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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
[DATE]
[Insert your information here:
Local Project Director, Title and Organization
Phone Number and Email
Website]
Presentation Explores Lives of Early Kansas Clergymen
[Community Name] – [Organization Name] in [Community Name] will host
“Cowboys and Clerics,” a presentation and discussion by John K. Burchill on [Date] at
[Time] at [Location and Address of Presentation]. Members of the community are
invited to attend the free program. Contact the [Host Organization Name] at [Phone
Number] for more information. The program is made possible by the Kansas
Humanities Council.
[List any details about local event here]
In the days when Wild Bill Hickok might ride his horse into your church service (it
happened in Junction City), the life of a minister was a rowdy affair. This presentation
looks into the early years of Kansas clergy and the colorful characters that made up
our early faith communities, including gunmen, abolitionists, and temperance
movement leaders.
John Burchill is an author and criminal justice historian who teaches at Kansas
Wesleyan University. He is the author of Bullets, Badges, and Bridles: Horse Thieves
and the Societies that Pursued Them.
“The center of most early towns in Kansas could be identified by the steeple of the
church,” said Burchill. “This geographical prominence also implied the cultural
significance of the church and its pastors who, like the Colt .45, helped tame the
west.”
“Cowboys and Clerics” is part of the Kansas Humanities Council’s Kansas Stories
Speakers Bureau, featuring presentations and discussions that examine our shared
human experience—our innovations, culture, heritage, and conflicts.
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Page 2 – Presentation Explores Lives of Early Kansas Clergymen
The Kansas Humanities Council conducts and supports community-based programs,
serves as a financial resource through an active grant-making program, and
encourages Kansans to engage in the civic and cultural life of their communities. For
more information about KHC programs contact the Kansas Humanities Council at
785/357-0359 or visit online at www.kansashumanities.org.
For more information about “Cowboys and Clerics” in [Community] contact the [Host
Organization] at [Phone Number] or visit [Website].
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