This post was prepared by UCC Media Justice Treasurer Sara Fitzgerald.
The United Church of Christ’s Media Justice Ministry joins the rest of our denomination in mourning the death on Monday of the Rev. Dr. Barbara Brown Zikmund, (or “BBZ” as she was known to so many). Rev. Zikmund died in Michigan at the age of 87 after a long illness.
In a statement, the Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia A. Thompson, general minister and President/CEO of the UCC, noted that Zikmund was one of the first women to be ordained by the denomination—in 1964. “She was a celebrated theologian and historian and a leader in the women’s movement that sought change in church and society,” Thompson said.
Rev. Zikmund was the first woman to teach at Chicago Theological Seminary, the first woman to serve as dean of the faculty at The Pacific School of Religion, the first woman elected president of the Association of Theological Schools, and the first woman to become president of Hartford Theological Seminary. “She was a bold witness to the Spirit of God at work in the world around her,” Thompson added, “a woman of courage and resilience, willing to challenge the status quo, willing to break down doors for others.”
After spending four years as a visiting professor at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, Rev. Zikmund returned to the United States in 2005 and held research and teaching positions at Catholic University and Wesley Seminary in Washington, DC. During that time, she attended First Congregational UCC in Washington, and those of us on the board of the UCC Media Justice Ministry always enjoyed seeing her when she attended the annual Everett C. Parker Lecture when it began being held at that church. As one of the denomination’s preeminent historians,
Rev. Zikmund also had a keen interest in the history of our own organization and the story of Rev. Dr. Everett Parker’s ultimately successful battle on behalf of the public interest in the broadcasting industry. She frequently brought her politics class to visit UCC Media Justice at our booth or workshops at General Synod as part of teaching about the UCC’s storied history.
We will all miss both her inspirational leadership and her warm, engaging and welcoming personality.