Edna Pearl Bruner (May 14, 1906 – August 3, 1997
) was a Canadian and American minister and educational consultant in the
Unitarian Universalist
Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to:
Christian and Christian-derived theologies
A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism:
* Unitarianism (1565–present) ...
denomination.
Early life and education
Bruner was born and raised in
Ruthven, Ontario, Canada,
the daughter of Albert Leonard Bruner and Nora May Peterson Bruner. While she was still in high school, Bruner became junior superintendent of the
Young People's Christian Union
The Young People's Christian Union (Y.P.C.U.), organized in 1889, was a Universalist youth group created to develop the spiritual life of young people and advance the work of the Universalist church. Soon after it was founded, the Y.P.C.U. focus ...
, a
Universalist youth organization. She graduated from
St. Lawrence University
St. Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college in the village of Canton in St. Lawrence County, New York. It has roughly 2,100 undergraduate and 100 graduate students.
Though St. Lawrence today is nonsectarian, it was founded in 1 ...
with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1929, and a
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies.
...
degree in 1931.
Career
Bruner was ordained as a Universalist minister in 1930. She served as a pastor in
Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 67,314, making it the List of cities in Iowa, eighth-most populous city in the st ...
, from 1930 to 1940,
in
Canton, New York
Canton is an incorporated Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 11,638 at the time of the 2020 census. The town contains two Administrative divisions of New York#Villa ...
, from 1945 to 1950,
and in
Kennebunk, Maine
Kennebunk is a town in York County, Maine, York County, Maine, United States. The population was 11,536 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Kennebunk is home to several beaches, the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, the 1799 K ...
, from 1968 to 1972.
She was also dean of the Midwest Universalist Summer Institute in Michigan for three years.
From 1940 to 1968, Bruner was a field worker and educational consultant on the national staffs of the Council of Liberal Churches
and the Unitarian Universalist Association, based in Boston. She toured nationally in this work, giving lectures and introducing local congregations and church women's groups to curriculum materials for religious education.
Personal life
Bruner became a United States citizen by naturalization in 1941. She died in 1997, at the age of 91, in Boston.
There is a collection of her papers in the library of
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the religious studies, academic study of religion or for leadership role ...
.
Edna P. Bruner Papers, 1929–1980
Harvard Divinity School Library, Harvard University.
References
External links
A professional portrait of Bruner
from the photograph collection of the Portsmouth Athenaeum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruner, Edna P.
1906 births
1997 deaths
People from Essex County, Ontario
St. Lawrence University alumni
American Universalists
Women clergy