Finally, a use for me for Foursquare. The Liberty Universalist church isn’t a member of the UUA, but has Universalist origins. And is active. I’d never seen it mapped before!
Asides
I was — and am — looking for a practical expostion on Universalist worship like the one from 1901 I found for the Unitarians a couple of weeks ago. In the process, I found the Tufts 1902-03 catalog, and its pages dedicated to its now-lost Divinity School.
A couple of items to note: one could enter as an undergraduate and study through, and option that died very recently in the United States with the closure of Bangor Theological Seminary. And that the curriculum included logic (for nongrads), economics, psychology and the “Biblical languages” of German, Hebrew and Greek. And PE for the men.
If you were approved, you would have gotten a generous scholarship — to imagine an early pastorate without student debt! — from the Universalist General Convention, though non-Universalists were admitted. Lodging “heated by steam and lighted by gas ” included, but you did have to provide your own “sheets, blankets, pillow cases, and towels.”
A fun read.
So, I was reading forms from the Church of England Diocese of Europe (as one does) and came across an “Application for the Authorisation of a Congregational Worship Leader.” (PDF)
As the diocese’s reach extends to Ulaanbataar and Vladivostok — not to mention parts in between — it makes sense there would be a provision for such leaders. And even more, a provision for non-Anglican leaders. After all, in some parts, the Church of England presence may be the only Anglophone option. Non-Anglican but baptized Christians have to complete one more step: to “acknowledge the Church of England as part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church” and “accept the teaching, discipline and authority of the Church of England.” That’s it.
Which reminds me of the pre-consolidation provisions for Universalist fellowship, for persons entering the ministry and presumably parishes: to accept the essential theological standard of the Universalist Church, and to abide by its laws.
Not so onerous a lift.
This blog theme is a WordPress default, and I’m seeing it (Twenty Thirteen) too often. Will be making a “child theme” derived from it: first to change the typeface, then the header image.
I was getting to the Universalist Church globe logo — quite a creature unlike others we’ve seen — from the 1950s, just before consolidation with the Unitarians. But if you’ve got the cash, you can get an original street sign on eBay.
I wonder what church it pointed to?