President to give John Relly Beard Lecture in UK

ICUU President Brian Kiely will deliver the John Relly Beard lecture on the 8th of April as part of the Annual Meetings of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom.

The lecture is sponsored by the professional body of Unitarian ministers in Great Britain and is in memory of the Rev John Relly Beard, a famous forebear responsible for many accomplishments including the establishment of Unitarian College Manchester.

Beard had an early interest in liberal religion abroad and he edited a book of essays on international Unitarianism in 1846 titled "Unitarianism Exhibited in its Actual Condition". (Available on line at http://www.archive.org/details/unitarianismexhi00bear)

Kiely’s subject for this year’s address will be “The Center and the Circle: The Challenge of International Ministry” and it is the first time the lecture will be delivered by someone from outside the United Kingdom.

When asked to describe his subject, he remarked: "Unitarianism is not really a global faith. Rather it is a collection of indigenous expressions of the liberal religious spirit. That truth combined with economic and varying educational conditions around the globe make international Unitarian ministry challenging indeed."

The ICUU President will be a guest of the British Unitarians at their meetings and he welcome the opportunity to learn more about how they see their role in the international liberal religious community. The British General Assembly is a founding member of ICUU. More information about Unitarians in the UK can be found at www.unitarian.org.uk.