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The New Draft of Article II of the UUA Bylaws is Here. What?

By
Mary Jane Holden, DLRE
on September 18, 2008 6:06 PM |

The New Draft of Our Principles and Purposes is Here!


The Commission on Appraisal is asking for our assistance. Our Principles and Purposes are found in the UUA Bylaws under Article II. In 2006 the Board of Trustees of the UUA asked the Commission on Appraisal to review this section. 


They have reached out to every UU congregation, held a number of regional hearings and one at each of the General Assemblies in 2007 and 2008, interviewed staff of the UUA, read sermons by UU ministers, consulted with many UU "identity groups," interviewed many leading UU scholars, and received dozens of unsolicited, but very welcome, e-mails, letters and telephone calls; devoted much time between and during quarterly meetings reviewing, compiling, organizing and reflecting on the mass of data they received; and developed the enclosed draft. 


Now they would like us to once again assist them in this process. They would like us to review and submit a response by Thursday, October 16, 2008. They will then consider the responses from October 23-26, 2008. On December 15, 2008 they will submit a final draft to the UUA Board. Then at the General Assembly, June 24-28, 2009, they will hold a hearing, provide a written and verbal report, and host a Mini-assembly. Finally, the delegates to the assembly will vote on the result. A 2/3 majority vote is required for approval. 


We have scheduled a conversation at Throop for after the service on Sunday, October 5th. Please read through the enclosed draft and join us to review the new version of our Principles and Purposes. 


COA DRAFT FOR CONGREGATIONAL DISCUSSION


ARTICLE II: Covenant 

Section C-2.1 Purposes. 

As a voluntary association of free yet interdependent congregations, the Unitarian Universalist Association will support the health and growth of existing congregations and the formation of new congregations. The Association will devote its resources to and exercise its corporate powers for religious, educational, and humanitarian purposes. It will empower the creation of just and diverse congregations that enact Unitarian Universalist Principles in the world.

Section C-2.2 Identity.

The Unitarian Universalist Association is composed of congregations rooted in the heritage of two religious faiths: the Unitarian heritage ever questioning and ever seeking the unity in all things, and the Universalist heritage ever affirming the power of hope and God's infinite love. Both traditions have been shaped by heretics, choice-makers who in every age have summoned individuals and communities to maintain their beliefs in spite of persecution and to struggle for religious freedom.

Section C-2.3 Sources.

The living tradition we share draws from many sources.

Unitarianism and Universalism are grounded on more than two thousand years of Jewish and Christian teachings, traditions, and experiences. Unitarian Universalism is not contained in any single book or creed. It draws from the teachings of the Abrahamic religions, Earth-centered spirituality, and other world religious traditions. It engages perspectives from humanism, mysticism, theism, skepticism, naturalism, and feminist and liberation theologies. It is informed by the arts and the sciences. It trusts the value of direct experiences of mystery and wonder, and it recognizes the sacred may be found within the ordinary.

Wisdom and beauty may be expressed in many forms: in poetry and prose, in story and song, in metaphor and myth, in drama and dance, in fabric and painting, in scripture and music, in drawing and sculpture, in public ritual and solitary practice, in prophetic speech and courageous deed.

Grateful for the traditions that have strengthened our own, we strive to avoid misappropriation of cultural and religious practices and to seek ways of appreciation that are respectful and welcomed.

Section C-2.4 Principles.

In order that we might work together in harmony to make our communities and our world more likely to protect and nurture all that is positive and hopeful; and in order that members of our congregations might find spiritual challenge to become their best selves as they worship and work together to create the Beloved Community, we, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to honor and uphold:

The inherent worth and dignity of every person

At the core of Unitarian Universalism is recognition of the sanctity of every human being across the lifespan. We are relational creatures, capable of both good and evil. We have experienced enough brokenness, including in ourselves, to seek the power of forgiveness and reconciliation. We are called to make choices that help to heal and transform ourselves and the world, and to move toward solidarity with all beings.

Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations

Grateful for the gift of life and mindful of our own mortality, we seek to respond with generosity and loving action. We are called to live in right relationship with others.

Acceptance of one another and encouragement of spiritual growth

We seek to enter dialogue with one another in mutual love and respect, honoring our varied backgrounds and paths. We are called to stretch and deepen our faith through religious education, creative engagement, and spiritual practice in our congregations and in our lives.

A free and responsible search for truth and meaning

Unitarian Universalism is an evolutionary religion that encourages and supports lifelong spiritual exploration. Unitarian Universalist religious authority lies in the individual, nurtured and tested in congregation and wider community. In a spirit of humility and openness, we are called to seek truth and meaning, wherever found, through experience, reason, intuition, and emotion.

The right of conscience and the use of democratic processes

We seek to ensure that all voices are heard, especially those often left out on the margins. We are called to promote fairness, accountability, honesty, and transparency.

The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all

We seek to create, sustain, and celebrate multi-generational and multi-cultural communities where oppression cannot thrive and where hope and peace flourish. We are called to counter legacies of injustice and to foster reconciliation.

Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part

Inspired by the beauty and holiness of the Earth, we become more willing to relinquish material desires. We recognize the need for sacrifice as we build a world that is both just and sustainable. We are called to be good stewards, restoring the Earth and protecting all beings.

As free yet interdependent congregations, we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust, kindness, and support. Should we break this covenant, we will seek to repair the relationship and recommit to the promises we have made.

Section C-2.5 Inclusion.

We strive to be an association of congregations that welcome persons of every identity while calling them to act in right relationship. We encourage the fullest participation allowed by law, with no person excluded solely on the basis of age or identity.

Structures of power have traditionally created barriers for persons and groups with certain identities, abilities, and histories. Dissatisfied with mere non-discrimination, we commit to structuring congregational and associational life in ways that empower and enhance the efforts and experiences of every participant.

Section C-2.6 Freedom of Belief.

Freedom of belief is central to the Unitarian Universalist heritage. Nothing in these bylaws shall be deemed to infringe upon individual freedom of belief. Although no statement of belief can be required as a creedal test for individual membership in a congregation or congregational affiliation with the Association, congregations are free to establish their own statements of purpose, covenants, and bonds of union.

What Is Humanism?

By
Rev. Clyde Grubbs
on August 10, 2008 9:17 AM |
Many Unitarian Universalists identify themselves as humanists.  

Humanism is a philosophy that stresses the human aspect of life here and now, and puts the responsibility for ethical behavior upon each individual. Humanism also focuses on rational rather than supernatural religious explanations. Modern-day Religious Humanism is largely derived from the writings of early American Unitarian Humanists, including Joseph Priestley, Thomas Jefferson, and John Haynes Holmes.

Rev. Sarah Oelberg describes her Unitarian Universalist Humanism as this:

"Humanism leads me to find a sense of wider relatedness with all the world and its peoples, and it calls me to work for a sound environment and a humane civilization... Humanism also makes me aware of the existence of moral dilemmas and the need to be very careful and intentional in my moral decision-making."

Origins of Congregational Polity

By
Rev. Clyde Grubbs
on August 10, 2008 8:59 AM |
Dozens of the oldest member congregations of our Unitarian Universalist Association were founded by the Pilgrim and Puritan settlers of colonial New England. Although we long ago rejected several doctrines dear to them, we, American Unitarian Universalists, steadfastly keep a precious part of our Puritan inheritance: their "congregational polity."

The Pilgrims in 1620 and the 20,000 or so Puritans who came here in the Great Migration of the 1630s were primarily concerned with a theology of organization: how churches ought to be organized, who in these churches should have authority, and why. They invented, or rather reinvented, what we call congregational polity, that doctrine of the church that insists that each congregation is to be governed by its own members.

Puritans had tried for decades to reform the Church of England. Persecuted and punished by bishops for holding what we would call study groups and conferences, they eventually concluded that something had gone terribly awry in church history. They studied carefully the "record books" of the church, the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. From these they learned that, from the days of Sarah and Abraham, the spirit of love has always been the "substance" of a church.

In 1646 reformers in England published the Westminster Confession. New Englanders disagreed with its prescription of a presbyterial model of governance. The New England churches convened a synod in Cambridge, Massachusetts, resulting in the Cambridge Platform of 1648, which explained and justified how congregational churches are constituted and work. The UUA's Skinner House Books has just published a new edition of this important work.

According to the Platform, the proper "form" of a church follows from "the second commandment," as Jesus expressed it: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matt. 22:39). To join a church is to enter a covenant to walk with other members in the spirit of neighborly love. The goal of everything gathered members do is "edification," or mutual learning and teaching concerning the many and complex ways of love. Members of a congregation and their elected officers are a complete church; they need no higher authorities in church affairs. Reasoning together in the spirit of love, they can discern whither love leads.

For our founders, the autonomy of each congregation did not imply either self-sufficiency or isolation from other congregations. They were to be a community of independent churches, giving and taking counsel and helping each other in other ways.

Our founders surely didn't get everything right organizationally. Early congregationalists thought it perfectly reasonable that magistrates, as they had in England, should coerce all landowning citizens to pay the parish tax, a practice their Unitarian heirs fought to maintain into the 1830s. They also assumed that tiered levels of privilege and authority were natural and that acquired status should be respected in perpetuity. Ministers and elected lay leaders, unless they did something awful, tended to stay in office for decades. Sadly, this long-held pattern led to complacency and resistance to change among nineteenth-century Unitarians in matters affecting growth.

Thank goodness, even so, for our Puritan heritage. By their lights, the Bible is mainly about the free and covenanted social practice of love. Its ancient stories set them on the road to a revolutionary type of religious community and politics. Refusing to embrace any creed, their members entered simply and beautifully phrased covenants to "walk together" in the divine spirit of love, as best they could see to do. Their church practice in time led to today's Unitarian Universalist religious communities, in which individuals may differ in a variety of ways and yet continue to walk together freely in the spirit of love.

Adapted with permission from the introduction to The Cambridge Platform: Contemporary Reader's Edition, ed. by Peter Hughes (Skinner House, 2008). See sidebar for links to related resources.

Tell Me About Universalism

By
Rev. Clyde Grubbs
on August 10, 2008 7:21 AM |
Unitarian Universalism emerged from two separate denominations: Unitarianism and Universalism.

Universalists are Christians who believe in universal salvation. They don't believe that a loving God could punish anyone to hell for eternity. Instead, they believe that everyone will be reconciled with God eventually.

Universalists have been influential throughout American history. Some famous Universalists include Clara Barton, Olympia Brown, Thomas Starr King, Horace Greeley, George Pullman, Mary Livermore, and Benjamin Rush.

While Universalist beliefs have been proclaimed for thousands of years, starting with Origen in 200 CE and continuing through to James Relly in the sixteen hundreds, the faith didn't have the opportunity to form into a widespread religious movement until English Universalists came to America in the late 1700s to escape religious persecution. Because of its loving and inclusive doctrine, Universalism quickly became popular throughout the United States, especially in rural areas and the expanding western states. The Universalist denomination, called the Universalist Church of America, was formed by 1793. Universalists including Hosea Ballou, John Murray, and Benjamin Rush helped to spread and develop their faith's teachings throughout the denomination's early years.

Universalists were best known for supporting education and non-sectarian schools, but they also worked on social issues including the separation of church and state, prison reform, capital punishment, the abolition of slavery, and women's rights. In 1863 the Universalists became the first group in the United States to ordain a woman with full denominational authority.

The Civil War unfortunately destroyed many Universalist churches and killed many Universalist ministers who had served as chaplains for the armies. Soon after, a softer approach to the idea of damnation became popular throughout the US in the mid to late eighteen hundreds, making the Universalist denomination less unique in its teachings. The denomination struggled for many years as membership waned.

After growing increasingly theologically and ethically close, the Universalist and Unitarian denominations consolidated in 1961 to form the new religion of Unitarian Universalism. Unitarian Universalism no longer solely holds traditional Universalist or Unitarian beliefs, but does draw directly on its heritage for much of its inspiration and grounding.

There are some Universalist congregations today outside the US that consider themselves to be part of the Unitarian Universalist community. The largest concentration of Universalists outside the US is in the Philippines. There are also Universalist organizations that are not affiliated with Unitarian Universalism, most of which call themselves Christian Universalists. You can search the internet to find more information on these groups.

Tell Me About Unitarianism

By
Rev. Clyde Grubbs
on August 10, 2008 7:08 AM |
Unitarian Universalism emerged from two separate denominations: Unitarianism and Universalism.

Originally, all Unitarians were Christians who didn't believe in the Holy Trinity of God (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost). Instead, they believe in the unity, or single aspect, of God. Unitarianism eventually began to stress the importance of rational thinking, each person's direct relationship with God, and the humanity of Jesus.

Unitarians have been very influential throughout American history, especially in politics and literature. Some famous Unitarians include Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Paul Revere, President William Howard Taft, and Frank Lloyd Wright.

While Unitarian beliefs have been around since soon after Jesus died, people didn't form religious groups based on the ideas until the middle of the fifteen hundreds in Transylvania and the middle of the sixteen hundreds in England. The religious authorities of the times saw these early Unitarians as heretics and often persecuted them. Important figures from this period in Unitarian history include John Biddle, Francis David, Michael Servetus, King John Sigismund and Faustus Socinus.

Unitarianism flourished in the religious freedom of early America.  By 1825 Unitarian ministers had formed a Unitarian denomination called the American Unitarian Association. Speaking out on issues such as peace, education reform, prison reform, orphanages, capital punishment, moderation in temperance, ministry to the poor, and the abolition of slavery, the AUA's liberal voice was soon heard throughout the country. The influential Unitarians from this era included William Ellery Channing, Theodore Parker, Joseph Priestly, and Thomas Starr King, who was also a Universalist.

American Unitarianism went through many changes over the next 150 years, from the introduction of Transcendentalist thought in the middle of the eighteen hundreds through debates about war and pacifism in the Civil War and the two World Wars to the influx of Humanism in the early 1930s. These changes slowly made Unitarianism a more broad and flexible faith.

After growing increasingly theologically and ethically close, the Unitarian and Universalist denominations consolidated in 1961 to form the new religion of Unitarian Universalism. Unitarian Universalism no longer solely holds traditional Unitarian or Universalist beliefs, but does draw directly on its heritage for much of its inspiration and grounding.

There are many Unitarian congregations today outside the United States that are part of the Unitarian Universalist community. The largest concentrations of Unitarians outside the United States are in Transylvania (now part of Romania and Hungary) and India.

There are also Unitarian organizations that are not affiliated with Unitarian Universalism, most of which call themselves Biblical or Christian Unitarians. You can search the internet to find more information on these groups.

Thanks to the Unitarian Universalist Association for this short history of the Unitarians.

Tell Me About The Chalice

By
Rev. Clyde Grubbs
on August 10, 2008 6:49 AM |
chalice

At the opening of Unitarian Universalist worship services many congregations light a flame inside a chalice. This flaming chalice has become a well-known symbol of our denomination. It unites our members in worship and symbolizes the spirit of our work.

Hans Deutsch, an Austrian artist, first brought together the chalice and the flame as a Unitarian symbol during his work with the Unitarian Service Committee during World War II. To Deutsch, the image had connotations of sacrifice and love. Unitarian Universalists today have many different interpretations of the image. To many, the cup represents religious community, while the flame represents ideas including the sacrificial flame, the flame of the spirit, and more.

The flaming chalice image has changed many times over the past 65 years. There is no single interpretation of today's flaming chalice symbol.  Modern chalice designs often incorporate two overlapping circles which, for many people, represent our Unitarian and Universalist heritages. Other images include additional elements, some of which are merely decorative and others which are very meaningful.

Our current official UUA logo (at the top left of each UUA.org web page) was designed to offer a visual representation of a modern and dynamic faith. Unitarian Universalist congregations are free to use the UUA's logo in their congregational work, but they are not required to do so. Because of this, you may see many different styles of flaming chalices and other images used by UU congregations."

Thanks to the UUA and Dan Hotchkiss for this explanation of this symbol of our movement. 
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