Spring 2010
A Theology of Personal and Societal Transformation: The Bicentennial Legacy of James Freeman Clarke
James Freeman Clarke’s Concept of Self Culture: Physical, Intellectual, Moral, and Spiritual
Rev. Dr. Paul S. Johnson
Date: April 21, 2010
Location: King’s Chapel House
Clarke’s life and ministry was undergirded by his belief that religion was not only a means of attaining heaven at death, but also a means of attaining joyful eternal life in the here- and –the-now through development of God-given physical, intellectual, emotional, aesthetic, and spiritual capabilities. His book on self culture went through 23 editions by 1898 and continues to have an instructive, inspiring message to us today.
Rev. Dr. Paul S. Johnson has served as the Senior Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock, Manhasset, New York, since August of 2002. Previously, he served Unitarian Universalist congregations in Minnesota, Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey.
Rev. Johnson holds a B.A. in history from Trinity College (IL), a master's degree in counseling from Minnesota University (Mankato), and the M.A., D.Min. and D.D. degrees from Meadville/Lombard Theological School, affiliated with the University of Chicago. He is a past president of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers’ Association and currently serves as vice president of the Board of Trustees of the Meadville/Lombard Theological School and as a member of the Unitarian Universalist Commission on Social Witness.