The Reverend Doctor Linda M. Hansen became our settled minister in August of 2003, after serving for nine years as the minister of the Peoples Church Unitarian Universalist in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. When Linda was first called by our congregation, she indicated “how drawn I feel to you and to your commitment to be a welcoming and visible liberal religious presence, and how much I look forward to being your partner in ministry.” Since becoming our minister, Linda says her enthusiasm has only grown greater!

Having grown up in Chicago in a Catholic family, Linda attended religious schools from elementary through her Doctorate in Philosophy from Marquette University in 1976. It was while teaching at Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa that she experienced a “crisis of faith” and eventually left Catholicism, though she discovered she missed being part of a religious community. Later, as a tenured Associate Professor of Philosophy at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, Linda became interested in process, feminist and liberation theology. She took a leave of absence to attend the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, where she earned a Master’s Degree in Theology in 1988. It was there, especially through a friend studying at the UU Starr King School for the Ministry, that she began to learn about Unitarian Universalism. In 1990 she became involved in and joined the First Universalist Church in Minneapolis. By 1994 she completed all the requirements for UU ministry, and was called to serve the Peoples Church.

Asked to describe her theology, Linda states “I come closest to being a humanist, but with strong doses of existentialism and process thought included.” Linda loves the UU ministry for the opportunity to know and work with people of all ages, backgrounds, and perspectives; for the opportunity to combine her interests in philosophy, theology, literature, film (and even Star Trek); and the opportunity to be part of a congregation seeking to make a difference in the world and thus offer hope. She thinks that we here at UUCD are doing exciting, bold work and she is dedicated to helping us fulfill our promise.

Linda shares a home with three cats she adores, and maintains close ties with family and friends in the Midwest.

© Copyright 2005 Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Danbury
This page last updated February 25, 2006
Send e-mail regarding this site to webmail@uudanbury.org