Kitty Degler Oral History

Oral histories created by University of Kansas students, staff and faculty as part of the Religion in Kansas Project are archived at http://hdl.handle.net/1808/12524 in KU ScholarWorks, the digital repository of the University of Kansas.Oral history interview with Kitty Degler conducted by Aspen Grender in Lawrence, Kansas, on November 19, 2016. This interview features Kitty Degler, a resident of Olathe and co-founder of Gaia Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation. Degler discusses her early religious background in Protestant traditions, her training in the Reclaiming tradition through Diana’s Grove, the founding and organization of the community as a Unitarian Universalist, and its activity in Kansas and Missouri. She also speaks about her time leading the Voices of Gaia community choir, her activity on Gaia’s ritual team, her years serving as president of the board of directors, and the community’s efforts to involved in interfaith dialogue in the area.Friends of the Department of Religious Studie

Kimberly Hunter Oral History

Oral histories created by University of Kansas students, staff and faculty as part of the Religion in Kansas Project are archived at http://hdl.handle.net/1808/12524 in KU ScholarWorks, the digital repository of the University of Kansas.Oral history interview with Kimberly Hunter conducted by Aspen Grender in Rosedale, Kansas on October 18, 2016. This interview features Kimberly Hunter, a resident of Rosedale, who is involved in the Rainbow Mennonite Church. Hunter discusses her upbringing in a conservative Mennonite family, her frequent moving as a result of her father’s missionary activity, and the ways that her religious and spiritual perspectives shifted following her move to Florida as a college undergraduate. She also discusses her social and political activism during her colleges years, her time in Catholic Worker houses in Florida and Missouri, and plans for the formation of an intentional community (Rainbows in Rosedale) in the Rosedale area.Friends of the Department of Religious Studie

Paul Porter Oral History

Oral histories created by University of Kansas students, staff and faculty as part of the Religion in Kansas Project are archived at http://hdl.handle.net/1808/12524 in KU ScholarWorks, the digital repository of the University of Kansas.Oral history interview with Reverend Paul Porter conducted by Aspen Grender by phone on May 11, 2016. This interview features Reverend Paul Porter, a minster in the Disciples of Christ Church in Independence, Kansas. Porter discusses his frequent changes in location as a child of a military family, his religious upbringing in the Baptist tradition and waning involvement in Baptist services after college, his travels overseas in the Navy and exposure to various religious and cultural traditions, and his eventual pursuit of a Masters of Divinity in his thirties before becoming a minister in the Disciples of Christ denomination.Friends of the Department of Religious Studie

Joy Smith Oral History

Oral histories created by University of Kansas students, staff and faculty as part of the Religion in Kansas Project are archived at http://hdl.handle.net/1808/12524 in KU ScholarWorks, the digital repository of the University of Kansas.Oral history interview with Joy Smith conducted by Aspen Grender in Lawrence, Kansas, on April 21, 2016. This interview features Joy Smith, a Sunday school teacher, “bus captain”, and church pianist at the Heritage Baptist Church in Lawrence who has been on staff there since 1991. Smith discusses her experiences pertaining to growing up in a Christian family, teaching Bible studies at the Ladies Topeka Correctional Facility, her current involvement teaching at a retirement home, her mission trips abroad, and her plans to travel soon to Africa to spread the gospel.Friends of the Department of Religious Studie

Peeter Saarna Oral History

Oral histories created by University of Kansas students, staff and faculty as part of the Religion in Kansas Project are archived at http://hdl.handle.net/1808/12524 in KU ScholarWorks, the digital repository of the University of Kansas.Oral history interview with Pastor Peeter Saarna conducted by Aspen Grender in Kansas City, Kansas, on December 8, 2016. This interview features Peeter Saarna, a member of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification and pastor of the Kansas City Family Church in Kansas City. Pastor Saarna discusses his personal background and experiences as a self-described rebellious youth, his religious development and eventual exposure to the Unification Church and the teachings of Reverend Sun Myung Moon, his experience being matched with his wife Mieko, and the importance of interracial marriage in challenging racism. He also speaks about his time as a pastor in Topeka and the Church’s reception there, changes in public perception of Unificationism, the significance of ecumenical and interfaith discussion, and his plans and hopes for the future of the Church.Friends of the Department of Religious Studie

Rosemary Williams Oral History

Oral histories created by University of Kansas students, staff and faculty as part of the Religion in Kansas Project are archived at http://hdl.handle.net/1808/12524 in KU ScholarWorks, the digital repository of the University of Kansas.Oral history interview with Rosemary Williams conducted by Aspen Grender in Olathe, Kansas, on November 8, 2016. This interview features Rosemary Williams, a resident of Olathe and member of the Gaia Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Kansas City, Missouri. Williams discusses her early experiences in Methodist churches, her eventual interest in Pagan traditions, her involvement with Gaia Community Unitarian Universalist and the community’s activity in Kansas and Missouri, the relationships she has built with other members, and some of the community’s future plans.Friends of the Department of Religious Studie

Peggy Beatty Oral History

Oral histories created by University of Kansas students, staff and faculty as part of the Religion in Kansas Project are archived at http://hdl.handle.net/1808/12524 in KU ScholarWorks, the digital repository of the University of Kansas.Oral history interview with Peggy Beatty conducted by Aspen Grender in Lawrence, Kansas, on February 22, 2016. This interview features Peggy Beatty, who offers mindfulness and contemplative meditation workshops at the Lavender House on New Hampshire Street in Lawrence. Beatty discusses her religious background, her involvement at the Lavender House, and her role as the spiritual director of Ecumenicus, an interfaith non-profit focused on contemplative meditation.Friends of the Department of Religious Studie