Many of our grads regard their years of schooling with us as among the most profound and life-changing experiences of their lives. Starr King becomes a Pole Star, a reliable compass for a life committed to leadership that is ethically grounded.
Whether their work takes the form of parish ministry, religious education ministry, community ministry, scholarship and teaching, chaplaincy, or writing, Starr King graduates change the world.
Here are just a few of Starr King's illustrious grads making news and making a difference:
Rev. Marilyn Sewell, M.Div. 1987
Rev. Sewell is the subject of a documentary film "Raw Faith" which had its world premiere at the Nashville Film Festival in 2010.
"We had listened to Marilyn Sewell preach at First Unitarian Church in Portland for years", said the producers of the film, "and had always asked ourselves, Why aren't there more voices like Marilyn's out there?"
Read about the film and Marilyn's life on www.rawfaith.com.
Amir Kia, MA (Islamic Studies) 2005
Founded AgeSong residences (www.agesong.com), an inclusive, multicultural and multi-religious community for elders dedicated to a holistic and integrative approcah to elder care.
Amir serves on the Board of Trustees of Starr King School.
Rev. Benjamin Maucere, M.Div. 1991
Rev. Holly Horn, M.Div. 1984
Presided at the wedding of 17 same-sex couples who traveled
together by bus from Missouri to be married at the UU Society
of Iowa City, IA.
Read the full story in UU World.
Rev. Barbara F. Meyers, M.Div. 2004
Rev. Barbara F. Meyers originated and manages a community ministry specializing in mental health at the Mission Peak UU congregation in Fremont, CA. Rev. Meyers' entry into ministry marked a career change after working as a computer software engineer at IBM for 25 years.
The goals of her mental health ministry are to seek to understand, improve, and uplift the lives of people with mental health difficulties and their families. The scope of her ministry is the congregation, the denomination and the larger community.
Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae, M.Div. 2008
Rev. Kalendae joined the staff of First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco in 2010 as the congregation's first Beyond Sunday minister (see Jeremiah's bio).
He is responsible for helping members nourish their spiritual growth by utilizing their gifts to provide for the world through volunteer service.
Rev. Lilia Cuervo, M.Div. 1998
Rev. Cuervo was called as the Associate Minister by the historic First Parish Unitarian Church in Cambridge, MA. Rev. Cuervo is the first Latina minister in the congregation's 400 year history.
Read the Boston Globe article about Rev. Cuervo's installation.
Rev. Sofia Betancourt, M.Div. 2003
Past minister of the First UU Church of
Stockton, CA, and former Director of Racial and Ethnic Concerns for the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Sofia is currently (as of 2011) pursuing
a Ph.D. at Yale in Religious Studies and African American Studies.
Rev. Robert Fulghum (Class of 1961)
Author Robert Fulghum has published eight best-selling books of non-fiction, including: All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten, It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It.
After college and a brief career with IBM, he returned to graduate school to complete a degree in theology. For 22 years he served as a Unitarian parish minister in the Pacific Northwest.
Some of our graduates share their views on life and the theological education that has sustained them:
Rev. Bill Sinkford was called as Senior Minister of the