AUC Congregations

American Unitarian Conference™

AUC Congregations

AUC Member Congregations

Green Acres Unitarian Fellowship

c/o Virginia Dickinson, 10107 Green Grass Lane, Mineral Point, MO 63660. Contact at greenacresauc@aol.com

Unitarian Christian Fellowship of San Diego

c/o Bernie Vainik, 4190 Front Street, San Diego, CA 92103. Contact at rom@san.rr.com

Autumn Creek Church

7635 Wilmington Pike, Centerville, OH 45458. Contact Stephen J. Carl at eosnu@aol.com

St. James Postal First Parish Unity Chapel

P.O. Box 1767, Oroville, WA 98844-1767. Contact Mark Rabenold at marabenold@yahoo.com

AUC Open Door Congregations

The American Unitarian Conference program is designed to enable American Unitarian Conference members and friends to find congregations where they would feel welcome and find worship to be consistent with their beliefs.

These are the congregations within other denominations that have agreed to provide an Open Door for AUC members and their faith tradition:

Epiphany Church in Owasso, Oklahoma
A Unitarian and Universalist Christian Congregation affiliated with the UUA. 11330 N. Garnett Road, Owasso, OK 74055. Rev. Ron Robinson Ph: 918-274-0105

Universalist National Memorial Church, Washington D.C.
A Liberal Christian Church associated with the UUA. Located in the heart of the city at 1810 16th St. on the corner of 16th. and "S" Streets, NW. Office@Universalist.org

St. Catherine's Universal Anglican Church

3177 S. 107th Street West Allis, WI 53219 Ph: (414) 430-0888 Rev. Craig Bergland: RtRevCBergland@cs.com.

How the Open Door Program Works

The congregation’s governing body must formally agree to become an AUC Open Door Congregation. Open Door Congregations agree to be open and welcoming to AUC members.

The AUC will list the congregation as an Open Door Congregation on its web site and will place a link to the congregation’s web site on the AUC web site. The AUC will refer people who make inquiries about congregations to the congregation if they live nearby. The AUC will notify its members that live in the area that the congregation has become an Open Door Congregation. The AUC will note that the congregation has become an Open Door Congregation in its quarterly journal, distributed to all members.

The Open Door Congregation status is permanent until either the congregation or the AUC discontinues the status. The AUC reserves the right to discontinue the status in the very unlikely event that the congregation is not in fact open and welcoming to AUC members or if the congregation takes actions that are inconsistent with its religious or governing principles.

AUC Congregation Exploratory Committees

The following committees are now forming AUC congregations or coordinating an exploratory committee. If you are interested in forming a congregation in your area and will serve as a contact for others who are interested, let us know and we will add your name to the list.

Arkansas - Stone County Area - Contact Penny Burgett at MyFaithAR1@gmail.com

Colorado - Denver Area - Contact Darrell Waters at public@h2os.net

Connecticut - New Haven Area - Contact Ed Stueckle at NewHaven@AmericanUnitarian.org

Florida - Miami/Dade Area - Contact the Rev. Robert Dorris at Miami@AmericanUnitarian.org

Florida - Clermont Area - Contact the Rev. Daryl Taylor-Hazel at aweddingminister@yahoo.com

Illinois - Central - Contact Andrew Stephenson at
Uncleandy13@yahoo.com

Massachusetts - Quincy/South Boston Area - Contact Alan Cousin at Quincy@AmericanUnitarian.org

Minnesota - Twin Cities Area - Contact Jay Mastrud at marcus_t_cicero@hotmail.com

Mississippi - Gulf Coast - Click on: http://home.earthlink.net/~fcharlesknipp/ for more information or contact Rev. F. Charles Knipp at fcharlesknipp@earthlink.net

New York - Eastern New York Area (Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady) - Contact Charles Semowich at EasternNY@AmericanUnitarian.org

New York - New York City Area - Contact Robert Degnen at NewYorkCity@AmericanUnitarian.org

Ohio - Findlay area - Contact Jan Dwiggins at
FindlayOH@AmericanUnitarian.org

Oklahoma - Tulsa Area - Contact George Hillman at Tulsa@AmericanUnitarian.org

East Tennessee - Knoxville/Oak Ridge/Tellico Village Area - Contact the area coordinator at EastTenn@AmericanUnitarian.org

Virginia - Northern VA/Washington DC area - Contact Jason Ford at NorthernVirginia@AmericanUnitarian.org

Canada - Montreal Area - Contact Robin Edgar at Montreal@AmericanUnitarian.org

Channing Fund
The Channing Fund is dedicated to the founding and growth of the American Unitarian Conference™ and its member congregations.

Governance Principles

of the AUC

1. All persons were created equal before God. The AUC shall not discriminate against anyone except on the basis of character, qualifications or merit.

2. The AUC believes that separation of church and state is an important principle. Thus the AUC will not engage in political, policy or lobbying activity and make no political, policy or lobbying declarations except in narrow instances where government is directly affecting religious practice.

3. Being an association of free churches, each member church shall have the right to call or ordain any person it so chooses to the ministry based on its own criteria. The duties and responsibilities of the clergy shall be determined by each member church. The AUC shall maintain a list of associated ordained clergy.

4. Ministers shall have the right to associate with the American Unitarian Conference by using the AUC name as part of his or her title or otherwise once called or ordained unless that right is specifically revoked by the Board of the AUC. The only grounds for revoking this right of association are actions or statements inconsistent with the statement of religious principles of the AUC or actions or statements inconsistent with the AUC governance principles.

5. A member congregation shall have the right to use the name of the American Unitarian Conference as part of its name or otherwise once chartered by the AUC unless that right is specifically revoked by the Board of the AUC. The only grounds for revoking this right of association are actions or statements inconsistent with the statement of religious principles of the AUC or actions or statements inconsistent with the AUC governance principles.

6. Whether or not a congregation employs clergy shall not affect the standing of a congregation within the AUC.

Featured Articles

An Island Amidst the Storm by Paul Wilkes

Resources

Tips on Starting a Congregation

Religious Education Tools
Study materials and liturgies that can be used in small group settings.

Speakers Bureau

IRS Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations Publication 1828 (Rev. 7-02)

The Alban Institute
An ecumenical, interfaith organization which supports congregations through consulting services, research, book publishing, and educational seminars.

Meadville Lombard Theological School - Educating people for effective, morally responsible Unitarian Universalist ministries and advancing liberal religious scholarship for a diverse and multicultural world community.

Starr King School for the Ministry Founded in 1904 as the Pacific Unitarian School for the Ministry, Starr King School was chartered to establish and maintain an institution for educating students for the Christian ministry, especially for Unitarian churches.

Harvard Divinity School - Founded in 1636, its mission is to educate women and men for service as leaders in religious life and thought--as ministers and teachers, and in other professions enriched by theological study.

Bookshelf

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The AUC is a member of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE), a multicultural, multifaith organization devoted to providing education and improving the quality of ministry and pastoral care offered by spiritual caregivers of all faiths.