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ENROLLED ORIGINAL
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A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION
26-110
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
December 2, 2025
To celebrate and honor the living legacy of Reverend Graylan Scott Hagler and his lifelong
commitment to the causes of liberation and justice in the District of Columbia, nationally,
and globally.
WHEREAS, Reverend Graylan Scott Hagler was born March 1, 1954, in Baltimore,
Maryland;
WHEREAS, Reverend Graylan Hagler attended public schools in Baltimore and received
a Bachelor’s Degree in Religion from Oberlin College, Ohio, in 1976;
WHEREAS, Reverend Graylan Hagler graduated from The Chicago Theological
Seminary with a Master's Degree in Divinity;
WHEREAS, Reverend Graylan Hagler served Third Unitarian Church on Chicago’s
West Side in the 1970s and founded Black and Latinos In Action, the first black and Latino
coalition in the city, which was instrumental in the election of Harold Washington as mayor of
Chicago;
WHEREAS, on February 3, 1980, Reverend Graylan Hagler was ordained into the
United Church of Christ (UCC);
WHEREAS, in 1981, Reverend Graylan Hagler was also recognized with full standing in
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ);
WHEREAS, in 1980, Reverend Graylan Hagler founded the Church of the United
Community in Boston, Massachusetts;
WHEREAS, in 1992, Reverend Graylan Hagler moved to Washington, D.C., where he
was called to serve as Senior Minister of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in
the Fort Totten neighborhood of Ward 4;
ENROLLED ORIGINAL
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WHEREAS, Reverend Graylan Hagler dutifully served the congregants of Plymouth
Congregational United Church of Christ for 30 years from September 1, 1992 until his retirement
from pulpit ministry on September 4, 2022;
WHEREAS, in addition to pulpit ministry, Reverend Graylan Hagler has pursued social,
racial, and economic justice through decades of spiritual activism, including involvement in the
international movement against apartheid in South Africa, leading local campaigns for worker
rights and raising wages for tipped employees, advocating for affordable housing, speaking out
for Palestinian solidarity, championing marriage equality for DC, and more;
WHEREAS, Reverend Graylan Hagler has served on the steering committee of the anti-
war organization United for Peace and Justice, as the National President of Ministers for Racial,
Social and Economic Justice, as chaplain for UNITE HERE Local 25, and as co-chair of the Poor
People’s Campaign, a revival of Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1968 Poor People’s Campaign that has
called on the conscience of the nation’s leaders in state capitals across the country to advance
economic justice and end racial discrimination;
WHEREAS, Reverend Graylan Hagler continues to be an outspoken advocate for social
justice and human rights through his leadership of Faith Strategies, an interfaith group that unites
faith with labor for worker and community justice; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Graylan Hagler has been a constant moral compass in the District
of Columbia, inside and outside the church, for 30 years and served his congregations with
integrity for more than 40 years.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the “Reverend Graylan Hagler Living Legacy Ceremonial
Recognition Resolution of 2025”.
Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia recognizes and honors Reverend Graylan
Hagler on his lifelong commitment to make the world a better place and for setting the example
we all should strive to mirror.
Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.