The second of a series of five theme talks on 'Living at the Edge'. John Naish is a 'cradle' Unitarian, baptised (as the certificate calls it) at Brighton Unitarian Church in the 1960s, where he nowadays conducts wedding ceremonies. He worked as a mechanic, a bookie's boy, a factory machine operator and an insurance claims investigator before taking a degree in philosophy and English, and then blundering into journalism. For most of the past quarter century, he has worked as a health correspondent, interrupted by stints as motoring editor and property editor at The Times. He has written for most national newspapers, as well as periodicals such as Prospect and New Statesman. He now writes mostly for the Daily Mail, as well as being a columnist and road tester for motorcycle magazines. He is also a board member of the Inquirer, and has published three books.

The first of a series of five theme talks on 'Living at the Edge'. Rev. Rob Gregson is a UU parish minister currently engaged in social justice/social action ministry as Director of SimpleGifts: Unitarian Centre for Social Action at the Mansford St. Unitarian Church and Mission in East London. He lives in North London with his two children, Cory and Addy who appear to be far more well-known than he is in Unitarian circles.

The fifth of a series of five theme talks on 'Sacred Living'. Rev. Margaret Kirk was minister of St. Saviourgate Unitarian Chapel, York (1998-2009). As a retired minister she takes services and works with congregations in the North East of England and has pastoral oversight for the Whitby Unitarian Chapel. She has co-facilitated workshops at a number of RE Summer Schools and was theme speaker in 2006. Currently (2014-15) she is President of the Ministerial Fellowship.

The fourth of a series of five theme talks on 'Sacred Living'. Kate McKenna lives and works in Norwich, and studies at Oxford and London, where she is preparing for the Unitarian ministry, for which she hopes to qualify in Summer 2016. She currently leads worship regularly at the stunningly beautiful Octagon Chapel in Norwich, and has loved the opportunities she's had to do the same in other chapels and meeting houses throughout the UK. She attended her first Summer School in 2011, and has been each year since, and she dates her definite realisation that she wanted to train for the ministry from that Summer School (the thought had been wandering through her mind for several years before that). Before her first Summer School she was certain that the enthusiasm for it was largely hype, and is utterly delighted by how wrong she was. Kate is firmly at the religious end of the spectrum of Unitarian theology, and defines as a Unitarian Christian with distinct earth-spirit leanings. She spends far more time colouring in than most middle-aged people probably do, but justifies it on the basis that a) it's a spiritual practice and b) she is really good at it. Being asked to do a theme talk for Summer School was one of the highlights of her Unitarian life: and actually doing the theme talk probably remains the single highlight.

The third of a series of five theme talks on 'Sacred Living'. Rev. Danny Crosby says: 'I grew up in the village of Birstall in west Yorkshire. There is a huge statue of Joseph Priestley in the market place. He also grew up there. We only knew him as the great scientist as kids. The man who we used to jokingly say "invented oxygen", I never knew how important he was in the history of Unitarianism. I did not have a particularly religious upbringing and certainly for most of my adult life I was an atheistically inclined agnostic. I saw religion and spirituality as irrelevant. Things began to change around the early years of the new millennium. Around about 10 or 11 years ago I began to have life transforming spiritual experiences that transformed by whole experience of life. Following which I became what I have heard described as a spiritual seeker. I was seeking answer as to what had happened to me. This eventually led me to the doors of Cross Street Chapel, Manchester, almost exactly 10 years ago. I instantly found myself at home with Unitarians. I became increasingly involved and loved being part of the community. Following a devastating personal tragedy I began to be drawn towards the ministry. So I began leading worship and applied and was accepted to train for the ministry. I loved my time training and have loved the last four and half years serving the people of Urmston and Altrincham in Greater Manchester. The work is tough but deeply rewarding. It has brought me closer and closer to both God and life. I have not yet found answers to the questions that my experiences brought to me and I do not expect I ever will. That said, I have experienced far more than I ever dreamed was possible. I look forward to the journey ahead, whatever it may bring.'

The second of a series of five theme talks on 'Sacred Living'. Rev. Sue Woolley is District Minister of the Midland Unitarian Association and minister of Banbury Unitarians. She writes: I have been a Unitarian since the age of 18, when my father gave me a copy of Alfred Hall's book Beliefs of a Unitarian, and I read it, and discovered I was home. Since then, I have been involved with the Unitarian Peace Fellowship and the Unitarian Association for Lay Ministry, and am now a tutor on the Worship Studies Course. I'm also studying to become a Spiritual Director at the London Centre for Spirituality. Great Hucklow (particularly during Summer School) is my spiritual home, and it was a great honour to be asked to do a theme talk in 2012, particularly on a subject so close to my heart.

The first of a series of five theme talks on 'Sacred Living'. Rev. Bill Darlison is a Yorkshireman. After training as a teacher, he taught for five years before going to Rome to study for the Roman Catholic priesthood in 1971, but he left the seminary before ordination and continued his career as a teacher of English and Religious Studies. He married Morag in 1975. He became a member of Wakefield Unitarian church in 1988, and then spent three years in America, keeping house while Morag worked as a nurse. In 1992 he began studying for the Unitarian ministry in UCM while working as student pastor in Wakefield. He was part-time minister in Wakefield until 1996 when he became minister in Dublin. He retired from full-time ministry in June of 2010 and now lives in Pontefract. In 2013 he became President of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, an honorary post which he held for a year. He is the author of The Gospel and the Zodiac: The Secret Truth about Jesus, published by Duckworth in 2007, and he has published two collections of spiritual stories: The Shortest Distance: 101 Stories from the World's Spiritual Traditions; and Concentration and Compassion: More Stories from the World's Spiritual Traditions.

The fifth of a series of five theme talks on 'Walking the Talk'. Rev Linda Hart served the Richmond and Putney Unitarian Church from 2007 to the end of 2012, when she and her husband, Peter Teets and daughter Claire moved back to the US. She is presently serving the Tahoma Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Tacoma in Washington state.

The fourth of a series of five theme talks on 'Walking the Talk'. Rev. Jim Corrigall is Minister to Unitarian congregations in Padiham and Rawtenstall for the Lancashire Collaborative Ministry. Before this, he served for two years as interim minister at Ipswich and Framlingham. Jim's first career was journalism - he took early retirement from BBC World Service in 2007, and later trained for the ministry at Oxford. Originally from South Africa, Jim has lived most of his life in Britain. He was active in anti-apartheid work for many years - and then as a trade unionist. Jim joined the Unitarians as a spiritual seeker in 2003, after (almost) a lifetime as an atheist. He has written widely for Unitarian publications, and was editor of the 'Liberal Christian Herald' for three years, until 2012.

The third of a series of five theme talks on 'Walking the Talk'. Rev. Sarah Tinker says 'Having attended the first RE Summer School back in 1995 it's been an important part of my Unitarian community life ever since. That first Summer School was based on the idea that we can deepen and strengthen our religious lives and the lives of our congregations through processes of inquiring, sharing and reflecting - individually and collectively. Sharing our knowledge and skills over the years has helped me learn so much and I appreciate leaving Hucklow with something new - a new small group for us to try or a song or an idea for worship perhaps. Summer School 2011 was about living life with greater integrity and in my theme talk I explored how we might develop better ways of relating in our communities and with our wider world. As minister with Kensington Unitarians, in my previous work as our GA's RE and Youth Officer and in my time as a congregation member, I've witnessed lives being transformed by our faith. And I include my own life in that description. It's been made immeasurably richer and fuller because someone encouraged me to join a Unitarian activity. Inviting others to share such experiences with us might change the world.'