The Pamphlet Podcast

Join Susan and Sean for their live Christmas Special exploring the true Unitarian Universalist meaning of Christmas!

In this episode, Susan and Sean are joined by Betty Jo Middleton religious educator extraordinary, as we almost solve the chalice capers. Take a listen.

How did Unitarianism begin and why does any of it matter? Susan Ritchie and Sean Neil-Barron tackle why it was Unitarianism the creation of a separate denomination was not desired but our liberal forebearers but contributed to an important theological and ethical shift in religious life in America. Plus Susan shares how she really feels about Channing! Download a transcript

Rev. Athalia Lizzie Johnson Irwin was one of the first women in the American South to be ordained to the Universalist ministry. Serving churches across the country she pioneered creative way to use print media for evangelical purposes. In this episode of Susan and Sean are joined by Gail Forsyth Vail, Adult Program Director at the Unitarian Universalist Association. Download a transcript

Is healing possible when physical healing is not possible? When Rev. Kim Crawford Harvie got her first call as minister to the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House in Provincetown, Massachusettes, she assumed it would be similar to the small town church of her childhood. Only a few days into her ministry Rev. Kim was thrust into the crisis that would come to dominate her ministry, the beginning of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Rev. Kim tells some of the stories of her time in Provincetown and shares some of the lessons she learned from ground zero. Featured image of the Provincetown Meeting House used with permission of the painter Jeanne DeCoste. You can find Jeanne work on Etsy. 

John Murray set sail from England in 1770 bound for the American Colonies and by happenstance brought Universalism to America, right? Many of us have heard this story but is it the full, or even the true, story? In this episode of The Pamphlet Susan and Sean dive into the Murray story and unpack the hidden and not so hidden flaws in its traditional telling. Download a Transcript

Does the true origin of the flaming chalice go back to 1949 in the eccentric mind of a far out Universalist minister named Rev. Ken Patton? Sean and Susan dive into this question and more as we climb aboard the Charles Street Starship and venture where no podcast has gone before! P.S. Yes there are a few Star Trek references in this episode! Download a transcript The Chares Street Meeting House

Reheat some Puritan attitudes towards food, add a dash of cultural imperialism, and mix in some newly burgeoning domestic science and you have the recipe for Unitarian pie. On this episode of The Pamphlet, we explore the role of science in Unitarian Universalism through beloved Unitarian businesswoman and culinary innovator Fannie Farmer. Ever wondered if Jello or Marshmallows had a Unitarian connection? Wonder no more. A full transcript of this episode can be downloaded at pamphletpodcast.org/leveled-measures. Download the transcript.

For the past four decades, the Flaming Chalice has become the undisputed symbol of Unitarian Universalism. Yet its origin as the logo of the Unitarian Service Committee during its efforts to bring refugees out of occupied Europe obscures our vision of it’s history. The question remains, how did this very flat, very one-dimensional, logo become a very real, very three-dimensional, mainstay of our worship life? Hosts Susan Ritchie and Sean Neil-Barron head to Oxford, Ohio tracking down a lead in the first of a multipart series on the (real) history of the Flaming Chalice. Read more about 0ur quest and participate in open source research project at: www.pamphletpodcast.org/chalicecapers. A transcript of this episode can downloaded online at pamphletpodcast.org/vol-1. Download transcript.  

UUs were accused of being Communists or Pinkos in the ’50s? *Yawn* What could be less surprising than that? But what if you found out that the head of the Unitarian Service Committee had been secretly passing information to the KGB? What if you heard rumours that the editor of the main Unitarian magazine and the head of the UU youth movement (LRY) turned out to be a Soviet sympathiser who was using his position to advance a pro-Moscow line? Join Pamphlet regulars Sean Neil-Barron and Susan Ritchie as they interview amateur UU historian Joshua Leach about the history of UUs and Communism. UUs were some of the first victims of the wave of paranoia and red-baiting that swept across America during the early Cold War. To what extent were they merely innocent victims of this Red Scare. And to what extent were there actually some, well, ‘Scary Reds’ among the leadership at the time? The investigation and debate continue…. A transcript for this episode is available for download on our website at http://www.pamphletpodcast.org/the-red-scare/    

Almost two centuries since it’s birth, Mt. Auburn has not been relegated to be a mere footnote of history nor have its stewards stalled in their continual quest for America’s first garden cemetery to live up to its pioneering spirit. We are joined in conversation by Rev. Stephen Kendrick, minister at First Church in Boston and author of the recently released book The Lively Place: Mount Auburn, America’s First Garden Cemetery, and Its Revolutionary and Literary Residents (published by Beacon Press). As our species faces the terrifying prospects of climate change Stephen argues the preservation of places of refuge like Mt. Auburn are vital for our movements towards climate justice. Download the transcript of this episode on our website. http://www.pamphletpodcast.org/the-lively-place

How does one die a Unitarian Death? Unitarian’s have often been credited with being at the forefront of social reforms from public education to women’s rights but it could be that our greatest contribution to social reform was pioneering a new way of how the living should ritually mark the passing of life into death. In this episode, Susan and Sean explore the transcendental shockwave that was set off with the creation of Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Watertown, MA in 1831. Download the transcript of this episode on our website. http://www.pamphletpodcast.org/a-unitarian-death/