Below is a list of all papers delivered at Prairie Group during the 1990s. Some papers have links to them and have been saved as a PDF. Others papers may be found in the archives at Meadville Lombard Seminary in Chicago. All papers were delivered except as noted at Pere Marquette Lodge, Grafton, IL.
Evil at the 05-08 November 1990 meetings (Earl Holt, Scribe)
“Classical Views of Evil: Judeo-Christian and Hindu” by Burton Carley; Gary James responder
“Psychological Perspectives on Evil” by Daniel Budd; Joan Kahn-Schneider responder
“Illuminations of Evil in Literature” by Ed Harris; Sydney Morris responder
“Evil in American Liberal Religious Thought in the Decades before Niebuhr” by John Godbey; Lindsay Bates responder
“Evil and Ambiguity in American Liberal Religious Thought after Niebuhr” by Dianne Arakawa; John Wolf responder
Feminism and Liberal Theology at the 18-21 November 1991 meetings
“The Feminine Experience in Contemporary America” by Susan Weickum; Mary Moore responder
“Woman and Man in Biblical Theology” by Charles Eddis; Marianne Hachten-Cotter responder
“Competing Views of History: Paganism and Biblical Theology” by John Wolf; Kendyl Gibbons responder
“Feminist Considerations for Liberal Worship and Religious Education” by Lindsay Bates; Earl Holt responder
“The Liberal Church Beyond Male/Female Conflict” by Laurel Hallman; Eric Haugan responder
The Biological Basis of Human Nature at the 09-12 November 1992 meetings
“Human Biology and the Concept of Free Will” by Davidson Loehr; Roy Phillips responder
“Human Biology, Human Nature and Sources of Value” by Berkley Moore; Gertrude Lindener-Stawski responder
“Genetic Engineering: Shall We Breed Salvation by Character?” by Scot Giles; Brent Smith responder
“Is there a Biological Basis for the Sacred?” by Max Gaebler; Ruppert Lovely responder
“Are Cultural and Community Needs at War with Human Biology?” by Barbara Merritt; Ron Knapp responder
Interpreting the Hebrew Scriptures at the 15-18 November 1993 meetings
“Midrashic and Talmudic Method” by Bill Haney; John Godbey responder
“Myths of Origin” by Sydney Morris; John Robinson responder
“The Sagas of the Patriarchs” by Jan Knost; David Maynard responder
“The Epic of King David” by Mary Moore; Calvin Knapp responder
“The Book of Job” by Gary James; David Weissbard responder
Homer at the 14-16 November 1994 meetings
“The World of Ancient Greece” by Leonora Montgomery; Max Gaebler responder
“The Powerful, the Seductive and the Barbaric in Homer” by Jack Hayward; Davidson Loehr responder
“The Hero’s Journey” by Earl Holt; Lindsay Bates responder
“Helmet and Hearth: On Conflict and the Nature of Domestic Relationships” by Brent Smith; Charles Eddis responder
“Salvation in a Tragic World” by David Maynard; John Wolf responder
The Voices of the Female Mystics at the 06-09 November 1995 meetings
“Establishing a Methodological Framework” by Daniel Budd; Marianne Hachten-Cotter responder
“The Medieval Female Mystics: Hildegarde of Bingen, Julian of Norwich, Theresa of Avila” by Laurel Hallman; John Godbey responder
“The Non-Western Female Mystics: Mirabai, Rabiah, Lalla” by Barbara Merritt; Bill Haney responder
“A Contemporary Female Mystic: Simone Weil” by Ruppert Lovely; Eric Haugen responder
“A Contemporary Female Mystic: Annie Dillard” by Burton Carley; Kendyl Gibbons responder
The Religious Roots to Our Democracy: Jefferson and Adams at the 11-14 November 1996 meetings
“Context: Jefferson and Adams; Children of the Enlightenment” by John Wolf; Fred Campbell responder
“Context: Abigail Adams – An Insiders Viewpoint” by Eric Haugan; Glenda Walker responder
“The Theology of Jefferson and Adams” by Kendyl Gibbons; Dick Allen responder
“Not Included” by David Weissbard; Cynthia Johnson responder
“Modern Implications: Systemic Affects of the Founding Visionaries” by Roy Phillips; Leonora Montgomery responder
Herman Melville at the 10-12 November 1997 meetings
“Melville in the Context of the American Renaissance” by Charles Eddis; John Robinson responder
“Melville’s Religious Thought from Redburn to Billy Budd” by Gertrude Lindener-Stawski; Jack Hayward responder
“Melville on Race, Class and Gender” by Cynthia Johnson; Mary Moore responder
“Melville’s Impact on American Literature” by Dick Allen; Max Gaebler responder
“Melville’s Relevance to Contemporary Unitarian Universalism and Liberal Religion” by John Buehrens; Ruppert Lovely responder
Reinhold Niebuhr at the 16-19 November 1998 meetings
“Biography I: 1892-1939” by Mary Moore; Berkley Moore responder
“Biography II: 1940-1971” by Danny Reed; Barbara Merritt responder
“Reinhold Niebuhr’s Personal Vision” by Suzanne Meyer; Earl Holt responder
“Reinhold Niebuhr’s Social Vision” by John Robinson; Burton Carley responder
“Reinhold Niebuhr, Liberal Religion and the Free Church” by Jan Knost; Brent Smith responder
Hasidim at the 15-17 November 1999 meetings
“The Heresy of Hasidism: What Was/Is It? (An Historic View)” by Berkley Moore; David Maynard responder
“The Role of the Zaddik in Hasidism” by Gary James; David Weissbard responder
“Fervor in Hasidism” by John Weston; Laurel Hallman responder
“Not Concerned with the Mysteries of Heaven but with Your Life and Mine” by Bill Haney: Daniel Budd responder
“What Can Unitarian Universalists Learn from the Hasidic Approach (Piety, Prayer, Mysticism) to the Holy? What is Hasidim’s Appeal to Religious Liberals Today?” by Glenda Walker; Roy Phillips responder
Prairie Group 