Courtesy New Every Moment
Alan Anderson is a name that is prominent in New Thought circles. I first heard of him through a mutual friend, Dr. Thomas Hopper, a Unity minister who was a former secretary to James Dillet Freeman and a longtime member of Silent Unity. Later he and his wife served various churches in this country and abroad. Tom was impressed when he met Dr. Anderson again after a long absence.
Dr. Anderson was first introduced to New Thought at an early age through the writings of Emmet Fox. Later, after having received a law degree, Alan discovered the writings of Horatio W. Dresser. While enrolled in the Ph.D. program in philosophy at Boston University, he wrote his doctoral dissertation entitled Horatio W. Dresser and the Philosophy of New Thought, later published. During this era he met the President of INTA, Dr. Ervin Seale, and became a part of Seale's project to publish what became Phineas Parkhurst Quimby: The Complete Writings, still available through DeVorss & Co. today. I personally recall meeting Dr. Seale at an INTA Congress. I was in awe of him because I had served as guest minister at the Church of the Truth, Spokane, Washington, which claimed Irvin Seale as its own. He, in turn, asked, 'Are you 'the' Catherine Ponder I've heard about?" Guilty as charged.
Dr. Seale ordained Alan as a minister of the Quimby Memorial Church and Foundation. Two Quimby churches are still active in New Jersey and in Canada, and both are members of INTA. Later, the Rev. Dr. Alan Anderson was INTA New England District President for many years.
Dr. Deb Whitehouse's introduction to New Thought came when she walked into the local library in Woodstock, Illinois to browse for books. There she found The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity and Emmet Fox's Power Through Constructive Thinking. Although she had grown up on Wee Wisdom magazine, she had never heard of New Thought. And she had no idea what Unity teaching was about. She continued to read New Thought literature over the years and she found it a special comfort when her husband, Horace Davis Whitehouse, made his transition after a year-long illness. She had just finished her doctorate at Northern Illinois University.
Finding herself without material resources, she moved back to the Boston, Massachusetts area to be with her mother and siblings. She began attending a Saturday morning prayer group facilitated by Unity teacher Johanna Mak (later an ordained minister). Four years later, in December, 1990, she met Alan Anderson at a Christmas party at Johanna's home. It was as if Alan and Deb had known each other forever and were just picking up where they had previously left off. They were later married in New Orleans while attending the American Academy of Religion's annual meeting, where Alan was speaking.
As a result of Alan's having taught at Curry College, Milton, Massachusetts, as a Professor of Philosophy and Religion for more than thirty years, this newly married couple immediately set about republishing some of Alan's earlier writings.
Deb attended her first INTA Congress in Las Vegas, 1992, where she became an INTA Life Member. She later wrote articles in New Thought, Creative Thought, and Unity magazines. In 1997, Alan and Deb were both elected to the INTA Executive Board. Thereafter, Alan helped revise the bylaws, and Deb began writing an editorial column and proofreading New Thought magazine. Alan created the first INTA World Wide Web page, which was later taken over by a webmaster. Nevertheless, one of Alan's web pages won an award from a computer magazine and enticed browsers over into New Thought territory.
After Alan retired from Curry College in 2000, the couple moved to Florida. They wish to work with the INTA Archives, as well as with other groups, in the future concerning Alan's vast collection of books. Although their other achievements are too numerous to fully list, as educators, Alan and Deb stay busy spreading "the good news" as found in religion, philosophy and New Thought. [TruthUnity note: as with their website, New Every Moment.] With her characteristic humor, Dr. Deb Whitehouse has quipped, "I not only edit New Thought magazine, I occasionally edit my husband." Theirs is not only a constant "work in progress" but a true New Thought love story.
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