Our Pastor
The Reverend Robert W. Gunn Ph.D.
Biography
Menu of Sermons
The Story of the "Robe of Patches and Prayers"
On February 4, 2007, the United Church of Rockville Centre voted to call the Reverend Dr. Robert Walker Gunn to be their settled, full-time pastor. No stranger to Rockville Centre, he served as an Interim Pastor from 2002-2005. Before that, in the 1980s, he was a resident of the Village while he was Director of the Family Counseling Institute that was housed in the First Baptist Church (now known as The Vineyard).
Ordained in 1970 in the Kennebec Valley Association in Maine, Dr. Gunn served churches in Jackman and Gardiner, Maine; Boston, Massachusetts; and Garden City, NY. Currently, he is Chair of the Ordination and Ministerial Standing Committee of the Metropolitan Association of the United Church of Christ.
After twenty-five years in private practice of psychotherapy as a graduate of the Blanton Peale Graaduate Institute, he served Interim Pastorates at the Wantagh Community Church, the Filipino American United Church of Christ in Queens, and the Broadway United Church of Christ in Manhattan.
He is a Lecturer at Union Theological Seminary in Psychiatry and Religion, and has taught at the Blanton Peale Graduate Institute, the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health and the Psychotherapy and Spirituality Institute, all of Manhattan.
A student of Roshi Enkyo O'Hara of the Village Zendo for the past six years, Dr. Gunn (who received the dharma name of "Kaizen" from Roshi Enkyo, meaning "unfolding Zen" has been active in Zen Buddhism for over fifteen years. For the first ten years of Zen practice he studied with John Daido Loori, Roshi, of Zen Mountain Monastery, who gave him the dharma name "Jingen" (meaning, God is the source of my life, and I am the source of God's life). He is active in Buddhist-Christian Dialogue as well as the dialogue between psychology and religion. His most recent presentations included, "Why is Homosexuality Such a Hot Topic in All Religions" at the Society for Buddhist Christian Dialogue in Los Angeles, and, "Two Arrows Meeting in Mid Air" at the Second Kyoto Conference on "Self and No Self in Buddhism and Psychotherapy" in Kyoto, Japan. He is the author of Journeys into Emptiness: the Quest for Transformation in Dogen, Merton and Jung (Paulist Press, 2000).
He is a retired Master Scuba Diver Trainer with the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), International.
Dr. Gunn received his A.B. in Philosophy from Columbia College, his D.Min. in Psychology and Clinical Studies from Andover Newton Theological School, and his B.D., S.T.M. and Ph.D. in Psychiatry and Religion from Union Theological Seminary.
In addition to scuba diving and walking on beaches anywhere, his favorite hobbies are singing and playing piano. Pastor Bob, as we call him, is the proud father of two daughters, Allison and Lara, and grandfather to four grandsons, Isaac, Yakiim, Mario and Xavier, all of whom live in Virginia Beach.
Menus of Sermons
Click on the date below to download a pdf of sermon.05.09.10 - Visions and Divine Presence
05.02.10 - Behold I am Making All Things New
10.25.09 - What Must I Do To Have Eternal Life
09.21.08 - The Christian Journey
06.08.08 - Why We Need a Sacred ConversationaAbout Race
The Story of the "Robe of Patches and Prayers"
On November 5, 2006 Reverend Dr. Robert Gunn of the United Church of Rockville Centre wore a bright, vivid, multi-colored "Robe" for the first time. In the Buddhist tradition, five hundred years before Christ, a monk's robe was made of discarded cloth. The purpose of the robe is for the wearer to be empty of ego and empowered to be a channel between the needs and sufferings of the people, and the transcendent healing power of heaven.
Over the past two years, parishioners of the United Church of Rockville Centre collected pieces of cloth along with their written prayers. These are no ordinary pieces of cloth, each patch and prayer holding special significance for each person. Through the work of church members Pat Barnes, Liz Barnett and Brigitte Ermansons, these patches were stitched onto a green robe and the personal prayers were compiled into a booklet. Thus the "Robe" came into being.
As the robe acquires more patches and thereby more prayers and concerns, it acquires more weight. Symbolically, the weight of the world falls on the shoulders of the one who wears it. The "Robe" is a tangible representation of the communication between pastor and congregation, with God.
United Church of Rockville Centre
430 Morris Avenue • Rockville Centre, NY 11570
Phone # 516-766-2975 • Fax # 516-594-3384
