Memorial speakers recall inspiring life of Rev. Steen

Service attended by over 300 mourners

Few people are described as great human beings. The Rev. Dr. Fred L. Steen was one of the few.

Steen, the pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church, died March 11 while awaiting surgery. He was 68 years old.

The mood at Tuesday's memorial tribute to Steen was uplifting instead of somber. More than 300 individuals, including many Oberlin students, gathered in Finney Chapel not simply to remember the passing of a great man but to celebrate his life.

The memorial proclamation was made by Rev. Dr. Gardner C. Taylor, pastor emeritus of the Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn. He was introduced by a colleague as "a mega-unit of divine composition."

Taylor spoke fondly of the Oberlin campus and shared his recollection of a vibrant religious community. He said of Steen, "He gave of himself until he had no more, and then he still gave. He was profoundly concerned about the advancement of our society, particularly of the black members of our community."

Steen came to Oberlin to study at the Oberlin Graduate School of Theology, and stayed for over 40 years. He began speaking at the Mount Zion Baptist Church in Oberlin in 1952, and Mount Zion was his place of worship until his death.

Speakers at the service evoked the memory of a spiritual leader who touched countless individuals throughout his life. The breadth of Steen's influence was evidenced by those who spoke at his memorial, from Taylor to President of the College Nancy Dye.

Dye praised Steen's welcoming personality, saying he was one of the first members of the community to welcome her to Oberlin when she arrived in 1994. With a choked voice she said, "He made it clear to me that he would be a friend I could count on, in good times and bad. And he was just that."

Dye also spoke of Steen's loyalty to Oberlin. "I don't know anyone who loved Oberlin College or Oberlin, Ohio more than Reverend Steen," she said.

Fisk University President Dr. Charles Johnson, Steen's childhood friend, reminisced at the memorial about their times together. He told the crowd that his mother had encouraged him to be friends with Steen, suggesting, "'If you are with the Steen boy, you might stay out of trouble and learn something.'"

Along with eulogies, Steen's memorial service featured performances by a number of Oberlin alumni.

Pianist Rev. Nolan Williams, Jr., OC '90, along with soprano Janice Chandler, performed two songs. Their rendition of "Amazing Grace" at the end of the program visibly moved the audience.

Everett Williams, an OC '74 organ player, and Monya Logan, an OC '85 pianist, also performed.

Steen spent his life working with the Oberlin community. In 1990 he founded the Zion Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization and extension of the ministry of the Mount Zion Baptist Church. He envisioned the organization providing a range of services for the community, including after-school tutoring and counseling for the chemically addicted.

Yet one of Steen's greatest contributions, according to those who spoke at his memorial, was simply the compassion and belief in humanity he brought to his day-to-day interactions with other individuals.

As Johnson said in his address, "Reverend Steen's legacy will live on for generations to come."