I looked at the June meeting Unitarian Universalist Association Board packet, but couldn’t find any reference to any congregations being proposed for admission. That would be unusual for the pre-GA meeting. Are there any, or have you see where they would be?
Perhaps I’m looking in the wrong place, or that report isn’t out or available. That’s possible because I don’t see name changes or district moves either. I’ll admit to not reading it closely, both for time and as Carver model jargon makes my eyes glaze over.
I’d welcome some insights.
Couldn’t find new member congregations either. But I did notice something else. Frequently the phrase “congregations and communities” are used in the documents, in places where I would normally expect simply “congregations”. Considering that in the vernacular a congregation is a religious community, I do not understand the distinction that is being made. Congregations plus something else? What is a congregation in contrast to a community? What would be an example of a community that is not a congregation? Or a congregation that is not a community? Something here feels slippery in terms of meaning. Or is it that congregation sounds too religious, and so we need to include the option of calling a group a community? That last bit would be ironic, since congregation was often chosen as a more inclusive alternative to “church”.
I’m sure “communities” refer to non-geographic entities, as the CLF is and others might be. But none of them either. Thanks for looking.
Your explanation clears up the distinction. Its a bit parallel to the canon law in the Episcopal Church which defines a Religious Order as a group of monks and/or nuns living in a common (communally owned) residential community; versus a Religious Community as a group of brothers and/or sisters living geographically dispersed and working under vows in the world.
Hmmm. What if, instead of eliminating all of the affiliated organizations, they had given us the means to become congregations linked through interest rather than geography?
That’s actually how I read it.