He led this KC church on the Plaza for 35 years. Now he’s ‘banished’ from the pulpit
Kansas City’s Unity Temple on the Plaza prides itself on living out its nonsectarian motto, “Where diversity is praised, and peace and harmony are the rewards.”
But these days not all is peaceful or harmonious inside the halls at 707 W. 47th St.— where hurt and accusations have so mounted that, this week, they spilled out onto social media.
At the core of the controversy: The Rev. Duke Tufty, a well-known and dynamic figure who for 35 years, since 1991, was Unity Temple’s chief executive officer and senior minister. That is until he retired 18 months ago, on Dec. 31, 2024, with the new title (now part of the controversy) “Minister Emeritus.”
What Tufty claims is that under the leadership of his replacement — The Rev. Anne Tabor, whom he helped recruit and bring from Texas to Kansas City — the board of Unity Temple not only is demanding that he cease using what they say is the unsanctioned title of “minister emeritus of Unity Temple” but he is also banned from officiating at the funerals of congregants who had specifically and previously requested him to do so as their friend and former minister.
“Anne Tabor’s game plan,” Tufty said, “is to erase Duke Tufty’s memory from the Unity community so she can build her foundation as being the minister.”
In part, Tufty understands, referencing church rules and conventions.
Unity Temple on the Plaza
For 37 years, he has been part of Unity Worldwide Ministries, which oversees some 650 Unity churches globally and whose Unity Worldwide Headquarters is located at Unity Village near Lee’s Summit.
For nine years, Tufty was the chairman of the board of directors of headquarters, known for its global 24/7 “silent Unity” prayer and support line and its Daily Word magazine, featuring poems and spiritual affirmations.
At Unity, as at other denominations, it is common practice when a new senior minister arrives for the outgoing minister to no longer have a presence and to refrain from attending or engaging with the church for at least one year to allow the new minister to establish a relationship with the congregation.
Tufty insists that he did exactly that. He said that although he has been in contact with some church members as longtime friends, he did not set foot in Unity on the Plaza for 14 months, more than the required one-year period.
But in more recent months, Tufty said, he has been asked by four different families to be the guest officiant at their loved one’s funerals. Unity traditionally has allowed guest officiants.
“In each case,” Tufty said, “Anne Tabor refused to allow me to provide that service. Families and friends were confused and hurt. These are families for whom I was their minister and who were members at Unity Temple for over 39 years. It caused a lot of hurt feelings.
“After serving the church for 37 years without any issues regarding my role as senior minister/CEO, I feel like I have been ‘banished from the kingdom.’”
A controversy at a Kansas City church
On Friday, May 31, Tufty sought to officiate at the memorial for friend and Unity congregant Timothy James Lach, who died on May 13, one week before his 67th birthday. Lach had long ago asked Tufty to lead his memorial, Tufty said, and Tufty had promised he would.
But days in advance of the memorial, Tufty was told no by the church’s leadership, as stated in correspondence from Unity Temple attorney Isaac Keppler of Colantuono Guinn Keppler in Overland Park.
Keppler wrote, “I have been informed that you intend to come to Unity Temple on the Plaza today to make arrangements for a memorial service . . . (Y)ou have been informed numerous times that you are not permitted to perform services, including memorial services, at Unity Temple on the Plaza.
“If you actually intend to come to Unity Temple on the Plaza today, please cancel those plans as you will not be permitted to move forward with any arrangements to perform services.”
Tufty did not lead the service. On the day of the memorial, Tufty responded by taking to Facebook. He posted the text of his lengthy tribute. He also declared:
“I wasn’t able to officiate because the present minister, Ann (sic) Tabor, wouldn’t let me. She denied me the honor of granting my friend’s request.”
It generated more than 200 comments — both condolences and expressions of outrage:
“Shameful.”
“You have got to be kidding me.”
“’Wow” in all of its iterations.”
“Truly disturbing.”
One upbraided Tufty for this comment.
“This post is concerning, to say the least,” the person wrote. “A former minister posting inflammatory remarks about the current minister of a church holds serious ethical and professional concerns, and it is ‘not’ how a Unity minister, especially, should behave. . . . Personally, I read a post like this, and it impacts my opinion of the writer far more than my opinion of the accused.”
But nearly all others supported Tufty.
“Absolutely appalling.”
“Unacceptable.”
“All good things must come to an end — guess Unity Temple on the Plaza is one.”
Church response: not banned, but also not permitted
The Star sought an interview with Tabor directly, but instead heard back from Keppler, the temple’s attorney, who said the board was set to meet Wednesday and would prepare a statement. No board statement was received Wednesday or Thursday morning.
Keppler provided a short reply on Wednesday evening.
“All decisions regarding former minister Duke Tufty are church governance matters which are being handled by the Board of Directors,” Keppler wrote. ”Those decisions have been consistent since Rev. Tufty’s retirement at the end of 2024, and the rationale has been provided to Rev. Tufty.
“While Rev. Tufty is not permitted to perform services in Unity Temple at this time, he has not been banned from Unity Temple on the Plaza. Last week he was at the Temple for a memorial service and shared a eulogy. He did not officiate the service, but he did attend, participate, and share comments.”
‘Half-truths’ and allegations
One church correspondence reviewed by The Star offers some insights into the church’s position. It is a letter written to Unity Temple congregants on behalf of the board and in response to allegations made by Tufty.
On March 4, one of Unity’s longtime members, Carla Sue Baker, died at age 88. She and Tufty were close friends. Baker, years prior, had made arrangements with the church for her memorial, including her wish to have Tufty lead the service.
But when the time came, Unity Temple denied that request. The memorial was scheduled for April 4. Prior to that date, Tufty wrote to scores of Unity Temple churchgoers asking them to contact the church’s leadership to address what he described as a “serious problem.”
“I appeal to you to assist me in reversing this decision by emailing Ann (sic) Tabor . . . or calling her,” he wrote.
In a letter of its own, the board responded to those who wrote at Tufty’s request saying, “Duke’s recent communications unfairly and inaccurately malign Rev. Tabor and require the Board to respond.”
“To be clear, the decisions made regarding Duke’s relationship with Unity Temple on the Plaza following his retirement, including the decision that he would not perform services, reflect the will of the entire Board of Directors. Furthermore, these decisions have been consistent since Duke retired on Dec. 31, 2024.
“Duke knows this because it has been communicated to him in writing multiple times over the past 15 months and Duke should have shared this information accurately rather than spreading half-truths at a time that requires sensitivity and grace.”
The remainder of the letter spells out multiple allegations, which Tufty contests.
Among them: That Tufty told the board, upon his retirement, that he would “depart and disappear,” to allow Tabor to lead the congregation without interference, but that “unfortunately, Duke’s retirement did not go as we hoped. . . . Duke did not permit an easy transition to new leadership.”
Tufty said he did disappear for more than a year.
The letter claims that Tufty continued to direct staff (he says he asked them to gather some of his personal belongings) and continued to represent himself as a minister for Unity Temple on the Plaza.
Tufty said he identifies himself as “minister emeritus of Unity Temple,” a title that he said was agreed upon when he left, although the board claims that it is a title that has yet to be sanctioned by a vote of the board or congregation.
“It simply means a minister retiring in good standing from a church,” Tufty said, adding that if the congregation needs to vote, let them vote. “It’s part of my legacy.”
The letter said Tufty attempted to schedule services, which he said he did not, and “voiced disapproval for decisions that were made by Rev. Tabor and the Board of Directors.”
Tufty also claims this is false.
“You and Anne Tabor seem to have fallen under the delusion that I am a fierce critic of Anne’s and that I attempt to sabotage her success,” Tufty wrote to the board president. “That is not true at all. My greatest desire is whatever is best for Unity Temple. That includes the success of the minister.”
The board’s letter said that Tufty’s “unpredictable conduct and assertions prompted this Board and Rev. Tabor to set firm, clear boundaries with Duke and always with the interests of Unity Temple and its Congregation at heart.”
It concluded:
“In summary, we want you to know that it has been the position of the board of directors and Rev. Tabor that Duke would not perform services at Unity on the Plaza for more than a year now. This decision was not made lightly, but the Board believed it was necessary for the good of Unity Temple and its congregation.”
‘Not the same place we started’
One congregation member certainly does not feel good: Beth Beard, the sister of Carla Sue Baker, who had requested that Tufty officiate at her memorial.
“It’s crazy,” said Beard, who first began going to Unity Village in the 1970s and has attended Unity Temple on the Plaza since the late 1980s.
“My sister got me started,” Beard said. “The first year Duke was there, I got baptized into the church by him. We just became really close friends.”
Each Sunday, she said, she and her sister would sit in their spot in the seventh row.
“She was very close to Duke,” Beard said. “Whole family was, my mom, my dad. They lived in Pittsburg, Kansas. But whenever they’d come up, we’d get together with Duke. He was a like a member of my family.”
Long before she died, Beard said, her sister made it clear that she wanted her memorial at Unity Temple on the Plaza and for Tufty to officiate.
When Unity on the Plaza made it clear that it would not allow Tufty to officiate, a decision Beard called “horrible,” the family changed plans.
They went to Unity Village instead, where Tufty performed the service.
“It was absolutely beautiful. It couldn’t have been any better,” Beard said. “I mean, people have called me, come up to me, and said, ‘Oh my God, that was incredible, the whole day.’”
Her feelings about Unity Temple on the Plaza, the place she called her sister’s “spiritual home,” have changed.
“It’s not the same place where we started, and that we grew to love,” Beard said. “And, you know, we all tithed our money to there. As a matter of fact, my sister’s husband, he tithes yearly, and it’s time for him to tithe again. He said, ‘I don’t think I’m going to send it over to them.’ And I said, ‘Well, I wouldn’t.’ I said, ‘I’d send it out to Unity Village.’ He said, ‘I’m going to.’”
As for Tufty, he does not believe he is asking for much.
“I only want two things,” he said. “I’m still a member of the church. And I want to be treated like every other church member. And I’m still a minster of Unity, and I want to be treated like every other visiting minister that comes there — that’s invited there by a family to do a funeral or a wedding. Just those two things.
“I don’t want to become prominent. I’m not going to go to the receptions at the church. I’m not going to engage myself in anything social. But it’s my church as much as it is any other member’s church. And I just want to feel welcome there.”
