Jan Carlsson-Bull, M.Div., Ph.D.
September 2010

Rev. Dr. Jan Carlsson-Bull is Interim Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Catskills in Kingston, NY. During the previous six years, she served as Minister at First Parish Unitarian Universalist in Cohasset, Massachusetts, where in partnership with congregational leaders she launched small group ministry known as Circle Ministry. It grew to encompass almost one-third of the membership. Before coming to First Parish, Jan served for seven years as Assistant Minister at All Souls, New York City, where her arenas of ministerial focus were social justice advocacy, outreach, committee/task force organization, and pastoral care. After the 9/11 attacks, she served as chaplain at Ground Zero and at the city's Family Assistance Centers and became a charter board member of the UU Trauma Response Ministry.

Jan's denominational leadership has also included eight years on our UUA's Commission on Social Witness, with two years as chair; eight years on the Metro/NY District's Anti-Racism and Diversity Committee; and several leadership positions on district chapters of the UU Ministers Association, including the past presidency of the Metro/NY UUMA. She currently serves on the Board of the Unitarian Universalist Small Group Ministry Network and has contributed articles to the SGM Quarterly Journal on launching small group ministry and small group service ventures. Jan earned her M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary, New York City, and her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Yeshiva University's Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology. Her doctoral areas of focus were the development of imagination in children and adult female development. Her seminary areas of focus were Old Testament and psychology and religion.

For fun and leisure Jan loves to swim, hike, read, garden (a.k.a. play in the dirt), prepare meals from the sumptuous array of organic offerings in the Hudson River Valley, and spend time with her family and friends while doing much of the above. She's been married for 24 years to Dr. Daniel Bull (a miracle for a blended family, she says). They have three grown daughters — Shana, Sarah, and Lisa — two sons-in-law (Rob and Robb!), and two adorable grandsons, Oliver, a lively 2 1/2-year-old, and Forrest, a different kind of lively four-month-old! Jan and Dan are at home in Red Hook with their friendly mutt, Google, their recently inherited dog, Jazz, and four to six barn cats, depending on how many show up for dinner.

She has her own website ( http://revjancarlssonbull.com/ ) with more information.

The Reverend Dr. Linda Anderson served our congregation from 1992 until 2010. Educated at the University of Rochester, the University of Colorado and New York Theological Seminary. Dr. Anderson earned a doctorate in Classics and Greek Art and a Master of Divinity degree. She has won numerous prizes and awards, including a Feminist Theology Award for her historical drama,"Judith Sargent Murray: a Woman of Substance."

Since coming to Kingston, Dr. Anderson has worked with such community agencies as RCAL (Resource Center for Accessible Living), United Way, where she chaired a committee to fund emergency services for many years, as well as serving on the Board. Rev. Anderson served on the Board of Esther House, a program helping women to transition back into society from prison and she has spoken on numerous panels on the subject of restorative justice. She has also worked with Big Brothers Big Sisters on their Amachi program mentoring children with a parent who is incarcerated. On a different note, she spent several years with the Healing Improv Group, an experiential theater group that works with cancer patients through Benedictine Hospital's Oncology Support Program.

Dr. Anderson's scholarly interests include theology and history and she has published papers on the reality of evil and delivered lectures to ministerial conferences on the Parables of Jesus and on Affect Theology and theologian Thandeka. Her play "Judith Sargent Murray" has been dramatized in numerous venues, including the General Assembly and the New York State Convention of Universalists.

Hobbies and interests include kayaking, biking, swimming and hiking. She is a prize winning photographer and she loves to play with her dog, a chocolate lab.