The Humanist and the Evangelist

Today’s sermon will offer snapshots of our Unitarian and Universalist histories with stories from the lives of two very different ministers. One is Quillen Shinn, the 19th-century Universalist circuit rider who preached in every state as well as Mexico and Canada over the course of his life, sometimes giving a sermon every day for months at a time. The other is John Dietrich, one of the founders of 20th century Humanism. What does it reveal about our UU tradition that both of these people count as among our religious forebears, even with their very divergent beliefs?