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| Dr. Elaine Pagels |
| History of the Ware Lecture |
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In 1920, Harriet E. Ware of Milton, Massachusetts, bequeathed a gift of $5,000 for non-restricted use to the American Unitarian Association. On the evening of May 24th, 1922, the first Ware Lecture was presented at the Arlington Street Church in Boston. It was given by Rev. Frederick W. Norwood, pastor of the City Temple, London, England. At the time, the lecture was said to have been "established in honor of the distinguished services of three generations of the Ware family to the cause of Pure Christianity."
Since then, the lecture has been given every year but two (1945 and 1950). Past lecturers have included Reinhold Niebuhr, Henry Steele Commager, Linus Pauling, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rollo May, Alvin Toffler, Jesse Jackson, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Norman Lear, and many others.
More on the Ware Lecture |
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4073 Ware Lecture
Remarks in introduction of Dr. Elaine Pagels
The Rev. William G. Sinkford, President
Unitarian Universalist Association
Fort Worth , Texas
June 26, 2005
Tonight is, I believe, unprecedented. This is the first time that one individual has both received the Melcher Book Award and been the Ware Lecturer at our General Assembly.
That individual is Dr. Elaine Pagels.
Because this is extraordinary, we have some extraordinary business to do before the Lecture itself.
Let me first introduce Rev. Phyllis O'Connell, Chair of the Melcher Book Award Committee. [text of Rev. O'Connell's remarks  ]
(Rev. Sinkford's remarks, continued):
Since 1922, the Ware Lecture has provided Unitarian and Unitarian Universalist leaders with thought-provoking, inspirational, and challenging words from prominent thinkers, activists and social leaders. Lecturers have given us the great gift of an outside view of what our faith should be paying attention to.
The list of Ware Lecturers is distinguished. Social worker Jane Addams and theologian Reinhold Niebuhr were among the first lecturers. In 1965, Martin Luther King, Jr. told the Ware Lecture crowd that when it does its job, the church is the "moral guardian of society." In more recent years, Rev. Jesse Jackson, May Sarton, Dr. Helen Caldicott, Norman Lear, and Morris Dees have graced the Ware Lecture stage.
This year, we turn again to theology. You know my long held and deeply felt believe that our faith needs to reclaim the use of traditional religious language and even re-engage with our very Christian roots. It will not surprise you that I'm looking for some help from this Ware Lecture on that issue.
But it is the current religious and political climate in this nation that makes our need urgent.
In these days when religious fundamentalism dominates the public square and threatens to breach the firewall created by our ancestors between church and state, religious freedom itself seems at risk.
But what we need to fear most is not the presence of faith in politics, but the dominance of a religious fundamentalism which proclaims that there is only one way to be religious, only one scripture worthy of being read and followed, only one way to be a family, only one way to lead a good life.
We know differently. We know that we are all on a religious journey. We know that our religious pluralism can be a blessing, not a curse. We know that our religious differences need not divide us.
But we have lacked capacity and resource to move beyond proclaiming that Good News to making it effective in the world. Dr. Pagels offers us the invaluable insight that the Christian tradition, which is being used in such a narrow and mean spirited way, has always been one of great theological diversity. Her work shows us that Christianity has always included the Gospel of Love which is at the heart of our faith.
Dr. Pagels, I know I've set you no small task.
It is my great pleasure to introduce the 2005 Ware Lecturer, Dr. Elaine Pagels.
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