Alicia McNary Forsey

2601 Dana

Berkeley, California 94704

(510) 849-3016

amcnary1@cs.com

Objective

Employment in an environment based upon mutual respect, collaborative working relationships and a common commitment to serve a larger good.

Education

Ph.D., The Union Institute

M.Div., Starr King School for the Ministry

B.A. in Philosophy and Religion, San Francisco State

Related Experience

Interim Minister, Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach, California, 2009–2010.

Interim Minister, Unitarian Universalist Church in Livermore, California, 2008–2009.

Consulting Minister, First Unitarian Church of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Sep. 2007–Feb. 2008.

Consulting Minister, Palo Alto Unitarian Universalist Church, California, Feb. 2007–Aug. 2007.

Interim Minister, North Shore Unitarian Church, Vancouver, British Columbia, 2005–2006.

Graduate Theological Union (GTU) Core Doctoral Faculty, 1996–2007; Visiting Scholar, 2008–current.

GTU Awards Committee.

GTU Review Committee for Biblical Studies Department.

GTU Hiring and Retention Committee.

Professor of History, Starr King School for the Ministry (1994–2005).

Dean of Continuing Education, Starr King School for the Ministry (1995–2005).

Acting President, Starr King School for the Ministry (1998).

Dean of the Faculty, Starr King School for the Ministry (1997–2000).

Dean of the Graduate Theological Union’s Summer School Collaborative (1996–1998).

Professor of Philosophy, Religion, and Logic, California community college system.

Chair, The Unitarian Universalist Scholars’ Panel (2002–2005).

Trustee, The Church of the Larger Fellowship (1997–2003).

Founder/Director of Tapestry.

Project Seed (Special Education for the Economically Disadvantaged) 1974–1988.

Speaking/Preaching Interests

The qualities of compassion, forgiveness, reconciliation, love, acceptance, etc.

Concepts, philosophy, the social construction of reality, finding meaning in life, etc.

The relevancy of history to current times, the development of ideas, science, etc.

Ethical implications of our individual actions, the actions of our country and the larger world.

Finding a sense of community through commitment to basic values, common cause, etc.

Justice and equity issues.

Sermons appropriate to seasons, holidays, fundraising, crisis, etc.

World religions.

Research, Writing, and Teaching Interests

History of Dissenting Traditions

History of the Missing (individuals and events left out of textbooks)

Anabaptist History

Women in the Early Modern Period

The Women’s movement in England and the United States

Philosophy—survey courses or particular focus

Philosophy and Culture (how and why not all cultures think alike)

Humanism—from the Italian Renaissance to current times

Unitarian History

The Radical Reformation

Cross-Cultural Interfaith dialogue between East and West

Publications

The Promise: Queen Isabella of Transylvania and Sultan Süleyman of the Ottoman Empire, due to be published by the Edwin Mellen Press in summer, 2009.

Managing Editor, first English translation of The Restitution of Christianity by Michael Servetus (1553), Edwin Mellen Press, fall, 2007.

Editor and contributor, The Role of the Dissenter in Western Christianity, Vol. I, published by Starr King School Press, 2004.

“McCarthy’s Ghost,” article in the Legislative Ministry News, summer, 2005

“A Mind of Her Own,” article in The Role of the Dissenter in Western Christianity, Vol. I, published by Starr King School Press, 2004.

Editor, In Their Own Words: A Conversation with Participants in the Black Empowerment Movement, Starr King Press, Berkeley, 2001.

“Anabaptist Worship and Community in the Early 16^th Century,” For Faith and Freedom, Oxford, England, spring–summer, 2000.

“The New Radical Reformation,” For Faith and Freedom, Oxford, England, spring–summer, 1998.

Contributor and Managing Editor, Regaining Historical Consciousness, ed. Warren Ross, Starr King School, June, 1994.

The Feminine Principle of Relatedness, The Center for Women and Religion, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, Calif., May–June, 1997.

“Attitudes About Money in Theological Schools,” Seminary Development News, Vol. II, Nº 2, October, 1997.

“Religious Leadership: Our Vocation,” The First Ten Years, edited by David Heetland, Ind.: The Lilly Endowment, Inc., 1996.

Profile

I hold a Ph.D. in Religious Studies with an emphasis on Unitarian History. As Dean of Continuing Education, I developed Starr King School’s first Web site, the first program of online learning, initial engagement with the Graduate Theological Union’s Summer Sessions, and the Earl Morse Wilbur Colloquia, held approximately every other year and published by Starr King School for the Ministry Press. While working at Starr King School, I was invited to participate in worship in congregations across the country as well as in the seminary and at conferences. As an advisor to approximately fifteen seminary students per semester, I was also their mentor as they prepared for the ministry. I officiate at weddings, memorial services and naming ceremonies, and participate in ordinations and installations.

I have devoted years of focus and energy to preserving, maintaining and making accessible the Earl Morse Wilbur Library at Starr King School, a rare-book collection that dates back to 1522 and documents Unitarianism’s intellectual history. The books are in eight languages, and considered to be the “Sacred Relics” of the Unitarian Universalist Movement. See the article about my work with this library in an article by Warren Ross titled “Reclaiming Our Sacred Relics,” The Unitarian Universalist World, Boston, Mass., June, 1993.

I am an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister in full fellowship with the Unitarian Universalist Association and am a member of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers’ Association. I am also on the Adjunct Faculty of the Humanist Institute, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Humanist Institute meets three times a year over long weekends—once in Washington, DC, and twice in New York City. The American Academy of Religion, the Association of Liberal Religious Scholars, and the American Historical Society are organizations I have affiliated with beyond what you find described above.

References

I will provide letters of reference upon request. Letters from Kathryn McIntyre, Chair of the Board, First Unitarian Church of Hamilton, Ontario; Rev. Pat Webber, member of the Hamilton Church; Rev. Dr. Dorsey Blake, Dean of Starr King School for the Ministry (was Acting Dean when he wrote the letter; Dr. Jim Stephenson, Chair of the Committee on Ministry at North Shore Unitarian Church in West Vancouver; Mark Pizzaro, Chair of the Board of Trustees at North Shore Unitarian Church; Bryce Perry, Chair of the Board at First Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, California; and, Rev. Rebecca Parker, President of Starr King School, can be found on my Web site, www.pacificuu.org/fore. Personal references can be found in my packet.