Her mother called her Sunshine. We at BUUF think the name fits perfectly. Because when Gloria greets you, her glorious smile brightens your day. A longtime member, Gloria brings many gifts to this Fellowship.
March 2 marks Gloria’s 100th birthday.
“I consider Gloria a matriarch of our church,” said BUUFer Lisa Fuller. “She’s an inspiration.”
“My mother was against all religion,” said Gloria, who grew up in New York City. “She just thought it was the root of all evil.” Gloria’s father came from a Jewish family. “He didn’t like it either,” she remembered. “They said, ‘just do what you want.’”
Later, when she was searching for a spiritual home, she tried various churches.
“I just wasn’t comfortable. I wasn’t comfortable one bit.”
But when she got a taste of UUism, “It was a perfect fit,” she said. In particular, the first and second Principles spoke to her: “The inherent worth and dignity of every person” and, “Justice, equity and compassion in human relations.”
For Gloria, faith is action.
Her warm personality and her experience in social work has benefitted BUUF and this community where she and her late husband Clifton settled after he retired. She had earned a bachelor’s at age 55 from Chicago State University
On a wall in her St. Joseph home is a saying: “Goddess with an attitude.” A feminist who has worked and marched for equality for decades, Gloria, mother of seven, grandmother and great-grandmother, helps lead BUUF’s Earth-based Sunday services on the solstices and equinoxes.
Our sanctuary is vibrant with her creativity in the form of five quilts that she designed and stitched reflecting U.U. history from the 16th to the 21st centuries. A sixth quilt celebrates nature and the goddess, reflecting our U.U. seventh Principle, “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.”
“Gloria is an inspiration to the entire southwest Michigan community for her commitment, her energy, and her caring for the people in our community,” said Dr. Larry Feldman, former chairman of the board of Calling All Colors.
Gloria was a volunteer and a prime mover in starting the nonprofit, Calling All Colors, which brought children of southwestern Michigan together in small groups to foster racial and ethnic equality.
“I’m especially charmed by the way she connects with children,” Lisa Fuller said. At BUUF, Gloria served for decades as a primary religious education teacher.
Gloria has been a leader and volunteer with the OutCenter of Southwest Michigan since its inception. The center is a nonprofit providing support and advocacy for the LBGTQ+ community.
Says Mary Jo Schnell, Executive Director of the OutCenter, “Gloria Weberg is a keen observer of and sincere participant in life and the world around her. Her history of and commitment to engaging in social justice initiatives are awe inspiring.
“Her calm intent is amazing to be in the presence of,” Schnell said. “Her smile and her laugh are sincere and heartfelt, and her sorrow and upset at the world, well-informed, as ever, somehow seem warm and loving because of her authenticity, how she is true to who she is.”
Authored by Nan Lundeen
Photo by Katharine Lion
