Sunday, July 10, 2016, 10:00am

Ralph Waldo Emerson, frequently portrayed as both an enthusiastic optimist and a rebel, was born on May 25, 1803. His father, a Unitarian minister in Boston, died when Ralph was only seven. At the tender age of fourteen, he entered Harvard to follow in the footsteps of his father, but demonstrated what his professors called an average academic ability and uninventive thinking.  Emerson cultivated his creativity over time and developed a theological perspective called Transcendentalism. We’ll explore Emerson’s approach to life and death.  Rev. Dr. Nicole C. Kirk, Professor of Unitarian Universalist History at Meadville Lombard Theological School, speaking.