Notes - consciousness - thought / belief test / a religion

         Mid-afternoon. You had lunch at Potbelly's, stopped at Lowe's for a red poinsettia and now you are at Hallmark on the way home. No riding cart at Lowe's today, but then you didn't travel the store up and down and all around as you have been doing recently. Beautifully clear day as was yesterday. - Amorella

         1524 hours. That isn't a sentence, Amorella.

         [It is] is the understood subject and verb. This blog is not written to formal standards. You are being a fuss butt like Hercule Poirot in the film yesterday.

         Once home you spent time reading the January Consumer Report that arrived today. Carol has been on the phone with sister Linda. Dusk is tipping at the sky. - Amorella

         1707 hours. "Murder on the Orient Express" was very good. I don't know why BBC 'Culture' was so critical. Maybe we were just too easily satisfied. It was very much worth seeing the old fashion film with beautiful settings on the big screen. I have read the book and seen earlier films but forgot how the plot ran out. What was fun was that the conclusion hit me consciously about ten to fifteen minutes before the end. We tend to love film settings in the thirties and forties. I don't know why I forgot to put this in yesterday.

         You got caught up with the 'bio-physics' of consciousness and thought. - Amorella

         1717 hours. I like a good mystery.

         Since you are thinking 'spiritual' at the moment why not retake the test on your personal sense of spirituality? - Amorella

         1721 hours. I can't even remember what or where that test is online. The focus is on testing which religion you most personally identify with. I have tested high on Reform Jewish, Universalist and Quaker over the last couple of decades. I can't imagine it being much different. I don't think I am really interested in knowing anymore. Why bring this up?

         You were thinking 'mystery' and then connected 'spiritually' unconsciously. Thought and consciousness were already playing in your mind so it appears to be a good time to recheck and see how consistent you are. - Amorella

         1729 hours. I was thinking on how consciousness and thought are spiritual (not made up of matter other than brain waves) and not physical in the usual sense even though they are produced by our being physically alive. I was not thinking on religious values and which ones I personally am more closely associated with . . .. Wow, dusk has really settled in. Carol is off the phone. I thought I glanced at the window and saw her raking but I can't see her now. If I think of the test maybe I'll retake it.

         Use the key words: religion values test. - Amorella

         1738 hours. Carol just came in through the garage. I didn't even hear the door go up originally. Not good. -- I'll be darn. I put in the key words and "Belief-O-Matic" came up in the list. I'll take it later tonight. I am tired of thinking about this presently.

         As you wish. Post. - Amorella

         1817 hours. I retook the test. They have changed some of the questions but not the format. Here are my results: 1. Unitarian Universalist -100%; 2. Reformed Judaism - 89%; 3. Liberal Quakerism - 68%; 4. Orthodox Judaism - 65%; Mahayana Buddhism - 58%; Taoism - 58%; Jainism - 58%; Sikhism - 58%; Baha I Faith - 54%; Islam - 54%; Neo-Paganism - 54%; Hinduism - 53%; Conservative Christian Protestant - 52%; Orthodox Quakerism - 52%; Liberal Christian Protestant - 51%; New Age - 50%; and Secular Humanism - 50%.

         You are surprised. - Amorella

         1828 hours. I am.

         Post. - Amorella

         2148 hours. I found the following information on the Unitarian Universalists on Wikipedia. I have edited this material to focus on the crux what is important to me personally (heartansoulanmind).

** **

Beliefs

While Unitarian Universalists have no required creed, they treat as a sacred value the complete and responsible freedom of speech, thought, belief, faith and disposition. Unitarian Universalists believe that each person is free to search for their own personal truth on issues, such as the existence, nature, and meaning of life, deities, creation and afterlife. UUs can come from any religious background, and hold beliefs and adhere to morals from a variety of cultures or religions. They believe that what binds them together as a faith community is not a creed, but a belief in the power and sacredness of covenant based on unconditional love. That love is enough to hold together such variety derives from their Universalist heritage which affirms a God of all-inclusive love.

Current concepts about deity, however, are diverse among UUs. While some are still monotheistic, often from a Judeo-Christian perspective, many profess atheism or agnosticism. UUs see no contradiction in open atheists and agnostics being members of their community because of the rich Unitarian legacy of free inquiry and reason in matters of faith. Still other UUs subscribe to deism, pantheism or polytheism. Many UUs reject the idea of deities and instead speak of the "spirit of life" that binds all life on earth.

Seven Principles and Purpose

Deliberately without an official creed or dogma (per the principle of freedom of thought), many Unitarian Universalists make use of the Principles and Purposes as a list of principles for guiding behavior. These "Principles and Purposes" are taken from the by-laws which govern the Unitarian Universalist Association. While these were written to govern congregations, not individuals, many UUs use them as guides for living their faith. The "Seven Principles" were created in committee and affirmed democratically by a vote of member congregations at an annual General Assembly (a meeting of delegates from member congregations). Adopted in 1960, the full Principles, Purposes and Sources can be found in the article on the United Universalist Association. The Principles are as follows:

We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote:

·       The inherent worth and dignity of every person;

·       Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;

·       Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations

·       A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;

·       The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;

·       The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;

·       Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Unitarian Universalism is often referred to by its members as a living tradition, and the principles and purposes have been modified over time to reflect changes in spiritual beliefs among the membership. Most recently, the last principle, adopted in 1985 and generally known as the Seventh Principle, "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part", and a sixth source (adopted in 1995), "Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature" were added to explicitly include members with Neopagan, Native American, and pantheist spiritualties.

Selected and edited from Wikipedia

** **

         2218 hours. I can accept the above phraseology in principle. Below is a list of well-known Unitarians, Universalists, and Unitarian Universalists. Some of these people, especially authors, I think of as 'friends of the heart' and have felt so for much of my life. Surprisingly, I find spiritual comfort in the list. The agnostic is still a part of who I am. I find this spiritually accepting oddly enough.

         This is true within your humanity. You need not make excuse for who you are. - Amorella

** **

List of Unitarians, Universalists, and Unitarian Universalists

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A number of notable people have considered themselves  Unitarians, Universalists, and following the merger of these denominations in the United States and Canada in 1961, Unitarian Universalists. Additionally, there are persons who, because of their writings or reputation, are considered to have held Unitarian or Universalist beliefs. Individuals who held unitarian (nontrinitarian) beliefs but were not affiliated with Unitarian organizations are often referred to as "small 'u'" unitarians. The same principle can be applied to those who believed in universal salvation but were not members of Universalist organizations. This article, therefore, makes the distinction between capitalized "Unitarians" and "Universalists" and lowercase "unitarians" and "universalists".

The Unitarians and Universalists are groups that existed long before the creation of Unitarian Universalism.

Early Unitarians did not hold Universalist beliefs, and early Universalists did not hold Unitarian beliefs. But beginning in the nineteenth century the theologies of the two groups started becoming more similar.

Additionally, their eventual merger as the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) did not eliminate divergent Unitarian and Universalist congregations, especially outside the US. Even within the US, some congregations still keep only one of the two names, "Unitarian" or "Universalist". However, with only a few exceptions, all belong to the UUA—even those that maintain dual affiliation (e.g., Unitarian and Quaker). Transcendentalism was a movement that diverged from contemporary American Unitarianism but has been embraced by later Unitarians and Unitarian Universalists.

In Northern Ireland, Unitarian churches are officially called "Non-Subscribing Presbyterian", but are informally known as "Unitarian" and are affiliated with the Unitarian churches of the rest of the world.

A

·      Francis Ellingwood Abbot (1836–1903) – Unitarian minister who led a group that attempted to liberalize the Unitarian constitution and preamble. He later helped found the Free Religious Association.

·      Abigail Adams (1744–1818) – women's rights advocate and first Second Lady and the second First Lady of the United States

·      James Luther Adams (1901–1994) – Unitarian theologian.

·      John Adams (1735–1826) – second President of the United States.

·      John Quincy Adams (1767–1848)^[  – sixth President of the United States. Co-founder, All Souls Church, Unitarian (Washington, D.C.)

·      Sarah Fuller Adams (1805–1848) – English poet and hymn writer

·      Conrad Aiken (1889–1973) – poet

·      Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) – author of Little Women.

·      Ethan Allen (1738–1789) – author of Reason the Only Oracle of Man, and the chief source of Hosea Ballou's universalist ideas

·      Joseph Henry Allen (1820–1898) – American Unitarian scholar and minister

·      Arthur J. Altmeyer (1891–1972) – father of Social Security

·      Oliver Ames, Jr. (1807–1877) – Massachusetts businessman and industrialist who commissioned the building of the Unity Church of North Easton

·      J. M. Andrews (1871–1956) – Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (a Non-subscribing Presbyterian member)

·      Tom Andrews – U.S. Representative from Maine

·      Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906) – Quaker

·      Robert Aspland (1782–1845) – English Unitarian minister, editor and activist, founder of the British and Foreign Unitarian Association

·      Robert Brook Aspland (1805–1869) – English Unitarian minister and editor, son of Robert Aspland

B

·      Samuel Bache (1804–1876) – English Unitarian minister

·      E. Burdette Backus (1888–1955) – Unitarian Humanist minister (originally a Universalist)

·      Bill Baird (born 1932) – reproductive rights pioneer, Unitarian.

·      Sara Josephine Baker (1873–1945) – physician and public health worker

·      Emily Greene Balch (1867–1961) – Nobel Peace Laureate

·      Roger Nash Baldwin (1884–1981) – founder of American Civil Liberties Union

·      Adin Ballou (1803–1890) – abolitionist and former Baptist who became a Universalist minister, then a Unitarian minister.

·      Hosea Ballou (1771–1852) – American Universalist leader. (Universalist minister and a Unitarian in theology)

·      Aaron Bancroft (1755–1839) – Congregationalist Unitarian minister

·      John Bardeen (1908–1991) – physicist, Nobel Laureate 1956 (inventing the transistor) and in 1972 (superconductivity)

·      Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810–1891) – American showman and Circus Owner

·      Ysaye Maria Barnwell (born 1946) – member of Sweet Honey in the Rock, founded the Jubilee Singers, a choir at All Souls Church in Washington, D.C.

·      Béla Bartók (1881–1945) – composer

·      Clara Barton (1821–1912) – organizer of American Red Cross, Universalist

·      Christopher C. Bell (born 1933) – author

·      Ami Bera (born 1965) – U.S. Representative for California

·      Henry Bergh (1811–1888) – founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

·      Tim Berners-Lee (born 1955) – inventor of the World Wide Web.

·      Paul Blanshard (1892–1980) – activist.

·      Chester Bliss Bowles (1901–1986) – Connecticut Governor and diplomat.

·      Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) – author.

·      T. Berry Brazelton (born 1918) – pediatrician, author, TV show host.

·      Alice Williams Brotherton (1848-1930), poet and magazine writer

·      Olympia Brown (1835–1926) – suffragist, Universalist minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent Ohio

·      Percival Brundage (1892–1979) – technocrat

·      John A. Buehrens (born 1947) – president of the Unitarian Universalist Association from 1993–2001

·      Charles Bulfinch (1763–1844) – most notable for being Architect of the Capitol. Co-founder, All Souls Church, Unitarian (Washington, D.C.)

·      Ralph Wendell Burhoe (1911–1997) – scholar

·      Harold Hitz Burton (1888–1964) – U.S. Supreme Court Justice 1945–1958

·      Edmund Butcher (1757–1822) – English minister

C

·      John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) – U.S. Senator Co-founder, All Souls Church, Unitarian (Washington, D.C.)

·      Neville Chamberlain (1869–1940) – British Prime Minister

·      Walter Bradford Cannon (1871–1945) – experimental physiologist

·      Louise Whitfield Carnegie (1857–1946) – wife of philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. After Carnegie died Louise made donations to charities.

·      Lant Carpenter (1780–1840) – English Unitarian minister, author and educator

·      Russell Lant Carpenter (1816–1892) – Unitarian minister. Son and biographer of Dr. Lant Carpenter

·      William Herbert Carruth (1859-1924) – educator, poet, President of Pacific Coast Conference of the Unitarian Church

·      Lee Carter - elected delegate for Virginia's 50th House of Delegates district (according to his campaign website, he and his family attends their local Unitarian Universalist Church)

·      Augusta Jane Chapin (1836–1905) – American Universalist minister, educator and activist for women's rights

·      William Ellery Channing (1780–1842) – Unitarian minister, whose 1819 sermon "Unitarian Christianity" laid the foundations for American Unitarianism.

·      Charles Chauncy (1592–1672) – Unitarian Congregationalist minister.

·      Jesse Chickering (1797–1855) – Unitarian minister and economist

·      Brock Chisholm (1896–1971) – director, World Health Organization

·      Parley P. Christensen (1869–1954) – Utah and California politician, Esperantist

·      Annie Clark (born 1982) – musician and singer-songwriter, better known by her stage name, St. Vincent (musician)

·      Andrew Inglis Clark (1848–1907) – Tasmanian politician. Responsible for the adoption of the Hare-Clark system of proportional representation by the Parliament of Tasmania

·      Grenville Clark (1882–1931) – author

·      Joseph S. Clark (1901–1990) – U.S. Senator and mayor of Philadelphia

·      Laurel Clark (1961–2003) – U.S. Navy officer and NASA Astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

·      Stanley Cobb (1887–1968) – neurologist and psychiatrist

·      William Cohen (born 1940) – U.S. Secretary of Defense (1997–2001), U.S. Senator from Maine (1979–1997)

·      Henry Steele Commager (1902–1998) – American historian and biographer of Theodore Parker

·      Kent Conrad (born 1948) – U.S. Senator from North Dakota (1992–2013)

·      William David Coolidge (1873–1975) – inventor, physician, research director

·      Norman Cousins (1915–1990) – editor and writer, Unitarian friend

·      E. E. Cummings (1894–1962) – poet and painter

·      William Cushing (1732–1810) – one of the original US Supreme Court Justices, appointed by Geo. Washington and longest serving of the original justices (1789–1810).

D

·      Cyrus Dallin (1861–1944) – American sculptor

·      Ferenc Dávid (born as Franz David Hertel, often rendered as Francis David or Francis Davidis) (1510–1579) – Transylvanian priest, minister and bishop, founder of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania, first to use the word "Unitarian" to describe his faith

·      George de Benneville (1703–1793) – Universalist

·      Morris Dees (born 1936) – attorney, cofounder, chief legal counsel of Southern Poverty Law Center

·      Karl W. Deutsch (1912–1992) – international political scientist

·      John Dewey (1859–1952) – author of A Common Faith, Unitarian friend

·      Charles Dickens (1812–1870) – English novelist.

·      John H. Dietrich (1878–1957)^[3] – Unitarian minister

·      James Drummond Dole (1877–1958) – entrepreneur

·      Emily Taft Douglas (1899–1994) – U.S. Representative, Illinois

·      Paul Douglas (1892–1976) – U.S. Senator, also a Quaker

·      Madelyn Dunham (1922–2008) – grandmother of U.S. President Barack Obama

·      Stanley Armour Dunham (1918–1992) – grandfather of Barack Obama

·      Stanley Ann Dunham (1942–1995) – mother of Barack Obama

E

·      Richard Eddy (1828–1906) – minister and author of 1886 book Universalism in America.

·      Charles William Eliot (1834–1926) – landscape architect

·      Samuel Atkins Eliot (1862–1950) – first president of the Unitarians

·      Thomas H. Eliot (1907–1991) – legislator and educator

·      Thomas Lamb Eliot (1841–1936) – minister, founder of First Unitarian Church in Portland, Oregon, and Reed College

·      Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) – Unitarian minister and Transcendentalist

·      William Emerson – MIT dean of architecture

·      Ephraim Emerton (1851–1935) – historian and educator

·      Marc Estrin (born 1939) – American novelist and political activist

·      Charles Carroll Everett (1829–1900) – Unitarian minister and Harvard Divinity professor from Maine

F

·      Sophia Lyon Fahs (1876–1978) – liberal religious educator

·      Millard Fillmore (1800–1874) – thirteenth President of the United States

·      Joseph L. Fisher (1914–1992) – U.S. congressman

·      Benjamin Flower (1755–1829) – English radical writer

·      James Freeman (1759–1835) – first American preacher to call himself a Unitarian

·      James Freeman Clarke (1810–1888) – Unitarian minister, theologian and author

·      Caleb Fleming (1698–1779) – English anti-Trinitarian dissenting minister

·      Robert Fulghum (born 1937) – UU minister and writer

·      Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983) – inventor, engineer

·      Margaret Fuller (1810–1850) – journalist

G

·      Elizabeth Gaskell (1810–1865) – British novelist and social reformer

·      Frank Gannett (1876–1957) – newspaper publisher

·      Greta Gerwig (born 1983) – actor

·      Thomas Field Gibson (1803–1889) - English manufacturer who aided the welfare of the Spitalfields silk weavers

·      Henry Giles (1809–1882) – British-American Unitarian minister and writer

·      Hilary Goodridge – the lead plaintiff in the landmark case Goodridge v. Department of Public Health

·      Eleanor Gordon (1852–1942) – minister and member of the Iowa Sisterhood.

·      Mike Gravel (born 1930) – U.S. Senator; 2008 Democratic presidential candidate

·      Dana Greeley (1908–1986) – the first president of the Unitarian Universalist Association

·      Horace Greeley (1811–1872) – newspaper editor, presidential candidate, Universalist

·      Robert Joseph Greene (born 1973) – Canadian author and LGBT Activist

·      Chester Greenwood (1858–1937) – inventor

·      Gary Gygax (1938–2008) – game designer and creator of Dungeons and Dragons, called himself a Christian, "albeit one that is of the Arian (Unitarian) persuasion."

H

·      Edward Everett Hale (1822–1909) – American author, historian and Unitarian clergyman.

·      Ellen L. Hamilton (1921–1996) – artist, author, advocate for homeless teens, and member of UUA Board of Trustees (1973–1977).

·      Phebe Ann Coffin Hannaford (1829–1921) – first lesbian minister, biographer

·      Donald S. Harrington (1914–2005)

·      Charles Hartshorne (1897–2000) – theologian, who developed Process Theology

·      John Hayward – philosopher of religion and the arts

·      William Hazlitt (1737–1820) – influential Unitarian minister and father of the writer of the same name

·      Oliver Heaviside (1850–1925) – Self-taught English electrical engineer, mathematician, and physicist

·      Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1823–1911) – Unitarian Minister and member of the Secret Six who funded John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry.

·      Lotta Hitschmanova (1909–1990) – founder, Unitarian Service Committee of Canada

·      Jessica Holmes (born 1973) – cast member of "Air Farce".

·      John Holmes (1904–1962) – poet

·      Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841–1935) – American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932. Unitarian

·      W. R. Holway (1893–1981) – engineer in Tulsa, co-founded All Souls Unitarian Church in 1921.

·      Julia Ward Howe (1819–1910) – author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"

·      Roman Hruska (1904–1999) – conservative Republican Senator from Nebraska

·      David Hubel (born 1926) – Nobel Prize Laureate in Medicine 1981

·      Charles Hudson (1795–1881) – Universalist minister and politician

·      Blake Hutchison (1980– ) filmmaker – Finding a Dream

J

·      Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) – third president of the U.S., Unitarian

·      Joseph Johnson (1738–1809) – English publisher

·      Jenkin Lloyd Jones (1843–1918) – Unitarian missionary and minister in the United States

·      Richard Lloyd Jones (1873–1963) – son of Jenkin Lloyd Jones, editor and publisher of the Tulsa Tribune, also co-founder of All Souls Unitarian Church in 1921.

K

·      György Kepes (1906–2001) – visual artist

·      Naomi King (born 1970) – Unitarian minister, daughter of author Stephen King

·      Thomas Starr King (1824–1864) – minister who during his career served both in Universalist and in Unitarian churches

·      James R. Killian (1904–1988) – president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

·      W.M. Kiplinger (1891–1967) – publisher of the Kiplinger Letters

·      Abner Kneeland (1774–1844) – Universalist minister and denominational leader who, after leaving the denomination to become a leader in the free thought movement, was convicted and jailed for blasphemy.

·      Richard Knight (1768–1844) – friend, colleague and follower of Joseph Priestley, developed the first method to make platinum malleable. Stored Priestley's library during his escape to America.

·      Penney Kome (born 1948) - Canadian author and journalist

L

·      William L. Langer (1896–1977) – historian of diplomacy

·      Margaret Laurence (1926–1987) – author

·      Alfred McClung Lee (1906–1992) – sociologist

·      John Lewis (philosopher) (1889–1976) – British Unitarian minister and Marxist philosopher and author of many works on philosophy, anthropology, and religion.

·      Arthur Lismer (1885–1969) – Canadian painter, educator

·      Viola Liuzzo (1925–1965) – civil rights activist

·      Mary Livermore (1820–1905) – Universalist

·      James W. Loewen (born 1942) – sociologist

·      Arthur Lovejoy (1873–1962) – founder of the History of Ideas movement

M

·      George MacDonald (1824–1905) – Scottish author, poet, and Universalist

·      Tor Edvard Markussen (unknown date of birth) – Norwegian teacher and Knausgård-enthusiast.

·      John P. Marquand (1893–1960) – author

·      Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850–1937) – first President of Czechoslovakia

·      Bernard Maybeck (1862–1957) – architect, Unitarian

·      Scotty McLennan (born 1948) – dean for Religious Life at Stanford University, Minister of Stanford Memorial Church, and inspiration for the Reverend Scot Sloan character in the comic strip Doonesbury

·      Adrian Melott (born 1947) – physicist and cosmologist

·      Herman Melville (1819–1891) – American writer best known for Moby-Dick.

·      Samuel Freeman Miller (1816–1890) – United States Supreme Court Justice from 1862 to 1890

·      Robert Millikan (1868–1953) – Nobel Laureate in Physics 1923 for determining the charge of the electron, taught at CalTech in Pasadena CA

·      Walt Minnick (born 1942) – Politician and representative for Idaho's 1st congressional district, United States House of Representatives

·      Théodore Monod (1902–2000) – French activist. Founding president of the Francophone Unitarian Association

·      Ashley Montagu (1905–1999) – anthropologist and social biologist

·      Slim Moon (born 1967) - American music producer

·      Christopher Moore – founder of the Chicago Children's Choir

·      Mary Carr Moore (1873–1957) – composer, teacher, Far Western activist for American Music

·      Peter Morales – eighth president of the Unitarian Universalist Association

·      Arthur E. Morgan (1878–1975) – human engineer and college president

·      John Murray (1741–1815) – Universalist minister and leader

·      Judith Sargent Murray (1751–1820) – American writer, held a local Universalist preacher's license in the 1790s, an advocate of Universalism and women's rights

N

·      Isaac Newton (1642-1726) – English physicist and mathematician

·      Maurine Neuberger (1907–2000) – U.S. Senator

·      Paul Newman (1925–2008) – actor, film director

O

·      Keith Olbermann (born 1959) – news anchor, political commentator, and sports journalist.

·      Mary White Ovington (1865–1951) – NAACP founder

P

·      Bob Packwood (born 1932) – U.S. Senator from Oregon (1969–1995)

·      John Palmer (1742–1786) – English Unitarian minister

·      David Park (1911–1960) – West coast painter.

·      Isaac Parker (1768–1830) – Massachusetts Congressman and jurist, including Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1814 to his death.

·      Theodore Parker (1810–1860) – Unitarian minister and transcendentalist

·      Linus Pauling (1901–1994) – Nobel Laureate for Peace and for Chemistry

·      Randy Pausch (1960–2008) – computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Author of "The Last Lecture"

·      Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (1900–1979) – astronomer and astrophysicist

·      Laura Pedersen (born 1965) – American author, journalist, playwright and humorist. Books and plays with humanist themes. Lifelong UU, Interfaith minister.

·      Melissa Harris-Perry (born 1973) – professor, author, and political commentator on MSNBC hosting the Melissa Harris-Perry (TV program).

·      William James Perry, (born 1927) – former United States Secretary of Defense

·      William T. Pheiffer (1898–1986) – American lawyer/politician

·      Utah Phillips, (1935–2008) – American singer, songwriter and homeless advocate

·      William Pickering (1910–2004) – space explorer

·      James Pierpont (1822–1893) – songwriter ("Jingle Bells")

·      Daniel Pinkham (1923–2006) – composer

·      John Platts (1775–1837) – English Unitarian minister and author

·      Van Rensselaer Potter (1911–2001) – global bioethicist

·      Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) – discoverer of oxygen and Unitarian minister

·      George Pullman (1831–1897) – Universalist

·      Sylvia Plath - American Writer, Poet

·      Beatrix Potter - British Children's Writer of the famous "Peter Rabbit" stories

R

·      Mary Jane Rathbun (1860–1943) – marine zoologist

·      James Reeb (1927–1965) – civil-rights martyr

·      Curtis W. Reese (1887–1961) – religious humanist

·      Christopher Reeve (1952–2004) – actor and Unitarian Universalist

·      James Relly (c. 1722–1778) – Universalist

·      Paul Revere (1735–1818)  – American silversmith, industrialist and patriot

·      David Ricardo (1772–1823) – British classical economist noted for creating the concept of comparative advantage

·      Malvina Reynolds (1900–1978) – songwriter / singer / activist

·      Elliot Richardson (1920–1999) – often listed as "Anglican" but was a member of a UU church near Washington, D.C. for many years Lawyer and public servant

·      Mark Ritchie (born 1951) – Minnesota Secretary of State (2007–)

·      Hugh Ronalds (1760-1833) – British horticulturalist and nurseryman

·      Francis Ronalds (1788-1873) – English inventor of the electric telegraph

·      Benjamin Rush (1745–1813) – very active in the Universalist movement, although never technically joined a Universalist congregation^[

S

·      Mary Augusta Safford (1851–1927) – Unitarian Minister and leader of the Iowa Sisterhood.

·      Leverett Saltonstall (1892–1979) – U.S. Senator from Massachusetts

·      Franklin Benjamin Sanborn (1831–1917) – one of the Secret Six who funded John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry; social scientist and memorialist of transcendentalism.

·      May Sarton (1912–1995) – poet

·      Ellery Schempp (born 1940) – physicist who was the primary student involved in the landmark 1963 United States Supreme Court case of Abington School District v. Schempp, which declared that public school-sanctioned Bible readings were unconstitutional.

·      Arthur Schlesinger (1917–2007) – American historian

·      Richard Schultes (1915–2001) – explorer of the Amazon jungle

·      William F. Schulz (born 1949) – former executive director of Amnesty International USA, former president of the Unitarian Universalist Association

·      Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) – Nobel Peace Laureate 1953, late in life unitarian; honorary member of the Church of the Larger Fellowship (Unitarian Friend)

·      Pete Seeger (1919–2014) – folk singer and song writer

·      Roy Wood Sellars (1880–1973) – philosopher of religious humanism

·      Rod Serling (1924–1975) – writer; creator of The Twilight Zone television series.

·      Lemuel Shaw (1781–1861) – Unitarian and chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Under his leadership, the court convicted Abner Kneeland, a former Universalist, of blasphemy.

·      Robert Gould Shaw (1837–1863) – colonel of the 54th Massachusetts, first regiment of free blacks in the Union Army.

·      Ferdinand Schumacher (1822–1908) – one of the founders of companies which merged to become the Quaker Oats Company.

·      Herbert A. Simon (1916–2001) – Nobel Laureate in Economics 1978, artificial intelligence pioneer

·      Rev. William G. Sinkford (born 1946) – seventh president of the Unitarian Universalist Association

·      Caroline Soule (1824–1903) – American writer, ordained Universalist minister, first woman ordained as a minister in the UK in 1880

·      Vanessa Southern, minister of the Unitarian Church in Summit

·      Catherine Helen Spence (1825–1910) – Australian suffragette and political reformer

·      Lysander Spooner (1808-1887) – American abolitionist and anarchist.

·      Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902) – American suffragist, abolitionist, and leading figure of the early women's rights movement

·      Pete Stark (born 1931) – U.S. Representative, D-California.

·      Vilhjalmur Stefansson (1879–1962) – Arctic explorer and champion of Native American rights

·      Charles Proteus Steinmetz (1865–1923) – Prussian-American electrical engineer and mathematician

·      Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965) – Illinois governor, and Democratic presidential candidate in 1952 and 1956

·      George D. Stoddard (1897 – 1981) - president of University of Illinois and the University of the State of New York.

·      Lucy Stone (1818—1893) American orator, abolitionist, and suffragist

·      Joseph Story (1779–1845) – United States Supreme Court Justice from 1811 to 1845.

·      Dirk Jan Struik (1894–2000) – mathematician

·      Jedediah Strutt (1726-1797) – pioneer cotton spinner and philanthropic employer.

·      Margaret Sutton (1903–2001) – author of the Judy Bolton series and other children's books

T

·      William Howard Taft (1857–1930) – President of the United States (1909–1913)

·      Robin Tanner - American Unitarian Universalist Minister and advocate for LBGT rights and voting rights.

·      Clementia Taylor (1810–1908) – women's activist and radical

·      Clyde Tombaugh (1906–1997) – American astronomer

V

·      William Vidler (1758–1816) – English Universalist and Unitarian minister

·      Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) – writer

W

·      George Wald (1906–1997) – Nobel Laureate in Medicine 1967

·      Zach Wahls (born 1991) – LGBT activist

·      Caroline Farrar Ware (1899–1990) – historian and social activist

·      William D. Washburn (1831–1912) – Universalist American politician and businessman

·      Daniel Webster (1782–1852)

·      Dawud Wharnsby (born 1972) – poet, singer and songwriter (Unitarian Universalist and Muslim)

·      Alfred Tredway White (1846–1921) – housing reformer and philanthropist

·      Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) – philosopher (Unitarian Friend)

·      Willis Rodney Whitney (1868–1958) – the "Father of Basic Research in Industry"

·      Thomas Whittemore (1800–1861) – Universalist Minister, author and publisher

·      David Rhys Williams^[3] (1890–1970) – American Unitarian minister

·      Edward Williams (bardic name Iolo Morganwg) (1747–1826) – Welsh antiquarian, poet, collector, forger

·      William Carlos Williams (1883–1963) – physician and author

·      Samuel Williston (1861–1963) – dean of America's legal profession.

·      Edwin H. Wilson (1898–1993) – Unitarian Humanist leader

·      Ross Winans (1796–1877) – inventor and railroad pioneer

·      Joanne Woodward (born 1930) – actress, wife of Paul Newman

·      Theodore Paul Wright (1895–1970) – aeronautical engineer

·      Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) – among Wright's architectural works were Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois, and First Unitarian Society in Madison, Wisconsin.

·      Quincy Wright (1890–1970) – author of A Study of War

·      Richard Wright (1764–1836) – English Unitarian minister and missionary

·      Sewall Wright (1889–1988) – evolutionary theorist.

·      N.C. Wyeth (1882–1945) – illustrator and painter

Y

·      Owen D. Young (1874–1962) – president and chairman of General Electric. Founder of Radio Corporation of America which helped found National Broadcasting Company. Drafted the Young Plan after World War I.

·      Whitney M. Young (1921–1971) – social work administrator

Z

·      John II Sigismund Zápolya (1540–1570) – king of Hungary, then prince of Transylvania.

Selected and edited from Wikipedia

** **

         You are changed a bit from earlier today. You better feel that you belong with a religious group at least in name. You feel comfortable as you have not felt since you lied by verbally agreeing with the belief in the Apostle's Creed when you joined the  Presbyterian church in the Spring of your twelfth year. - Amorella

         2316 hours. This is so. It is rather refreshing to close that early door to a particular religion I was born into but which I could not agree with, at least in part. One never knows how the day is going to go.

         Post. - Amorella

         2319 hours. Thank you my dear spiritual friend for helping me to better know myself. - rho