Jason Giannetti is Instructor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Regis College in Weston, Mass. He holds an M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity School, an M.A. from Brandeis University, and a J.D. from Boston College.

Marlin Lavanhar is senior minister of the 1,500 member All Souls Unitarian Church, Tulsa, Okla., a post he has held since 2000. He graduated from Harvard Divinity School (M.Div.) in 1999. "Shriveled Beneath the Clods" was written for Prairie Group, a study/discussion group of Unitarian Universalist ministers.

Kennan J. Pomeroy is a student in the M.A. in Religion program at Meadville Lombard Theological School, concentrating in the area of theology. In 2004, his paper titled "Kenneth L. Patton: A Citizen of the Universe" was placed on the Starr King School for the Ministry Web site, where it remains. His essay appearing in this issue was originally written for the Religious Humanism course during the January 2006 intensives at Meadville Lombard.

Paul Rasor teaches religious studies at Virginia Wesleyan College. He has a law degree from the University of Michigan and both a master of divinity and a Ph.D. from Harvard. He has published articles previously in The Journal of Liberal Religion.

James Mark Shields holds a B.A. and M.A. from McGill University in Montreal, an M.Phil. from Cambridge University in the U.K., and a Ph.D. in comparative ethics / philosophy of religion from McGill. He specializes in comparative ethics and philosophy of religion, modern Buddhist thought, and Japanese philosophy. He is currently Assistant Professor of Religion at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

Brent A. Smith is minister of All Souls Community Church in Grand Rapids, Mich. He has also served other congregations, including All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Okla. He holds an M.A. from the University of Chicago and a D.Min. from Meadville Lombard Theological School.

Robert B. Tapp is Professor Emeritus of Humanities, Religious Studies, South Studies at the University of Minnesota and Dean Emeritus of the Humanist Institute. He was also on the faculties of St. Lawrence University, Scripps College, and Meadville Lombard Theological School (1964 to 72).

Jonathan Weidenbaum is a Professor of Liberal Arts at Berkeley College in New York City, where he teaches world religions, ethics, and philosophy. A specialist in the philosophy of religion who draws upon both the Continental and American philosophical traditions for his work, he earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from SUNY Buffalo.