Rev. John A. Buehrens

John Buehrens has served as the Minister of the First Parish in Needham since 2002. From 1993 to 2001 he was the President of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Ordained in 1973, he served congregations in Tennessee, Texas, and New York City prior to his election to that office.

A graduate of Harvard College and of Harvard Divinity School, he is co-author (with Forrest Church) of A Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism (1989, 1996) and author of Understanding the Bible: An Introduction for Skeptics, Seekers, and Religious Liberals (2002). A House for Hope: The Promise of Progressive Religion for America, written with Rebecca Parker, will be published by Beacon Press in May 2010. Cited as a “scholar, organizer, but above all, pastor,” John has been awarded three honorary doctorates. He has taught seminary courses in history, theology, preaching, and the practice of ministry.

Long a leader in interfaith cooperation for peace and justice, John currently serves as national co-chair for Freedom to Marry (www.freedomtomarry.org). He also serves on the Board of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (www.uusc.org), and as UU Denominational Counselor and Instructor in UU Polity and Practices at Harvard Divinity School.

John has been married since 1972 to the Reverend Gwen Langdoc Buehrens, a priest in the Episcopal Church. They live in Needham. John and Gwen have two daughters, both now married, and are now discovering the joys of grandparenthood. John loves to cook Northern Italian cuisine, a habit that goes back to a high school year as an exchange student in Milan. He and Gwen enjoy travel, music, and dance. He has visited all 50 states and some 26 countries overseas. In the summer of 2009, he traveled to Israel and the Occupied Territories as part of an interfaith delegation. This winter he and Gwen will be returning to Central America.

Newcomers should know that John is the kind of pastoral minister who enjoys meeting over coffee or in people's homes. He is assisted in his pastoral work by a very caring group of lay Pastoral Associates trained to provide support and a caring presence.

Intern Minister

First Parish in Needham is an outstanding "teaching congregation," regularly training seminarians and recent seminary graduates for successful service as Unitarian Universalist ministers. The Rev. John Buehrens has supervised some twenty ministerial students over his career, and the commitment of the Parish to its role as a "teaching congregation" is embodied in a dedicated Internship Committee. Intern Ministers during Reverend Buehrens' tenure have included

Thom Belote, now minister of the Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church of Johnson County, KS
Sarah Gibbs Millspaugh, now co-minister of the Winchester (MA) Unitarian Society
Maria Cristina Vlassidis, now a doctoral candidate at Harvard Divinity School
Lucas Hergert, now minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Livermore, CA
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Molly Housh

Molly Housh is a Master of Divinity student at Harvard Divinity School and a Candidate for ordination as a Unitarian Universalist minister. Molly was raised as a Unitarian Universalist at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she sang in the youth choir for many years and, with them, was able to travel to congregations all over the country getting to know and love the diversity of Unitarian Universalism.

Molly holds a bachelors degree in Religion and English from Hendrix College, a liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. There she discovered the field of Process Theology and enjoyed doing work applying Process Theology to such diverse subjects as literature, improvisational dance, and, of course, Unitarian Universalism. Molly's undergraduate work in Process Theology culminated in a trip to Guilin, China to help facilitate a three-week workshop on the subject with Chinese students and scholars.

At Harvard, Molly is a board member of the Harvard Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Students and also a leader in WomenChurch, a gathering of women in worship and discussion. She has enjoyed the opportunity to experiment with singing and storytelling in worship and to form relationships with some wonderful and diverse ministerial students. For the past two years, Molly has also served as an intern at the Unitarian Universalist Association in the area of Congregational Growth and Marketing and has been privileged to be involved with that group's anti-racism work. In her free time, when she can find some, Molly loves to dance, cook, and relax with her fiance James.