The following is a table of speakers available to speak at UU churches in the SWUUC area. Please contact the speaker for more details on the sermons offered. Most churches offer honoraria for speakers and some offer mileage costs as well. When asking a speaker to come from out of town, please be prepared to offer either home hospitality or hotel reimbursement. When inviting a speaker to your church, please offer upfront the honorarium amount and any other information about accommodations/mileage, etc.
You are encouraged to ask for and check references before inviting them to speak at your church. The Southwest Unitarian Universalist Conference does not officially endorse individual speakers itself and is not responsible for the content of any of these speaker's talks or sermons.
| Name | Areas Willing to Travel To | Sample Sermon Titles | Comments/Specialties | Phone | Email |
| Laura Agrons | Will travel to Houston area congregations, will speak at other cities' churches if I am there for business/family. Likely cities include San Francisco/Bay Area, Chicago, Phoenix, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, New York City. | "The Trouble with Angels" (analyzing the resurgent interest in them: polytheism for a cynical age), "Anatomy of the Soul" (I think the soul is a verb), "Where Were You When Jesus Rose?" (analysis of the inconsistent resurrection stories in the canonical and apocryphal gospels), "Moses and the Fortune Cookie" (experiential and language conflicts in religion), "Through the Forest" (compelling journey imagery in the stories of Jesus, Moses,mythical characters, and historical figures), "Religious Conversion Patterns" early Christian development in the Jewish/pagan context | I was a religion and classics major at Duke U. My particular interest is in how people develop religious institutions and ideas: sociological and psychological approaches, mostly. | (713) 464- 7232 home (713) 240- 0323 alt | lagrons@houston.rr.com |
| Kathi Appelt | HAVE CAR, WILL TRAVEL. If I have to drive more than 100 miles, it'd be nice to have a place to stay the night before and some money for gas. | "Harry Potter and the Flaming Chalice," "Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky," "Home Room: Poetry and Teenagers," "Loving Bubba: Confessions of a Children's Book Author." | I am a published writer and have won many awards, and my husband sings and plays guitar--he comes with me. | (979) 680-9146 | kappelt@tca.net |
| Era Buck, Ph.D. | Houston | "If You're Happy and You Know It" | ' | 281-550-6608 | cjebuck@hal-pc.org |
| Mary Ann Clark | Houston, others negotiable | * Orisha on my Doorstep: An Introduction to Afro-Cuban Spirituality * Ways of Ashé: African Religion in the New World * From the Place of Duality: Aztec Spirituality * Mother, Daughter, Sister: Exploring New Images of the Holy * Who Were the Witches: An Introduction to the Precedents to Modern Witchcraft *Why Men Need the Goddess | Alternative religions, esp African-based religions (Santería, Vodoun, etc) and women's spirituality | 713-661-6010 | maryc@rice.edu |
| Joanne Clendenen | ' | "Christ for the Third Millennium" "Power of Celtic Myth" "Spiritual Authority: Where Do You Get Yours?" "Grace: A New Role for the Greatest Gift of All" | ' | 281-890-1022 | ladyjoanne @wordtouch.com |
| Joanna F. Crawford | Houston, Galveston, Austin, College Station, Corpus Christi | "Go Forth and Spread the Good News" | Planning a garage sale? Schedule the "Removing Clutter" sermon a month ahead of time! | 281-858-9880 | calypsoz@swbell.net |
| Bonni Hayes | Houston. Also Austin, Fort Worth, Dallas and in between if mileage and home hospitality provided. | "Raising My Son After Adoption -- What I've Learned Raising my African American Son" (addresses white privilege) | Diversity, Breast Cancer | 281 242-1950 | bonni@pdq.net |
| Patti Henry | Houston, other parts of Texas | "Practice Random Kindness" "Building Character" "Nourishing the Soul" "Relationships: What Does It Mean to Love?" | I can usually work with a topic handed to me. I've spoken on all kinds of topics for all kinds of groups (Single Mothers by Choice, Mothers of Multiples, Suicide Survivors, Harris County Mental Health Association, UT Medical School of Nursing, Shell Oil, etc.) | 281-894-4131 | Pgentlespirit @aol.com |
| Ross Hamilton Henry, Humanist Minister | Houston area | "Delusions Are Inexhaustible" (discusses the dangers inherent in being deluded about reality), "Can Science Save us?" "A Plea for Tolerance" (subtitle: What's Wrong With Christianity). "Is it Possible to Be Religious Without God." | Humanism, Buddhism, Humanistic Buddhism, Buddhistic Humanism, Rational/Scientific approaches to Religion. | 281-288-6064 | rosshenry@mac.com |
| Dr. William P. Irwin (Ph.D) | NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE | ' | A long-time member of Emerson. I have taken the pulpit from time to time in several UU churches in the area. I enjoy doing so and would be pleased to help out on occasion within a reasonable distance of home. Professionally, I have some competence in UU history and theology; voluntary association organization and procedures; social services; maybe some more of this or that. | 713-464-3942 | WillxJo@aol.com |
| Alok Kalia, MD | Anywhere in Texas | "Belief, the Outward Journey" | Other information: I am a Hindu UU and find myself very comfortable in the UU environment. My recent talks have focused on what brings us together as UUs, how we can act and serve in fellowship in spite of our diversity, and how our principles unite us. I have spoken both at my home congregation (Bay Area UU Church) and at the Galveston UU Fellowship. | (409) 772-2538 | akalia@utmb.edu |
| Ashley Kress | Houston area | "My Faith Journey" | home 832-358-2133 | hkress @popmail. neosoft.com | |
| Gary S. Rosin | Greater Houston Area--Houston metro area, Galveston, College Station San Antonio Austin | "The Sacred and the Everyday" (Mysticism for UU's) "Poetry Matters" (prose and poetry reflections on the role of poetry in religion) "Abraham, Bluebonnets and God" (Isaac & the Legend of the Bluebonnet) "Uncommon Colds" (information viruses) "Seeing Is Believing" (commentary on 3 works by Escher) | ' | 713-646-1854 | grosin@stcl.edu |
| Rozelia K. Spikes | Any | "Life in a Box" "Stepping Out on Faith" "If You Knew You Couldn't Fail" "Testing and Stressing Unconditional Love" "Life Changes Without Your Permission" "It's What You Do That Matters" "Enough With This Character Building" "What Spirituality Means to Me" | Speaking as a woman of Color, Motivational Speaking | 713-726-8022/32 Cell: 832-724-8022 | rkspikes@msn.com |
| Hugh Stearns | 150 mile radius of College Station, which would include Houston, Austin and San Antonio | Expanded Intimacy: A Seventh Principle Theory Finding and Creating Sacred Space Sophistication Through Simplicity Raising Hell at A&M: Memoirs of a Radical Aggie Democracy: More Than a Vote Materialism: More Than a Trip to the Mall Intentional Living Through Cohousing | Professionally, I am a remodeling designer and contractor specializing in green building. As a volunteer I am the facilitator of the Progressive Coalition of Bryan - College Station, and Brazos Peace, I am on the board of the Just Peace Institute and the UU Fellowship. My focus is on community and coalition building. | (979) 696-0524 (W) (979) 690-9089 (H) | builder@txcyber.com |
| David Throop | Extended greater Houston area, sometimes Austin area. Further if they were willing to fly me. | "A Free Faith, A Free Practice" | Mysticism, UU History, men's issues. | (281) 483-5396 w (281) 648- 6376 h (281) 460- 8415 cell | |
| Dr. Ken Vincent | Greater Houston / Galveston Area | "Developmental Revelation" | Comparative Religion, Christianity, Origins (especially Zoroastrian and Egyptian influences), Social Science and Religion | (713) 668-8305 and (281) 615-7093 | professorvincent @yahoo.com |
| Mark Weldon Whitten, Ph.D. | Houston area | "Founding Brothers on Religion and Christianity" "Does 'God' Exist? I HOPE So!" "The Facts of Church-State Separation" | I have spoken in the past at First Church, Houston; Thoreau Church; Emerson Church; Houston Unitarian Fellowship (Wirt Rd.) and the former All Souls congregation. Specialties: Religious Liberty / Church and State Philosophical Religion - Theology Ethics and social / political philosophy Christianity / Jesus / Christian Bible | (281) 376-8921 | |
| Robert Pryor | SWUUC Region | "Low Self Esteem and Fatherhood" "Leadership Without Fear" "Ethical Behavior - Where Has It Gone" "The Psychology of Change" "Meeting Your Destiny" "Free and Open Debate - Really?" | I have held executive management and training positions for the last 30 years. I presently own a company "Healing the World - Programs for Peace and Productivity" (http://www.healing-the-world.com) which focuses on leadership and life training in a common sense, compassionate approach. I am also an accomplished musician and performer and have written over 150 original compositions, many of them focused on spiritual themes. I generally integrate these songs into a sermon. I feel that customized music adds an extra dimension to what would be essentially just a spoken presentation. | home- 281-376-1889 work- 281-376-4475 | healingtheworld @comcast.net robertmpryor @comcast.net |