going to miss Bo’s calming presence now that he is retiring after 38 years of ordained ministry, the past 17 years as senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Downtown Memphis.
Rev. Clarence V. “Bo” Scarborough came to Memphis in the 1960s to attend Southwestern at Memphis, now Rhodes College. As a student, he helped to start Dilemma, a weeklong symposium that continues to this day. Speakers have included then-Congressman Gerald R. Ford, politician George McGovern consumer activist Ralph Nader and philosopher and religious studies scholar Huston Smith.
Bo went on to gradu- C.V. “Bo” Scarborough
Ron McDonald, Memphis Friends Meeting (Quaker) I have a “Brother to a Dragonfly” (the title of one of Will Campbell’s books). Maybe we all do: a person who lives off the beaten track, someone with the courage to truly be unique. They inspire us to be different, to follow our hearts, not the script imposed on us from society, family, or even religion. This call is from a power higher than our religious bodies can claim — what theologian Paul Tillich called “the God above the god of theism.” In this world, there is far too much that beckons us to fit in, submit to social control. Our hearts, a euphemism for a call from the divine within, call us to liberty, openness, creativity and to be liberators of others. Will’s brother was one of those dragonflies whose life, described by his humbled brother, still is an inspiration. Eyleen Farmer, Calvary Episcopal Church I can’t claim to have known Will Campbell, but I am among those who made a one-time pilgrimage to his farm in Mt. Juliet, Tenn. Of all the Baptists who have shaped me — and there have been many — Will Campbell is the one who makes me most proud to be one. While I’m deeply grateful to have found a home in the Episcopal Church, it is simply not possible to shed the many layers of my Baptist upbringing. I don’t even want to. What I do want is to be more like Will. I want to have a heart as expansive as his, and I want to not give a hang what people think should I give offense for trying to live a gospel life. We lost a good one on Monday night. May he rest in peace, and may there be moonshine in heaven. Steve Montgomery, Idlewild Presbyterian Church Like Will Campbell, I am a Southerner and a Yale Divinity School graduate. When I was at Yale, I read “Brother to a Dragonfly.” I was trying to discern whether or not to come back South with the deepseated problems of race and inequality. Will’s story, complete with poignancy, humor and honesty, moved me in a way that few memoirs have. I realized that I am a product of the South. These are my people, and I love them, warts and all. I came back. Will Campbell came to see that poor black and poor, “redneck” whites, even members of the Klan, were both victims of a societal structure that pitted them against each other, and that they are all loved by God. I came to see that the two things we all have in common are our own brokenness and the love of a gracious God. Mark Matheny, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church Will D. Campbell was a unique prophetic voice who always sought integrity of thought and action in his deep Christ- centered faith. Some of us were blessed to have him as a mentor beginning in the early 1970s. His many trenchant books, songs and stories form a treasure-trove of practical theology. In many ways, his whole life illustrated the focus of a periodical he and Julius Lester published. It was KATTALEGETE — “Be Reconciled.” Who else but Will would challenge alike the bearing of Black Panthers and Klansmen, and serve them both Communion? Richard Smith, Germantown United Methodist Church My first consciencepiercing from Will Campbell came in reading his writings in the late 1960s in college and then on into seminary in the early 70s. He was extraordinary in his conviction of God’s love for ALL people. He could fervently fight racism without hating the racist. He could speak and practice peaceful reconciliation without outright condemning the one who felt the necessity of just violence. He could prophetically challenge both the abuser and the abused. He would abandon for the most part institutional religion but then serve as priest and pastor to countless folks of all creeds, races and perspectives. If you could read and hear Will Campbell and be at peace with your commitment to Christ and his teachings, you weren’t listening! Bruce Nieli, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church Rev. Will D. Campbell was a close associate of three of my Paulist brothers at St. Patrick’s Church, Fathers Bill Greenspun, Charles Mahoney and Charlie Martin, especially during the sanitation strike and aftermath of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Charles Martin describes Will Campbell as “a friend to everybody.” He leaves an incredible legacy of justice, equality, wit, wisdom and bridge-building so necessary today. ate from Princeton Seminary, then served churches in New York before being installed by the Memphis Presbytery to serve as associate dean and later dean of students at Rhodes.
Being of great energy and greater heart, Bo worked as a supply pastor to several churches in our presbytery, including Frayser-Trinity Church, where he became the pastor. A decade later, Bo accepted the call to First Presbyterian Church.
His ministry has been one of kindness and justice for all. His advocacy for the homeless and working poor has been his calling card. He serves as chairman of the board for the Hospitality Hub. First Church’s soup kitchen, clothes closet, birth certificate program, bus passes, food stamps and other programs of his urban ministry have flourished under his leadership.
He has made sure that children and youth enter into ministry at First Church. He delights in introducing babies to the church as a “child of God” and promoting and teaching acolyte classes. One young adult told me that Bo “hounds him to be a liturgist” and that’s what gets him to church.
Bo has had a way of “hounding” all of us. I can still see Bo standing at the back of a presbytery meeting swinging his arm to tell us to get through our long, boring reports. He tells us that ministry should not be boring.
With Bo, it has never been boring. One Easter Sunday, the Frayser-Trinity Church arranged a beautiful sunrise service. Alarm clocks rang early. Cumbersome chairs were hefted to the lawn. Delicious breakfast was prepared for a post-service repast. The congregation waited. And waited. And waited.
Finally, some good soul called the pastor. Bo was still sleeping.
An avid LSU football fan, Bo would open worship services in the fall with announcements as to whether it’s a good day or not, based on the previ- ous Saturday’s score.
And there’s the food. For Bo to be so fit and trim, one would never imagine his love of cuisine. He’s all in when it comes to ethnic food — Indian, Ethiopian, real Mexican. Michael, the First Church sexton, kept Bo supplied with chocolate cookies, cakes, candy. Ministering is hard work.
Thank you, Bo, for your years of service, laughter, peacemaking and optimism.
We hope you will keep us under his wing, even in retirement. Continue to reach out to the young pastors with your laughter, love and collegiality. Your 27 years in this presbytery have given you a unique perspective. It has given us even more. Having known you, we will be OK. First Presbyterian Church, 166 N. Poplar, celebrates Scarborough’s ministry from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Lucy Cummings is associate executive presbyter for outdoor ministries and recreation for the Presbytery of the Mid-South (PCUSA).