James Luther Adams and the Five Smooth Stones of Unitarian Universalism

James Luther Adams was the leading Unitarian theologian of the 20th century, ending his career at Harvard and having among his students Christopher Hedges, who wrote War is A Force That Gives Us Meaning, in addition to many others.  His encounter with early Nazism in Germany in the late thirties and the anemic response by church leaders there, led to his concern about such an occurrence happening in our own country.  His observations about our faith tradition and both its strengths and weaknesses are still very timely.

---------------------------------------------------

Meet Reverend Karen McFarland:

Rev. McFarland graduated with a Masters of Divinity from Starr King School for the Ministry and has served churches in Logan, UT, Brighton, MI and Woodstock, IL.  Her major field of study is feminist theology and she has been lucky enough to have studied with most of the major thinkers and writers in this field.   Before becoming a UU minister, Karen was a professional musician, playing and teaching viola and violin.  She free-lanced with many orchestras and chamber music groups all over the country.  Now no longer playing, she keeps her hand singing in the Gaia International Women’s Chorus, the Ann Arbor UU Church Chalice Singers and the Ann Arbor Women’s Chamber Chorus.  Rev. Karen lives in Dexter, MI on the Huron River and enjoys watching the wildlife and passing of the seasons as they effect her yard and ecosystem.

Rev. Karen is married to a forest ecologist and has adult twin sons, one living in Ann Arbor and the other in Royal Oak.  She is currently writing her autobiography with the idea not of producing a great work of literature, but in the hope that interesting stories can be handed down to her descendants who may not have any idea what it was like to live before television, space travel or texting.