Rev. John Mack; in '70s, ran Cambridge social aid center
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Rev. John Mack, who extended the multicultural tradition of openness at First Congregational United Church of Christ and who made his church a leader in providing opportunities for the poor and excluded of Washington, died Jan. 15 of pulmonary failure at his home in the capital. He was stricken with high-altitude pulmonary edema and pneumonia while trekking in the Himalayas in November. He was 65.
The Rev. Mack became pastor of the historic downtown Washington church in 1984 and led the 175-member congregation for 23 years. His wife, Barbara Gerlach, was a part-time minister at the church before their joint retirement in June.
Affiliated with the liberal-leaning United Churches of Christ, First Congregational has a long record of being at the forefront of social justice issues. Established in 1865 by abolitionists, it was Washington's first racially integrated church.
Under the Rev. Mack's leadership, the church provided refuge to the poor and homeless and welcomed gay men, lesbians, and transgender members. He also took a leading part in the Downtown Business Improvement District and the Downtown Cluster of Congregations, which have helped spur employment and public safety efforts in the city's once-forlorn downtown neighborhoods.
John Hayward Mack was born in New York and grew up in New Canaan, Conn. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H., and from Princeton University.
He had thought about the ministry from an early age, but before attending a theological school, he joined the Marine Corps and served as commander of an infantry company in Vietnam.
"He was almost killed twice in Vietnam," his widow said. "The Marine Corps was an incredibly important experience for him as a leader. He said being a company commander was very much like being pastor of a church."
After his military experience, he entered Union Theological Seminary in New York and became an opponent of the Vietnam War. He also met his wife, a fellow student. He received a master's of divinity degree in 1971.
In 1973, the Rev. Mack moved to Massachusetts, where he directed a program for troubled teens and their families. The same year, he chaired a national conference on the emotional needs of Vietnam veterans. From 1976 to 1984, he led a social services center in Cambridge that provided legal, counseling, and mediation services to low-income people.
Wishing to return to an urban church, the Rev. Mack moved to Washington and First Congregational.
Besides his wife of 38 years, he leaves two children, Jessica Prentice of Washington and Peter Gerlach-Mack of Silver Spring, Md.; a brother, Talbot of the Plains, Va.; a sister, Lucy Mack of Brookline, Mass.; and two grandchildren.
