| Rev. Lynn Kerr |
The installation of Rev. Lynn Kerr as the new minister of the Maumee Valley Unitarian Universalist
Congregation will feature a well-known civil rights activist from Toledo who experienced and witnessed a
tragic chapter in the long struggle for civil rights in America. Rev. Clark Olsen, a Toledo native, will
deliver the main message at the ceremony to formally install Kerr as the minister of the church on
Sunday at 6 p.m. Olsen is a 1950 graduate of Ottawa Hills High School and now lives near Asheville, N.C.
Olsen, a retired Unitarian Universalist minister, was one of three UU ministers attacked and beaten by a
gang of white men as they left a Selma, Ala. restaurant following the iconic Selma to Montgomery civil
rights march led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1965.
One of the ministers, 38-year-old Rev, James Reeb, of Boston, was beaten so badly in the attack, he died
from his injuries two days later President Lyndon Johnson would label the attack "an American
tragedy." The brutal murder shocked the nation, yet no one was ever convicted of the deadly
beating.
| Rev. Clark Olsen |
Olsen, who was also beaten in the attack, along with UU minister Orloff Miller, is now retired, but is
called upon frequently to recall the events of that horrible and hate-filled night. It’s a night that
Olsen still remembers vividly and with great sorrow. His experiences are featured in the documentary,
"Murder in Selma," which recounts the tragedy.
Olsen will return to the Toledo area to deliver the installation sermon for his friend and former
student, Kerr, who developed a long-lasting bond with him while studying for her master of divinity
degree in California.
Kerr is thrilled to have her longtime mentor be a part of this passage in her life. "It feels right
for him to be here with me at this time," said Kerr. "I learned a tremendous amount from him.
He taught me a lot about what it means to be a minister."
Prior to joining the MVUUC, Kerr served as Minister of Lifespan Faith Development at First Unitarian
Church in Toledo, and was the consulting minister for First Universalist Church in Lyons, Ohio. Kerr
received a bachelor of science degree from the University of Minnesota and a master of divinity degree
from the Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, Calif. She will become the first resident
minister for the Maumee Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation in 20 years.
