Category: World Unitarianism and Universalism

2015 British Unitarian and Free Christian AGM begins

About now, the 2015 British Unitarian and Free Christian annual general meetings will be breaking for dinner, having already had its opener and first plenary session. There’s no streaming content, so far as I can tell, nor a set Twitter feed or hashtag. (If you know one, please note it. Later. It seems to be… Continue reading 2015 British Unitarian and Free Christian AGM begins

British Unitarian numbers update

British Unitarian minister and blogger Stephen Lingwood gives us his annual update of membership numbers in the Unitarian and Free Christian Churches in England, Wales and Scotland. (Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have a different history and related, but distinct, denomination.) The news is not good; a sharp decrease. Reminds me of the… Continue reading British Unitarian numbers update

So, you knew about the Universalist mission to Korea, right?

The Universalist mission to Korea didn’t last long, and tantalizingly little has been written about it. It was surely a subset of the Japanese mission work, and during this period — some time in the 1920s — Korea was occupied by Japan. This photo, from the 1927 Universalist Year Book, is the first I’ve ever… Continue reading So, you knew about the Universalist mission to Korea, right?

The sermon fit for reading

There is a practical take-away from this historical episode; keep reading. Abigail and John  Adams, the departing ambassador to Great Britain, and John Murray, the Universalist minister, sailed together back to America on the same vessel, the Lucretia, in the spring of 1788. Unitarian Universalists today recall Abigail Adams’s recollection of Murray’s preaching, as recorded… Continue reading The sermon fit for reading

Hungarian Unitarian supreme council meets

The Unitarian Universalist Association’s General Assembly wasn’t the only meeting last week. Note that the Supreme Council of the Hungarian Unitarian Church — that’s an ethno-linguistic denominator, as it includes the larger part of the church in Transylvanian Romania — met June 27 and 28 in Koloszvar (Cluj). Unlike General Assembly today, it seems to… Continue reading Hungarian Unitarian supreme council meets

Fellowship of Non-Subscribing Christians launches

Last night, in the Cheshire town of Stalybridge, a new fellowship launched publicly: the Fellowship of Non-Subscribing Christians. “Non-Subscribing” in the sense of not subscribing the Westminster Confession of Faith, and thus shorthand for a particularly Irish form of liberal Christianity, distinct from (but co-operative with) British Unitarianism. Nevertheless, this new fellowship isn’t formally linked… Continue reading Fellowship of Non-Subscribing Christians launches

Following the British numbers at Reignite

British Unitarian minister and blogger Stephen Lingwood has been going over the numbers within the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, in Great Britain.  Do click through; I found myself holding my breath when I read these… 3,384 or 3,900 and why “visibility” is not the answer Growing Unitarian congregations 2013

Minimum standards for member congregations

So, what do you have to have to apply for congregational membership? There can be other requirements like corporate status, acknowleging jurisdiction, a financial contribution and a provision for dissolution, but those are standard and one-off. This was in my to-blog list, but the UUWorld article, “Emerging, alternative groups at UUA’s growing edge” (Donald E.… Continue reading Minimum standards for member congregations

Taras Shevchenko bicentennial

Thanks to Stefan Jonasson I learned that today is the 200th birthday of Ukrainian national hero and poet Taras Shevchenko. Since I live very close to the Shevchenko memorial here in Washington D.C. I took our dog Daisy for her morning walk to visit the memorial. After all, the Ukraine is much on our minds… Continue reading Taras Shevchenko bicentennial