I was born in Youngstown, Ohio, which--at an earlier point in our history--was one of the three main steel-producing centers in this country. My ancestors represented a blend of Northern European nationalities (German, Scotch, Irish, French and Dutch) that is apparently becoming a minority element of the population. I'm posting a PICTURE of my beloved parents (now deceased), taken on the occasion of their fiftieth wedding anniversary. I have one sister, who lives in Girard (also a suburb of Youngstown) with her husband and three delightful children (see PICTURE ). Over the years, I've managed to maintain fairly close ties with my immediate family, although work and school have normally obliged me to live in places distant from Youngstown.
As a youngster, I was raised in the United Presbyterian denomination of Christianity. Although I have never rejected what I regard as essential elements of Christian belief, it became clear in my mid-twenties that Presbyterian language and doctrine no longer accurately reflected the personal religious views I was forming. Fortunately, I found a new "home" at that time in the Unitarian Universalist church, and have remained in it since.
I've attended Unitarian Universalist churches at each of the places I've lived, but my move to Lawton, Oklahoma in 1993 presented a novel difficulty--Lawton had no such church! Accordingly, I participated with a small group of like-minded people in the rewarding process of creating one. The new Unitarian Universalist Church of Lawton is now several years old, and appears to be furnishing a "home" of religious tolerance to an increasing number of people in the community.
I served as a Trustee and volunteer organist in this church. As a philosopher, I also enjoyed presenting talks and leading discussion groups on such TOPICS as the limitations of language for expressing our religious intuitions.
