“The Generosity of Listening”
People always have a story to tell, a kernel of truth that holds meaning for them — whether it’s five or 50 minutes. If we listen, truly open ourselves to hear that story, we’ll be forever changed. We carry these ideas with us and use them in direct and indirect ways to shape our lives. Through the insights of a midrashic story told by a Talmudic scholar or a UU chaplain who shares tales of tragedy from the forests of Maine, Trent Gilliss shares some of the stories that have impacted him in his struggle to find meaning in a non-believer’s life and the role they play in his personal and professional worlds.

Trent is a journalist, producer, and editor who currently works on the national public radio program, Speaking of Faith. During the past five years, he has led SOF’s editorial and creative online efforts and developed its approach to ground-up radio production. In his first year, he won a Webby Award — the "Oscars of the Internet," as the New York Times defines them — the first public radio program to do so (and again in 2008 in competition organizations like the BBC), and has received multiple nominations for his work from the Online News Association. He also received a Peabody Award for his work on the program “The Ecstatic Faith of Rumi” in 2007.

Born and raised in North Dakota, Trent graduated from Century High School and later from the University of Mary with a degree in English Language and Literature. He’s married to Shelley -- a Mandan girl, and has two young sons, Lucian and Rainier. He's proud of his North Dakota roots, but wouldn't move back, even to study Camus again in college. But he’s always prepared to eat his words.

Sunday Coffee: 10:30 AM, Sunday Service: 11:00 AM, Children's Sunday School and Childcare: 11:00 AM