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
Unitarian Universalism is not heresy
I’ll not hide the lede: Unitarian Universalism is not heresy, even when it’s not right. It’s hurtful and vexing that it’s a common assertion that Unitarian Universalism is a heresy, and that it is built on heresies. [Here’s a link to a Google search for “unitarian universalist heresy” to underscore my point.] At worst, this… Continue reading Unitarian Universalism is not heresy
Introductions to Universalism
A nice chat with other member of Universalist National Memorial Church after services today, over coffee. As sometimes happens, the matter of books came up, which merged with another comment about Hosea Ballou, and from there to books about Universalism. I recommended two smallish, straight-forward books and a documentary history, if with reservations. Both are… Continue reading Introductions to Universalism
Atlanta Universalist archive online
I was happy to find this archive, created and hosted by the Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation, of Unitarianism and Universalism in Atlanta, plus the congregation’s own archives. I’d love others to do likewise UU Digital Archive
Transcription workflow notes
So, it’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post, but I’ve not been inactive. And since I have the day off today, I thought I’d catch you up. Over the next couple of days, I’ll be putting up two chapters from the 1946 Parish Practice in Universalist Churches as text; I’ve previously posted it as… Continue reading Transcription workflow notes
Universalist polity document from 1951
Since I earlier opined that some of our conflicted Unitarian Universalist polity is the product of Universalist and Unitarian inheritances, I thought it best to “show my work” — or rather, some original documents. 1951 Universalist Laws of Fellowship, Government and Discipline Some carryovers are obvious, and some fixes necessary. I recall a senior minister… Continue reading Universalist polity document from 1951
Universalist polity persists today
A couple of weeks ago, I was batting back and forth with an informed Unitarian Universalist friend about our polity, when at one point he zeroed in at the settled clergy vote at General Assembly, at which point I had to stand up for the Universalist contribution to our polity. This is my side of… Continue reading Universalist polity persists today
Remonstrants have new website
The Dutch Remonstrants — a liberal Protestant church that have often worked with Unitarians — have new website, with the hallmarks of the very familiar Bootstrap framework. How new? Not sure, but it’s an improvement over their last one.
The page turned to GA 2016
I stumbled across the webpage of the Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly, which talks about — in broad terms — next year’s convention. It’s in Columbus, Ohio. It’ll certainly be less expensive for more people than last year’s (Portland, Oregon) and possibly than 2017 GA in New Orleans, as Columbus is a lower cost city… Continue reading The page turned to GA 2016
“A Fruitful Life”
It’s been a hard day, and seeking solace, turned to prayer. I pulled this book off my shelf because the title — Light and Peace — spoke to me. It’s a collection of prayers by Charles Hall Leonard, published by the Murray Press, a Universalist publisher, in 1915. Leonard (1822-1918) was an outsized figure in… Continue reading “A Fruitful Life”