Reverend William Leggett, Our Minister
I grew up in the beautiful city of Savannah, Georgia. This melting-pot port-city presented me with many and varied ethnicities and unique coastal experiences. As a child, I attended the Methodist and Baptist churches, then in college I became a Lutheran. After college I went to Japan to teach English as an Educational Missionary with the Lutheran Church in America (LCA). After three years in Kumamoto, I spent two months traveling through Russia and Europe. I then returned to the states to enter theological school.
After two years of seminary, I joined the work force and stayed with the same company for twenty-plus years. I was the Area Manager for twenty-three Olan Mills Portrait Studios in three southeastern states, with over 350 employees and ten supervisors working under my direction. During this time I joined the Episcopal Church and was active as a lay leader for over twenty years.
My life-long dream of becoming a minister returned to me soon after I became a Unitarian Universalist in the early 90's. I retired early from my career position and entered the Meadville/Lombard Theological School. After my studies and an internship at the First Unitarian Church in Dallas, Texas, I graduated with honors in 1998 with a Master of Divinity degree.
In 1999, after a one-year interim position in Provincetown, MA, I was called to become the Lead Minister at The First Parish in Portland, Maine, Unitarian Universalist. In Portland, I was on the board of the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Program and served on Portland's World AIDS Day Committee. I also initiated a prison ministry for immigrants at the Cumberland County Jail. I was on the Executive Committee of our District UU Minister's Association, serving as Treasurer.
In 2006, I accepted this call to become the minister of the UU Church here in Birmingham. Because I am a native Southerner, I am very glad to be here in Alabama.
I am married to Steve Gilbert. We are a same-gender couple celebrating thirty-four wonderful years of being together. We were legally married in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada in August of 2005. Steve is an insurance agent with AFLAC. Our life is shared with our Italian Greyhound, Emerson Houston, who is nine years old. We live in Hoover.
If you have any questions concerning our religious society, please don't hesitate to email me at minister@uucbham.org or call me at the church office, 945-8109.
Welcome to our wonderful and inclusive community of Love, Justice, and Service!
Professional Milestones
- B. A., Newberry College, Newberry, SC, 1968
- School of Missions, Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, Summer, 1968
- English Teacher, Kyushu Gakuin High School, Kumamoto, Japan, 1968-1971
- Tokyo School of the Japanese Language, Tokyo, Japan, Summer, 1969
- Master of Arts in Religion, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, 1975
- Area Manager for Olan Mills, Inc., 1975-1995 (and 1973-74)
- Master of Divinity, Meadville/Lombard Theological School at the University of Chicago, 1998
- Ordained, 1998, at Clayton Memorial Unitarian Universalist Church, Newberry, SC
- UU Ministerial Fellowship, 1998
- Interim Minister, The Universalist Meeting House, Provincetown, MA, 1998-1999
- Lead Minister, The First Parish in Portland, Maine, Unitarian Universalist, 1999-2006
- 2006, called to be the minister of The Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham, AL
Professional Affiliations
- Greater Birmingham Ministries
- Over the Mountain Ministers Caucus
- American Civil Liberties Union
- Amnesty International
- The National Conference of Community and Justice
- Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
- Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association
- Alabama UU Minister's Cluster
Office Hours
Sunday: 9:00-1:00 and special appointments
Tuesday through Thursday: 9:30-3:30 (lunch 12-1), appointments and evening meetings
Saturday: Rites of Passage and special appointments
Please check calendar for holiday office hours.
Our Minister Doing Voluntary Outreach Work on His Sunday Out of the Pulpit
Several times this year, on his Sunday out of our pulpit, Bill will be helping to spread the UU message by preaching at small UU churches without a minister, including the small UU Fellowship of Cookeville, Tennessee. and at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Oxford, Mississippi.
On all his journeys, he sends the good wishes of his vibrant UUCB congregation! These small churches without ministers have expressed wonderful gratitude by running newspaper ads and by sending out special invitations for folks to come hear a real UU minister! Rev. Bill says, "It is a wonderful joy to be part of this!"
Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham
A member congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association
Location: 4300 Hampton Heights Drive · Birmingham, Alabama · 35209 · U.S.A
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 19786 · Birmingham, AL 35219
Phone: (205) 945-8109 · Fax: (205) 945-8111
E-mail: office@uucbham.org
Copyright © 2006-2008 Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham
All Rights Reserved.