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Rev. Dr. Daniel Ó Connell
The Reverend Dr. Daniel Ó Connell is Lead Minister at Eliot Chapel, with primary responsibility for worship and preaching and administration.
Rev. Ó Connell may be contacted at .
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| Spiritual Journey | Blogs | Ministry | Education | Awards | Published Writings | |
My Spiritual Journey
What is to give light, must endure burning.
– Victor Frankl
I am a "merger baby," one of those who grew up in the then (1961) new denomination of Unitarian Universalism. I have always felt comfortable in a UU religious education setting. It has been a place of refuge, a place of sanctioned exploration, a place of honesty without pat answers for me (although I may not have been able to articulate that when I was a child). I was active in LRY, and served in a variety of capacities with UU Young Adults all over the country. Growing up UU as made me feel "different" but it has provided both spiritual freedom and a sense of responsibility to spread our good news.
My "physicist / humanist" father and "fuzzy theist / UU choir director mother" found us a religious home at the Unitarian Church of Rockville (Maryland).
Growing up UU has made a difference in how I approach theological and other types of diversity. I believe there is a difference between ministers who grew up UU and those who did not.
As a UU I grew up with parents (my own and others) who were atheist, Buddhists, Christians, Jews, hippies, humanist, mixed-marriage, vegetarians, psychologists, school teachers, social workers, gay and lesbian folks, and so forth. I grew up with the idea that deeds were more important than creeds, that we could draw upon more than one source for our "scripture," that we are saved already, that life here is more important than any life hereafter, and that love can conquer death.
Most of my non-UU friends simply refused to believe a church like that existed.
On the other hand as a UU I grew up without some things too. I grew up without creedal religions, there were many stories I never heard in church. Stories like: god is an old white man in the sky, that we are all unworthy sinners in the hands of an angry god deserving of destruction and annihilation, or that science and religion conflict, that sex is a sin, that perfection is desirable, that there is an irreconcilable split between spirit and flesh, and so forth.
I stake my life on the proposition that Unitarian Universalism is a real religion that has something to offer a confused and hurting world. I seek to work with and in a community of faith dedicated to spiritual empowerment and "an earth made fair and all her people one."
Blogs:
Central MidWest District President's Blog
Ministry:
Lead Minister, Eliot Unitarian Chapel, Kirkwood, MO - August 2002 to Present.
Parish Minister, UU Society, West Redding, CT 1996-2002 (ordained there, 10/96).
Summer Minister, First Unitarian Church of Rochester, NY, 1995.
Ministerial Intern, First Unitarian Church of Rochester, 1994-1995.
Clinical Pastoral Education, Rush Presbyterian, Chicago, IL 1994.
Education and certification:
Doctor of Ministry, MEADVILLE LOMBARD THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL; Gender, Initiation, & Religious Education 1996
BA, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND; Communications 1985
AA, MONTGOMERY COLLEGE; Radio, TV, Film 1/1982
Awards:
UU Scholars/Collegium Scholarship prize, 2000
UUMeN Sermon Prize, 1995
UUA Max Kapp Prize in Universalism, 1994
Francis Albert Christie Prize in Church History, 1994
Clayton Raymond Bowen Prize: Excellence in New Testament Studies, 1994
UUA Grant, 1993, 1994 (with "merit bonus for outstanding potential"), 1995
Toshio Miyake Scholarship, 1993 Coombs Scholarship, 1992, 1993, 1995
Published Writings:
Contributing Writer, First Days Record (the UU Minister's magazine), 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2001.
MaleCall, the quarterly of UUMeN: a half dozen essays, 1995-2000.
Monograph: "The Outcome of This Faith: How Universalism Changed History in the Person of Mary Livermore," Unitarian Universalist Women's Heritage Society, June 1995.
Unitarian Universalism: The Religion - A paper delivered to the Unitarian Universalist Ministers' Convocation
Unitarian Universalist Denominational Theology, 1993-1997: A survey, critique, and articulation for the new millennium - Published by the Journal of Liberal Religion