Boeke, Richard

Boeke served as minister of the First Unitarian Church of Berkeley, California, 1973-1995. During his ministry, he was involved in the Howard Thurman Educational Trust, the International Association for Religious Freedom, and the Uniquest Foundation among other groups and organizations.

Biography / Administrative History

Richard F. Boeke was born and raised in Atlanta. After attending Georgia Tech for two years, he transferred and completed his degree at Iowa State University, graduating in 1951. He received his Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School in 1954, M.A. from Columbia University in 1971, and a Doctor of Ministry from the Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA, in 1982. He was ordained in the Unitarian-Universalist Church in 1955, the same year he entered the U.S. Air Force as a Chaplain. Following this service, he served churches in Flushing, New York; Chico, California; Reno, Nevada, and St. Petersburg, Florida. He accepted the call to First Unitarian Church of Berkeley in 1973, where he remained until 1995. As of 2008, he served as minister of the Unitarian Church in Horsham, West Sussex, England.

Described as internationally minded, Boeke helped found the North American chapter of the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF), an organization based in the United Kingdom which promotes freedom of religion and belief at a global level. He was a member of the board of trustees for the Howard Thurman Trust. He participated with Viktor Frankl in events sponsored by the Berkeley Unitarian-Universalist Church on logotherapy. He was a founding member of the Partner Church Council, created in 1993 to coordinate Unitarian Universalist Churches around the world after the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. Boeke has served as secretary for the World Congress of Faiths, which works to develop better understanding, co-operation and respect between people of different faiths.