DANIEL, Lillian

DANIEL, Lillian ( ). Following the twenty-five year pastorate of Dr. Ken and Nancy Bickel, members of FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST began a nation-wide search in 2015 for new church leadership. Dr. Lillian Daniel, former pastor in Glen Ellyn, Illinois and an urban congregation in New Haven, Connecticut was chosen. She was the second female pastor of the church following Rev. Elizabeth Pigg in 1986. (1)

Dr. Daniel once considered following her father, a journalist for United Press International, into his chosen field. She earned her A.B. from Bryn Mawr College, her M.Div. from Yale Divinity School, and her D.Min. from Hartford Seminary. (2)

Her love of writing and her devotion to religion resulted in the publication of three boos: When Spiritual but Not Religious is Not Enough: Seeing God in Surprising Places, Even the Church (2006) , This Odd and Wondrous Calling: The Public and Private Lives of Two Ministers co-authored with Martin B. Copenhaver, (2009), and Tell It Like It Is. In September 2016 her latest book Tired of Apologizing for a Church I Don't Belong To: Spirituality Without Stereotypes, Religion Without Ranting was to be available. She also contributed articles to the Huffington Post, Christianity Today, and The Journal for Preachers. From 2007 to 2011 she hosted "30 Good Minutes," a religious television program based in Chicago. (3)

She served as a trustee of the Chicago Theological Seminary and board president of Arise (formerly Chicago Interfaith Committee for Worker Issues.) (4) A frequent speaker around the country, Lillian preached at the National Cathedral, Duke Chapel, and the Festival of Homiletics and delivered lectures to clergy at Kings College, London and Queen’s College, Ontario. She taught preaching Chicago Theological Seminary, the University of Chicago Divinity School and at her alma mater, Yale Divinity School, where she received the 2010 distinguished alumni award for “Distinction in Congregational Ministry.” (5)

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Source:

1. Jones, Tia Carol. "New Pastor, New Ideas," Telegraph Herald, May 14, 2016, p. 12A

2. "Emerging Leaders Class of 2011." The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Online: https://www.thechicagocouncil.org/about/fellowships/emerging-leaders/emerging-leaders-class-2011

3. Ibid., p. 13A

4. "Emerging Leaders."

5. Lillian Daniel. Online: http://www.lilliandaniel.com/Bio.html