• Who We Are
    • Who We Are
    • Mission
    • History
    • General Synod
    • Leadership and Ministry
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • What We Believe
    • What We Believe
    • Worship Ways
    • Daily Devotional
  • What We Do
    • What We Do
    • Office of the General Minister & President
    • Justice & Local Church Ministries
    • Wider Church Ministries
  • News
  • Church Finder
  • Donate Now
  • Search
UCC Logo United Church of Christ
  • Church Finder
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Store
  • Frontline Faith Portal
  • Donate Now
  • Search
  • Who We Are
    • Column
      • About
        • Mission
        • Constitution and Bylaws
        • History
          • UCC Archives
        • UCC Brand Guidelines
        • General Synod
          • Past General Synods
        • Abuse Prevention
    • Column
      • Structure
        • Conferences
        • Affiliated Ministries
    • Column
      • Team
        • Elected Officers
        • Staff
        • United Church of Christ Board of Directors
          • Board Minutes
    • Column
      • Career Opportunities
      • Annual Reports
  • What We Believe
    • Column
      • Worship
        • Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ – La Declaración de Fe de la Iglesia Unida de Cristo
        • Worship Ways
        • Daily Devotional
        • Sermon Seeds
  • What We Do
    • Column
      • Office of the General Minister & President
        • 3 Great Loves
        • Human Resources
          • Employee Relations Resources
        • Center for Analytics, Research & Development and Data (CARDD)
          • General CARDD FAQs
          • About The Center for Analytics, Research & Development, and Data (CARDD)
          • Authorized Minister Opt Out
          • Access UCC
          • Archived Reports
          • Assessment Resources
          • Information Policies and Requests
          • Faith Communities Today (FACT) Survey
          • MissionInsite
          • Statistics and Reports
          • Vital Signs and Statistics Blog
          • Data Hub FAQs
          • Data Hub
          • Yearbook and Directory
    • Column
      • Justice & Local Church Ministries
        • Justice
          • Faith Forming Publications & The Pilgrim Press
          • Faithful Action Ministries
            • Environmental Justice Ministries
            • Economic Justice
            • Racial Justice
          • Health and Wholeness Advocacy
            • Disabilities and Mental Health Justice
            • Encuentros Latinx
            • UCC HIV & AIDS Network-UCAN
            • LGBTQ Ministries
            • Our Whole Lives
            • Overdose and Drug Use Ministries
            • Scouting
            • Wellness Ministries
          • Washington DC Office
            • Justice and Peace Action Network
            • Our Faith Our Vote 2020
            • Justice Training Resources
            • Action Center
    • Column
      • Justice & Local Church Ministries
        • Local Church
          • Faith INFO
            • Weekly Seeds
            • Youth & Young Adults
          • Worship Resources
            • Worship Ways
            • Sermon Seeds
            • Music and Liturgical Arts
          • Ministerial Excellence, Support & Authorization (MESA)
            • History, Polity, and Theology
            • Search & Call
            • Ministerial Profiles
            • Ministry Opportunities
            • Manual on Ministry
    • Column
      • Wider Church Ministries
        • Global Ministries
        • Global H.O.P.E.
          • Volunteer Engagement
          • Refugee and Migration Ministries
          • Disaster Ministries
          • Recovering Hope
        • Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
  • News
    • Column
      • News
        • United Church of Christ News
    • Column
      • Columns
        • Witness for Justice
        • Into the Mystic
        • Getting to the Root of It
        • The Pollinator: UCC Environmental Justice Blog
        • UCC Roots
    • Column
      • Upcoming Events
      • Changes & Deaths
  • Giving
    • Column
      • Donate Now
      • Ways to Give
        • Our Church’s Wider Mission
          • Our Church’s Wider Mission Basic Support
          • One Great Hour of Sharing
          • Strengthen the Church
          • Neighbors in Need
          • Christmas Fund
          • 5 for 5
        • Disaster Relief
    • Column
      • Ways We Give
        • Scholarships & Grants

  • Home
  • News
  • Column
  • UCC Roots
  • Committed to Church and Education

Committed to Church and Education

by Kwame Osei Reed | published on Feb 1, 2021

Charles Shelby Rooks (1924-2001) was a well-known African American United Church of Christ leader.  When he died people celebrated his life in the Amistad Chapel at the UCC “Church House” in Cleveland.  As far back as 1879 the Rooks’ family had been involved with Congregational churches in North Carolina.  Rooks graduated from Virginia State University and Union Theological Seminary in New York.  In 1953 he was ordained and became the pastor of a small church in Orangeburg, NY.

Rooks became a well-known leader in high profile positions committed to church and education. From 1967 to 1974 he led the Fund for Theological Education in Princeton, NJ.  In 1974 he became president of Chicago Theological Seminary, becoming the first Black president in theological education leading a predominantly White seminary.  Finally, in 1984 Rooks became executive vice president of the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries, retiring in 1992.

Rooks cared deeply about churches and people. He was on the staff of First Congregational UCC in Washington, DC—a White church that played a key role in founding Howard University after the Civil War.  In DC he also served as a pastor at Lincoln Memorial Temple UCC.  Rooks was always identifying, encouraging, and assisting African Americans to join the UCC and enrich their ministries.

One story from James Forbes illustrates how Rooks changed lives. Forbes, who later became an important preacher and progressive Christian leader, grew up in a strong Pentecostal family that frowned on seminary education.  Forbes, however, did not want to give up his seminary dream.  

Fortunately, Forbes was introduced to Rooks, who helped Forbes enroll and finish seminary. People said that Forbes was poor.  He agreed, saying “. . .poor people usually have a little something.  But I did not have anything until I was introduced to Charles Shelby Roots.”

Contributor: Kwame Osei Reed
February 2021

Download the PDFDownload
Categories: Column UCC Roots

Related News

Witness for Justice
Witness for Justice

History Is Made

Minister for Economic Justice History is made, and the United Church of Christ was part of...

Read More
Into the Mystic

An Existential Wound

Listen to the podcast https://soundcloud.com/theucc/an-existential-wound Read...

Read More
Witness for Justice
Witness for Justice

Waiting to Exhale

Minister for Youth and Young Adult Engagement For nearly two weeks, attention has been fixed on...

Read More
  • Column
    • Local Church and Conference Resource Directory
    • Mission
    • Justice & Local Church Ministries
    • Wider Church Ministries
  • Column
    • Contact
    • News
    • Store
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Subscribe on YouTube

Donate Now


UCC Crest
© United Church of Christ 2021. Privacy Policy.
Crafted by Cornershop Creative