McFarland Speaker Series will debut with Irish minister
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A Methodist minister who played an important role in the Northern Ireland peace process started his ministerial career in Warren.
He'll return to the city for the inaugural program in a lecture series funded by retired funeral home director Jim McFarland.
The Rev. Harold Good will give a free lecture at 6 p.m. Nov. 12 the Warren-Trumbull Public Library as the inaugural event for the McFarland Lecture Series, and he also will speak at a VIP luncheon earlier that day at West & Main.
McFarland said the idea for the series was inspired by a desire to bring renowned thinkers and speakers to the area and to help fill the void left by the end of the Trumbull Town Hall lecture series, which was discontinued in 2025 after 47 seasons.
Good was one of two independent eyewitnesses to the decommissioning of Irish Republican Army weapons in 2005. Before Queen Elizabeth II visited Ireland, she consulted with Good on what to do, and what not to do, on her visit.
The minister also played an active role in weapons disposal efforts in Columbia and the Basque Country, and he's received numerous honors in his career, including appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
"It’s a great story, and it’s a motivating story because the emphasis of all this is peace and reconciliation, and what time do we need to have that (more) than right now," McFarland said. "The goal is bringing influences from the world stage to our stage in Warren, Ohio."
Good is a Northern Ireland native, but he came to the United States in the early 1960s and earned his master of sacred theology degree from Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. His first job in the states was as a youth pastor at First United Methodist Church in Warren from 1964 to 1966.
"I was 10 years old, and I thought he was the coolest thing to ever walk because he talked like the Beatles," McFarland said.
He's grown to appreciate far more than Good's accent.
"Sometimes you get into a room and you know you’re with greatness," he said. "I think the only other one I’ve ever seen that had that charisma, or whatever you want to call it, was Bishop (Desmond) Tutu."
McFarland is a past president of the boards for both the Trumbull County Historical Society and the Warren-Trumbull Public Library, and he approached both organizations about working together to make the speaker series a reality.
Jo Phillips, deputy director of the Warren-Trumbull County Library said, "We want to facilitate community conversations, talk about things that are important going on in the community, and obviously shine a light on the power of conversation and education and intellectual discovery. That's exactly what Mr. McFarland is looking for, being able to bring important individuals and conversations to Trumbull County, and then (using) that as a starting place for connecting ideas globally into our little community, The library was thrilled to be part of it."
Megan Reed, director of the Trumbull County Historical Society, agreed.
"I think that our goals for the series are to try and, to the best of our ability, to conquer larger societal questions of our day," Reed said. "Having the Rev. Harold Good as our first speaker is speaking directly to conflict resolution and trying to find a way of breaching the black-and-white political divides that we see in the United States today.
"Harold Good has such a long history with helping groups come to consensus, and he has approached his work in such a humble way and very approachable way that I hope that hearing him speak will inspire all of us to really reflect and think."
The McFarland family opened its funeral home in 1897, and four generations of the family operated the business until it was sold in 2017. The endowment from Jim McFarland is designed to continue the speaker series for years to come.
"The town of Warren and Trumbull County have been good to my family in supporting us in our business and so forth," McFarland said. "Hopefully, we returned that. But I’m very grateful that we had a 120-year run there. Not many other families have that. We always want to make a difference and make people's lives better, and hopefully this will do it."
WHAT: McFarland Speaker Series -- The Rev. Harold Good on "From Conflict to Connection: Insights from the Lifetime of Advancing Peace and Reconciliation"
WHEN: 6 p.m. Nov. 12
WHERE: Warren-Trumbull County Public Library, 444 Mahoning Ave. NW, Warren
HOW MUCH: Admission is free but registration is required at wtcpl.org/events or by calling 330-399-8807.
ALSO: A VIP luncheon with Good is planned at noon Nov. 12 at West & Main, 187 W. Market St., Warren. Tickets are $50, which includes an Irish lunch, one drink ticket and a moderated talk with Good, and are available online at trumbullcountyhistory.org/tchs-events/