The Board of Trustees of the Unitarian Universalist Association is in the middle of its October meeting. No great thought on my part, but I did note that there is a net loss of two congregations, per the Changes in Congregational Status (PDF) report. The First Universalist Society of Salem (MA) has merged with First… Continue reading Congregation count at the current UUA Board meeting
Category: UUA growth
Resetting the new congregation clock
I had previously mentioned that Unitarian Universalist Association board was scheduled to consider the membership application of the Iowa Lakes Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in its October meetings. (I also mentioned them in this list of what I called pre-emerging congregations in 2008.) Since ILUUF says on its website that it’s a member of the UUA,… Continue reading Resetting the new congregation clock
Revisiting “Rekindling the Mainline: New Life Through New Churches” (and UUA policy)
This four-year-old comment (thanks, Derek) led me to revisit Stephen C. Compton’s 2003 Rekindling the Mainline: New Life Through New Churches (link for reference) to see what’s still applicable and what’s not. My (used) copy arrived today. In the meantime, be sure to see my widget in the sidebar, which counts up the number of… Continue reading Revisiting “Rekindling the Mainline: New Life Through New Churches” (and UUA policy)
Wanted: a comprehensive list of Universalist, Unitarian and Unitarian churches
No April Fools, but an honest request. One of those resources that other communions have that we do not have is a comprehensive list of every Unitarian, Universalist and Unitarian Universalist church that has been: the living and the dead. At the very least it would help establish a frame for a missiological history and… Continue reading Wanted: a comprehensive list of Universalist, Unitarian and Unitarian churches
Only one new congregation this year?
I see the UU Congregation of Petoskey, Michigan joined the UUA (PDF) in January, with 35 members. Is that the only one that joined in 2012?
Soul searching, again
More short-form blogging. Wondering out loud what to make of the UUA staff and growth advocates meeting this week. Deeply suspicious that there’ll be any positive development. Not that there aren’t good ideas and resourceful people involved but that the process is worn and the goals are institutional and (at least modestly) defensive. I sighed,… Continue reading Soul searching, again
Mapping the UUA
These days, if you use the church finder at UUA.org, a nice map of your state pops up with it. I’m not ungrateful, but I did want a global view — perhaps with a bit of clarifying detail; see below — and when you work with a bunch of terribly clever people, some of whom… Continue reading Mapping the UUA
So all those churches since 2003
As I mentioned in the last post, I’ve gone back to see how many churches have joined the UUA since GA 2003. (Was that the last GA I attended?) It’s as if someone turned the tap down to a trickle. New congregation news used to be common, but now the “emerging congregation” pool has grown… Continue reading So all those churches since 2003
How many new congregations?
I’m trying to get the lay of the land, respecting new(ish) churches that have joined the Unitarian Universalist Association. I wrote about the batch that were welcomed at General Assembly 2006 — goodness! more than four years ago — and so wanted to know how many more were in. I was horrified by what I… Continue reading How many new congregations?
About the District (for non-Unitarian Universalists)
For all the grief I give the UUA leadership — and sometimes I worry deeply about strategies and priorities from Boston, but that’s for another time — I’m increasingly fond of the Joseph Priestley District (JPD). The JPD is the regional grouping (middle judicatory in church-speak) that I live in. Encompassing roughly the greater Philadelphia-Washington… Continue reading About the District (for non-Unitarian Universalists)