Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Stanislaus County

Room Name Bigraphies

These are brief biographies of the people mentioned in our Classroom Building Tour, in alphabetical order by first name.

Eugene B. Navias

(By Joshua Thomas)

Eugene B. Navias (1928- ): A lifelong Unitarian and ordained minister, Eugene Navias served on the religious education staff of the Unitarian Universalist Association for 29 years, as a consultant, field worker, and then director of the department. During his tenure, Navias was a chief interpreter of Unitarian Universalist curriculum, a trainer of local religious education leaders, and an innovator in the inclusion of arts and music in education programs. Navias was part of the curriculum team that developed the groundbreaking program About Your Sexuality. Because of its explicit visuals and narrations of sexual experiences, the program received extensive, controversial publicity. Navias was responsible for designing and co-leading a fifteen hour training program to help local leaders feel comfortable and skilled in conducting this complicated educational experience. He was also instrumental in the Unitarian Universalist response to AIDS.

Other responsibilities that Navias undertook included the development of an Accreditation Program for Directors of Religious Education, for which he served as the Staff Associate or Dean through 1981. He provided personal guidance and mentoring to these candidates and their teachers through extensive mail and telephone consultations.

During his leadership, religious education saw a greater focus on development across the human lifespan, Unitarian Universalist identity, congregational diversity, social justice, Biblical heritage and world religions, and more formalized programs of training for educators.

Navias retired from his role as Director of the Religious Education department in 1992. In that year, he organized a program of narrations and hymns for the 1992 Unitarian Universalist General Assembly entitled "Singing - Shouting - Celebrating: 200 Years of Universalism."

In 2005, Navias was given the Distinguished Service Award by the Unitarian Universalist Association, its highest recognition.

Margaret (Peg) Gooding

Margaret (Peg) Gooding was born February 20, 1922, in Claremont, New Hampshire. She received a B.S. from Wheelock College, an H.L.D. from Starr King School for the Ministry, and a D.D. from Meadville Lombard Theological School. The First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa, Ontario, ordained her as a minister of religious education in 1981.

Gooding served congregations in Phoenix, Arizona, and Ottawa, Ontario. In 1985 she received the Angus H. MacLean Award for Excellence in Religious Education. She retired in 1986 but returned to work as religious education consultant for the Central Midwest District from 1989 through 1990. Gooding was also a lecturer in religious education at Meadville Lombard Theological School from 1989 through 1992. The First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa, Ontario, named Gooding minister emerita in 1992.

In addition to her work with local congregations, she was a leader of workshops on religious education at innumerable conferences at summer institutes such as Ferry Beach and at district Religious Education conferences. A specialist in early childhood education and a friend of Dorothy T. Spoerl, trailblazing UUA Curriculum Editor, she wrote curricula for the Unitarian Universalist Association including "Growing Up Times," 1988; "Exploring Our Roots," 1988; "The Stepping Stone Year," 1989; "Up, Up, and Away, Universalist Journeys for Ages Eight to Ten," 1994, and "When Universalism Came to Canada," 1996. She also wrote poetry and songs for children, and the responsive reading, "Why Not a Star," which can be found in the UUA's "Singing the Living Tradition." It ends with these words:

Why not a star? Some bright star shines somewhere in the heavens each time a child is born.

Who knows what it may foretell?

Who knows what uncommon life may yet again unfold, if we but give it a chance!

[Read the entire piece.]

After her retirement, Peg Gooding joined the UU Fellowship of Stanislaus County and acted as a resource for our Religious education program.

The Reverend Margaret Gooding died in Modesto on February 9, 2003, at 81 years of age.

Robert Fulghum

Robert Fulghum was born in 1937, and grew up in Waco, Texas. In his youth he worked as a ditch-digger, newspaper carrier, ranch hand, and singing cowboy. After college and a brief career with IBM, he returned to graduate school and completed a degree in theology at Starr King School in 1961. For 22 years he served as a Unitarian parish minister in the Pacific Northwest. During the same period he taught drawing, painting, and philosophy at the Lakeside School in Seattle. Fulghum is an accomplished painter and sculptor. He sings, and plays the guitar and mando-cello and was a founding member of the The Rock-Bottom Remainders-a rock and roll band of author-musicians.

Robert Fulghum has published eight best-selling books: All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten, It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It, Uh- Oh, Maybe (Maybe Not) , From Beginning To End - The Rituals of Our Lives, True Love, Words I Wish I Wrote and What On Earth Have I Done?

Fulghum, a Grammy nominee for the Spoken Word Award, has performed in two television adaptations of his work for PBS, has been a speaker at numerous colleges, conventions, and public events across the United States and Europe, and has authored a nationally-syndicated newspaper column. His writing has been adapted for the stage in two theater pieces: All I Really Need to Know, and Uh-Oh, Here Comes Christmas, and performed in more than 2,000 national and international productions.

Til Evans

Til Evans was born Feb 5, 1923 in Bristol, England. She completed her nursing degree in 1944 and served as a "nursing sister" during WW II. Til came to the United States as a war bride in 1946. She became a Unitarian as a member of Sepulveda Unitarian Universalist in 1955 and was active in designing and delivering religious education. She served as DRE at the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles from 1968-71. Til helped to start "Venture," a forerunner of the Independent Study Program for religious educators, and taught a Leadership Development course at UCLA. Later moving to Northern California, Til became Director of Religious Education at Mt. Diablo Unitarian Church and was ordained by that congregation in 1979.

Til had begun teaching at Starr King School for the Ministry in 1976, and was later appointed to a faculty position teaching and mentoring candidates for the UU ministry. Til helped to guide many women seminarians through the process of finding their voices in a (then) predominantly male ministry. She also offered workshops and classes for UU women around the country.

In 1988, Til became interim President of Starr King School, the first woman to serve in that role. She completed her term when the current President, the Rev Dr. Rebecca Parker was chosen in 1990. Til continued to teach occasional classes at Starr King. She also served our congregations in Palo Alto, CA and Durham, NC as well as consulting with numerous others.

The UUA awarded the Angus Maclean Award to Til in 1980. She received the Distinguished Service Award in 1999. A fund to establish the Til Evans Professorship for Religious Education has been established at Star King School for the Ministry.