What's new on the AUC website

- "The Atonement" by Andrew Preston Peabody added 3/24/07

- "Salvation by Grace" by Joseph Stevens Buckminster added 12/17/06

- "On the Origin of the Doctrine of the Trinity" by Andrews Norton added 7/16/06

- Review of Martineau's Rationale of Religious Enquiry by George Ripley added 6/18/06

- "The Issue in the West" by Jabez T. Sunderland added 1/26/06

- "The Proper Modern Doctrine of the Trinity Contradictory in Terms to that of the Unity of God" by Andrews Norton added 1/15/06

- "Orthodoxy: The Worst Enemy of Christianity" by Jabez T. Sunderland added 1/13/06

- "Upon What Account the Love of God is Termed the First and Greatest Commandment" by Jonathan Mayhew added 12/27/05

- "The Answering God" by Frederic Henry Hedge added 12/13/05

- "Miracles as an Evidence of Christianity" by David Damon added 12/4/05

- "A General View of the Arguments for the Unity of God" by Joseph Priestley added 11/15/05

- "A Rational Faith" by Jabez T. Sunderland added 11/5/05

- "On Miracles as the Foundation of Religious Faith" by Richard Hildreth added 10/15/05

- "The Love of Our Neighbour" by Jonathan Mayhew added 10/9/05

- "The Exclusive Principle" by James Walker added 9/15/05

- "The Regent God" by Frederic Henry Hedge added 9/5/05

- "The Doctrine and Discipline of Human Culture" by Bronson Alcott added 9/2/05

- "The Previous Question" by Theodore Parker added 8/29/05

- "The Personality of the Deity" by Henry Ware, Jr. added 8/25/05

- "A Good Man Shall be Satisfied From Himself" by Ralph Waldo Emerson added 8/13/05

- "Review of 'The Latest Form of Infidelity'" by Andrew Preston Peabody added 8/12/05

- "Defense of 'The Latest Form of Infidelity' Examined" by George Ripley added 8/9/05

- "The Love of God" by Jonathan Mayhew added 8/7/05

- "The Father the Only and the Sufficient God" by Samuel Longfellow added 8/1/05

- "The Divine Presence in Nature and in the Soul" by Theodore Parker added 7/22/05

- "Remarks on a Pamphlet Entitled 'The Latest Form of Infidelity Examined'" by Andrews Norton added 7/12/05

- "The Advancing God" by Frederic Henry Hedge added 7/11/05

- "Rules to be Observed in Examining the Evidences of the Christian Religion" by James Freeman added 7/8/05

- "The Latest Form of Infidelity Examined" by George Ripley added 7/7/05

- "Walking by Faith" by James Freeman added 7/1/05

- "Objections Against the Right and Duty of Private Judgment Considered" by Jonathan Mayhew added 6/17/05 

- "The Right" by Andrew Preston Peabody added 6/17/05

-"The Right of Private Judgment Asserted" by Jonathan Mayhew added 6/6/05 

- "The Latest Form of Infidelity" by Andrews Norton added 5/30/05

- "Men Endowed with the Faculties Proper for Discerning the Difference Between Truth and Falsehood, Right and Wrong" by Jonathan Mayhew added 5/29/05

-"Is the Bible Infallible?" by Jabez T. Sunderland added 5/20/05

- "Action" by Andrew Preston Peabody added 1/14/05

- "Concerning the Difference Between Truth and Falsehood, Right and Wrong" by Jonathan Mayhew added 5/1/04

- "The Retreating God" by Frederic Henry Hedge added 2/16/04

- "Imperfect and Perfect Theism" by James Freeman Clarke added 1/26/04

- Hints on Extemporaneous Preaching by Henry Ware, Jr. added 1/15/04

- "The Books Opened" - by Edmund Hamilton Sears added 1/15/04

- "The Philosophy of Man's Spiritual Nature in Regard to the Foundations of Faith" - by James Walker added 1/15/04

- "War" (First Discourse) - by W.E. Channing added 12/4/03
- "The System of Exclusion and Denunciation in Religion Considered" -  by W.E. Channing added 12/3/03
- AUC Logo Merchandise now available 10/25/03
- "Explanation of Unitarian Christianity" by D. R. Miano added 10/24/03
- "The Reluctant Radicals" by Robert Dorris added 9/13/03
- "Manual of Unitarian Belief" by James Freeman Clarke added 12/19/02
- "Self Culture" by W. E. Channing added 12/17/02
- "Why Do We Believe In God" by James Freeman Clarke added 11/3/02
- "The Bible and Explaining It Away" by George Burnap added 11/3/02
- Why UU Humanism Requires Rejecting Our Humanity by David R. Burton added 10/28/02
- Prayers of Theodore Parker added 10/22/02
- "The Proposition, That Christ is God, Proved to be False from the Scriptures" - by Andrews Norton added 8/10/02
- "On the Atonement" by Orville Dewey added 8/10/02
- IRS Guideline for Churches added 7/3/02

- Speakers Bureau added 3/9/02
- Added Gary Elkins article "Finding God at the Edge" 3/2/02
- Added Article from the UU Voice 2/23/02
- Added David Dulin's sermon "What Unitarian Christianity Means to Me" 2/23/02
- Added Introductory Remarks to the Works of W.E. Channing 12/11/01
- Sermon on "Unitarian Belief" by Orville Dewey, 1873 added October 13, 2001
- Article on Unitarianism by William H. Taft added October 8, 2001

Back to the AUC Homepage

NEWS

February 2011 Update

New Discussion Board on Facebook

The AUC Discussion Board has moved to Facebook! We encourage you to join in the discussions exploring a vartiety of topics related to our Unitarian Tradition.

May 2007 Update

New AUC Forum Design

The new AUC forum is up and running. If you haven't already, we encourage you to sign up and join us in our discussions on various topics.

Around the World

Scientists studying the relationship between faith and wellness state that "people with strong religious beliefs have lower blood pressure, lower mortality rates from cancer and heart disease, and slower mental decline when stricken with Alzheimer's disease."

United Nations Wakes Up to Religion. The United Nations (UN) is waking up to the role that religious organizations can play in meeting its goals--particularly in the area of social, development and peace issues.

House approves funding for Head Start, rejects GOP-led religion amendment. The House approved more money for the popular Head Start program Wednesday after rejecting a GOP-led attempt to allow religious groups participating in the program to hire and fire staffers based on religious grounds.

Debate on the Value of Religion Held in London. A debate titled “We’d Be Better Off Without Religion,” to have been held at the Royal Geographical Society in London on March 27, attracted so much interest that it was moved, somewhat ironically, to the much larger Methodist Central Hall, close to the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. A near-capacity crowd of over 2,000 attended. With the pre-vote weighted in favor of the motion, it was clear that the atheists were singing to a predominantly secular choir.

April 2006 Update

New Book Review Editor

The AUC’s quarterly journal, The American Unitarian, has a new book editor. The Rev. Tim Wilkins is currently serving as full-time Chaplain at Oklahoma State Reformatory in Granite, OK a men's maximum security facility. He also is half-time minister at Channing Unitarian Universalist Church in Edmond, OK. He has a B.S. in Biblical Studies from Southwestern Christian University in Bethany, OK (1989), a Master of Divinity degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX (1992) and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Lake Charles Bible School and Seminary (1996). He served for 12 years as a United Methodist elder prior to his current ministry position.

International Servetus Congress

The International Servetus Society is planning an International Servetus Congress in Barcelona, Spain October 20-21 2006. To learn more, visit: http://servetus.org/en/newsevents/articulos/20060117.htm

Michael Servetus (1511-1553) was a Spanish physician and theologian, whose theology can be considered an important contribution to Unitarian thought and belief. He denied the doctrine of the Trinity, and was opposed by both Protestants and Catholics of his time. Ultimately he was burnt at the stake in Geneva for heresy.

October 2004 Update

New AUC Directors

At the business meeting at the annual meeting, David Miano and Jonathan Devlin were elected as Directors of the AUC for 2004-2005. They replace Alan Cousin and Nathan DeMay, last year’s elected Directors.

New Open Door Congregations

Two congregations have recently agreed to provide an open door to members of the AUC. The Rhode Island Emmaus Fellowship Church, and its pastor, Rev. Andre L. Gregoire, M.S., invite you to find out more about their group at their website: http://www.riemmausfellowship.org. Their fellowship presently meets at Morning Star Lodge, F&AM located at 142 Clinton St. Woonsocket, RI 02895. They can be reached by telephone at: 401-769-1731.

Another new Open Door Congregation is St. Catherine’s Universal Anglican Church. You can learn about this group and its pastor, Rev. Craig Bergland, at their website: http://www.stcatsuac.org. Their church is located at 3177 S. 107th St., West Allis, WI 53219. They can be reached by telephone at: 414-430-0888.

Book Review Editor Needed

The American Unitarian is looking for a Book Review Editor. Responsibilities would be to solicit review copies of books that would be of interest to our readership and then assigning reviews to volunteers. If interested, please contact David Miano by email: drmiano@yahoo.com. Those interested in writing brief book reviews may also contact Mr. Miano. If the journal is able to obtain a complimentary review copy from the publisher, it will provide you with a free copy of that book and allow you to keep it when you are finished should you choose to review it.

Annual Meeting--What Was it Like?

The fourth annual meeting of the AUC took place on the campus of the University of California San Diego on September 24-26, 2004. A number of UCSD professors of religion participated in the program

On Friday evening, members got together for a sumptuous dinner at Eucalyptus Grove. The scheduled speaker was not able  make it, so David Miano filled in and gave an interesting slide presentation on archaeological finds related to the Bible.

On Saturday morning, the session convened with a talk by Professor David Noel Freedman, a scholar of the Hebrew Bible, who is best known as the editor of the Anchor Bible Project. Professor Freedman discussed advances made in the study of the Hebrew Bible since he began in the profession some 60 years ago.

Following his talk, the Reverend Robert Jordan Ross, who heads the Pacific Southwest Chapter of the Unitarian Univeralist Christian Fellowship joined us to give a presentation entitled, “Apostles of the Immortal Good.” The text of this talk appears in the present issue of the journal.

David Miano then gave a presentation on the tools that God has given us to differentiate between right and wrong. We hope to publish his talk, “Conscience, Spirit, and Interchange,” in a subsequent issue.

In the afternoon, we had a communion service, hosted by the Pacific Southwest Chapter of the UUCF and led by Reverend Ned Wight of the Summit Fellowship in La Mesa, CA. Rev. Wight gave a sermon on the dangers of a love of money entitled, “The Life that Really is Life.” Hymns were sung as well.

On Saturday evening, there was another dinner hosted by the AUC. Attendees related their past religious experiences and talked about how they came to be Unitarians.

On Sunday morning, Professor Lisa Lampert joined us to discuss “The Legacy of Medieval Passion Plays.” She surveyed the history of the passion play and pointed to its modern-day counterparts, including Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.

 The last presentation on Sunday was given by David Burton, President of the AUC. Burton discussed William Ellery Channing and the concept of “self-culture” in early Unitarianism.

All of us at the AUC extend a warm thank you to David Miano for his efforts in making the annual meeting a success.

Desert Star Fellowship 
 

We have a new AUC-affiliated congregation starting up in Hesperia, California under the leadership of the Rev. Jonathan Devlin, who was recently ordained as a Rabbi. The fellowship has six members to date and meets by appointment usually in one of the members’ homes. They hope to grow into a more formal fellowship, but for now are strictly a “Small Group Ministry.” Describing the group, Rev. Devlin says, “We maintain an interfaith perspective, viewing the spiritual needs of all people as paramount—regardless of prior or current denominational affiliation, or lack thereof. We are non-doctrinal, non-judgmental, and inclusive. We seek to address the fundamental spiritual issues and concerns of human life at their most fundamental and universal level. Until we grow into a ‘full-blown’ and more formal congregation, the Desert Star Fellowship might best be called a “Ministry Without Walls.”  I, as the minister, go to where services are needed, providing life-cycle services (e.g. baptism, marriage, memorials) visiting the sick, and performing pastoral counseling as needed.  I’m also available to meet/greet Unitarians and others who might be passing through the area and who might be in need of pastoral services (Hesperia, CA is on the main route between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, so there is also a lot of transient traffic in the area).” Best wishes to the new fellowship!

The AUC Fourth Annual Meeting

The AUC's fourth annual meeting will be held September 24-26, 2004 in sunny San Diego, California. Members from across the United States will gather to build relationships, worship, learn, and conduct the business of the AUC. The Directors of the AUC cordially invite you to join us for this historic meeting. It promises to be the best one yet.

Among the featured speakers will be David Noel Freedman, Endowed Chair of Hebrew Biblical Studies at the University of California, San Diego and author of The Nine Commandments (2000). He is general editor of the Anchor Bible Dictionary, the Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, the Anchor Bible Commentary Series, the Anchor Bible Reference Library, and the Eerdmans Critical Commentary Series. Professor Freedman has been at the forefront of Hebrew Biblical scholarship for the past 60 years.

The meeting will be held on the UC San Diego campus in La Jolla. Dinner will be catered on Friday and Saturday evening. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Radisson Hotel La Jolla for annual meeting participants. The hotel is within walking distance of the UCSD campus. Please make room reservations as soon as possible. The AUC block of rooms will be held until August 30, 2004.

Radisson Hotel La Jolla

3299 Holiday Court, La Jolla, California 92037

Telephone: 858-453-5500

www.radisson.com/lajollaca

September 2003 Update

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.

Several congregations have agreed to provide an open door to members of the AUC. Most recently, the Universalist National Church in Washington, D.C., a liberal Christian church affiliated with the UUA,  voted to become an Open Door Congregation. Find out more about this church and its pastor, Scott Wells, at their website: www.universalist.org.

The newly-formed Epiphany Church in Owasso, Oklahoma, which is also affiliated with the UUA, has also agreed to welcome warmly any and all AUC members who would be interested in attending. The website for this Unitarian and Universalist Christian congregation, presided over by the Rev. Ron Robinson, is to be found at: www.epiphanyspirit.org.

In Rhode Island, a small group called the Peacedale Christian Deist Fellowship has also joined the ranks as an AUC Open Door Congregation. 

“The Peacedale fellowship continues to plod onward, finding small gains here and there. We just finished a DVD course on the early Christians by Bart Ehrlman from Chapel Hill University. This thought-provoking course and discussion has been a great tool for the fence-sitting Christians to discover their real history, and to find that the early followers of “the way” experienced much diversity in thought and belief. It’s our purpose to lead others to understand that reason and common sense aren’t two deadly sins! They are God’s gift to us; mechanisms to ensure our survival as thinking and compassionate humans.

“The big news is that we are planning a move in May of 2004. We are relocating to the central coast of North Carolina, and planning to open a separate Christian deist meeting house. We are re-examining our goals and methods in light of the fact that North Carolina is dominated by evangelical Christians. I’m looking to find someone to take over here in Rhode Island, but deists are a reclusive and solitary bunch! I’m getting well known in this state as a deist minister, and have found great success reaching people through my profession as a Justice of the Peace.

“This summer we held several nature photography field trips to help others find greater appreciation for God’s creation. Next on the agenda will be a water color field trip in the spring for more of the same.

“We are going to be moving soon to a beach rental over the winter, planning to move south in early June. Our fellowship activities will downsize shortly, as our new winter digs may be too small to host group meetings. This will be a time for us to make plans for the future however, as we are hoping to work with Trinitarian Christians in our new location. For some reason, we seem to be the enemy to many orthodox Christians, even though we like them!” —Donald Towne.

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 this 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.

July 2003 Update

- Universalist National Memorial Church in Washington D.C. has voted to become an Open Door Congregation.

- Columbus, Ohio - AU Fellowship of Central Ohio has begun meeting monthly.
- Findlay, Ohio - Area Coordinator added.
- The World Brotherhood Church, Hazard, Kentucky, has joined as a member congregation. 
- Epiphany Church in Owasso, Oklahoma joined as an AUC Open Door Congregation. 
See the AUC Congregations page for details on all of the above.

Annual Meeting 2003

The third Annual Meeting of the AUC was held in Grosse Pointe, Michigan on May 2-4, 2003.  The meeting was graciously hosted by the Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church which opened its sanctuary and activity area for the AUC meeting. The Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church has a beautiful building and grounds located in the midst of a residential area. The minister, Rev. John Corrado, and members of the congregation hosted and participated in the AUC events all weekend.

On Friday evening a welcome dinner was held at a local restaurant. Our first speaker for the evening was Ellen Heron, Curator of the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Public Museum of Grand Rapids. Ellen gave an excellent after dinner talk providing an overview of the Dead Sea Scrolls – their history, the historical importance of the scrolls, details about what is in the scrolls, information about the Essene people that used the scrolls, and how they came to be exhibited in Grand Rapids.  The Dead Sea Scrolls are comprised of Biblical texts (portions of what we know as the Old Testament), extra canonical texts of the time, and documents that governed the life and practice of the Essene people. These documents are written in four different alphabets and three languages.

Also speaking Friday night was the Rev. Arpad Csete, a Transylvanian Unitarian minister serving the Rava Unitarian Church in Rava, Romania.  Rev. Csete gave a wonderful overview of the theology, history, and, polity of the Transylvanian Unitarians and the situation facing the people in the region.

On Saturday, the morning was filled with seminars on pastoral care and another lecture on the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Rev. David Abbott gave a seminar on the importance of listening in the practice of pastoral care, with practice sessions for the participants.  Next, a lecture on the Dead Sea Scrolls and new theories about the Essene people who used them was given by Dr. Gabriele Boccaccini, professor of Second Temple Judaism and Early Rabbinic Literature at the University of Michigan. Prof. Boccaccini, author of the book, Beyond the Essene Hypothesis: The Partings of the Ways between Qumran and Enochic Judaism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), kept the audience spellbound for nearly three hours with his theories about the Essenes and development of early Christianity.

Saturday afternoon the AUC business meeting was held along with discussions about the direction of the AUC.  Two new board members were elected to replace outgoing board members Paul Yonge and Barbara Bachner. The AUC wishes to thank Barbara and Paul for their service on the board. The new board members are Alan Cousin and Nathan DeMay. Biographies of our board members are available on the AUC website. AUC president David Burton recapped the accomplishments of the last year, including the publication of our journal, The American Unitarian, additions to our website, continued outreach to individuals and congregations, and other accomplishments.  President Burton also reviewed our current goals and projects: ongoing work on the hymnal, development of a set of Boy Scouts of America Religion manuals for American Unitarians, our project to bring Channing’s Collected Works back into print, and efforts to grow the organization, among other objectives.

Saturday evening, our Special guest speaker was the Rev. Carl Scovel, minister Emeritus of King's Chapel in Boston. The Rev. Scovel spoke on “Beyond Channing and Beyond the Church: The Gospel Then and Now.”  The emphasis of Rev. Scovels talk was on the present state of theology within Unitarian Universalism, its historical path, the theological misdirection at the beginning, and his thoughts on how to correct the problems.

Following his talk, the Rev. Scovel officiated for a Unitarian Christian Communion Service for those wishing to partake.

For Sunday morning worship, the AUC attendees joined the Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church congregation for their regular worship service.  Rev. Corrado gave a superb sermon on the sacrifices that many of our religious predecessors gave to secure our religious freedom. That sermon is printed in this issue of The American Unitarian for your enjoyment.

The final event of the meeting was a lunch event at a local restaurant with a lunch talk on Stephen Ministries given by Nancy Chase Burton, a Stephen Ministries trainer. Stephens Ministries offers pastoral care training for Christian Churches that can be a model for Unitarians as they develop pastoral care programs to suit their needs.

As always, one of the most important and heartwarming aspects of the weekend was the opportunity for all of us that could attend to make new friends and get reacquainted with old friends from past meetings.  The AUC Annual Meeting attracts an interesting and stimulating group of people from around the world, the friendships we make there are critical to the renewal of American Unitarianism.

The AUC Third Annual Meeting

The AUC's Third annual meeting will be held May 2-4, 2003, in the Detroit, Michigan area. The meeting is being graciously hosted by the Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church, in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan.

Members from across the United States will gather to build relationships, worship, learn, and conduct the business of the AUC. The Directors of the AUC cordially invite you to join us for this historic meeting.

As of press time, the speakers planned include the Rev. Carl Scovel, Minister Emeritus of Kings Chapel in Boston.

A Saturday afternoon excursion is planned to visit the beautiful estate of Edsel and Eleanor Ford.

The planning is in the early stages so please check our website as  more details will become available in the coming months. For those of you who wish to join the AUC News e-mail list, updates will be posted as they are available. Contact us at info@americanunitarian.org to be added to the e-mail list. To be put on the mailing list for a registration packet, contact the AUC at the address inside the front cover.

Our recommended hotel is the Baymont Inn & Suites, 20675

13 Mile Rd., Roseville, MI 48066    Phone: 586-296-6910

The AUC has reserved a block of rooms at a reduced rate of $59.00 plus tax for a couple. Be sure to tell them that you are with the American Unitarian Conference when you make your reservations. We recommend that you make your reservations right away to ensure that you get a room.

September 2002 Update 

AUC Accepted as a Faith Group Member of the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education

Recently the AUC was accepted by the ACPE for membership as a Faith Group. In so doing the AUC will gain recognition nation wide amongst chaplains of all denominations.  The ACPE is a multi-faith organization devoted to providing education and improving the quality of ministry and pastoral care offered by spiritual caregivers through the clinical educational methods of clinical pastoral education. ACPE students receive hands-on and classroom education at over 350 centers accredited by the ACPE and staffed by certified CPE supervisors.

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) was begun in 1925 as a form of theological education that takes place not exclusively in academic classrooms, but also in clinical settings where ministry is being practiced. CPE is offered in many kinds of settings: in hospitals and health care facilities; in prisons; in parishes and congregations; in hospices and other places that care for the dying; in psychiatric facilities and community care; in workplace settings; in retirement homes; in rehabilitation centers such as those for physical illness and injury as well for the addicted; and in communities, both urban and rural. Nearly 65,000 individuals from the United States and many other countries have earned CPE credit. CPE students come from many different religious, ethnic and cultural groups. You can learn more about the ACPE and their mission from their website at http://www.acpe.edu

AUC Receives 501(c)(3) Status as a Religious Organization

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a favorable determination letter to the American Unitarian Conference with respect to its section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. This determination is retroactive in effect to the inception of the American Unitarian Conference. All past and future contributions to the American Unitarian Conference are therefore tax deductible.

Annual Meeting 2002

The AUC's second annual meeting was held May 3-5, 2002 in Newton, Massachusetts. Members from across the United States gathered to build relationships, worship, learn, and conduct the business of the AUC.

Among the presentations made were:

• The Rev. Earl Holt III, "Whatever Happened to Unitarianism?"
• Nathan DeMay, "Faith and Reason: A brief overview of Deism."
• The Rev. Edward Stueckle, "The Tie That Binds: Creed vs. Covenant."
• The Rev. George David Exoo's Sunday Sermon, "The Seven Aspects of God."
• David Burton, "Science, Religion, and Being Human."

At the business meeting portion of the Annual Meeting two new board members were elected, Paul Yonge of Syracuse, NY, and Barbara Bachner of Haverhill, MA. Both have been active in the AUC from the very beginning, they are welcome additions to the AUC Board of Directors.

The AUC’s publishing, religious education and outreach efforts were discussed in detail.

A moment of silence was observed for the Rev. Jason Clark, pastor at the All Souls Church in Enid, Oklahoma (an AUC member congregation) who was killed in an automobile accident on Easter Sunday, 2002.

January 2002

Religious Education

Religious education is a large part of the AUC program.  We plan to devote a large part of our resources over the coming year to developing RE materials.  We have three adult RE projects underway relating to Unitarian history and theology.  We have one children's RE program underway relating to the ten commandments.

We are seeking people to work with us to develop RE materials.  You may assist us by joining the Adult Religious Education  Committee or the Children's Religious Education  Committee (Jason Ford, Chairman).

Additional adult RE subjects that we hope to undertake include:
Differing conceptions of God
Science, reason, and religion
Ideas about salvation
Raising children in modern America
The Bible
Great religions' sacred texts
Unitarian Christianity, what makes it different?
Exploring tolerance
Introducing philosophy

Children's and Youth RE subjects that we hope to undertake include:
The Bible
Sexuality
Right and wrong
Exploring tolerance
Unitarian history and traditions
Being a kid in modern America

We also may develop a set of programs based on reading and discussing major books on religion and philosophy or major Unitarian sermons.

The great end in religious instruction is:

Not to stamp our minds upon the young, but to stir up their own;

Not to make them see with our eyes, but to look inquiringly and steadily with their own;

Not to give them a definite amount of knowledge, but to inspire a fervent love of truth;

Not to form an outward regularity, but to touch inward springs;

Not to bind them by ineradicable prejudices to our particular sect or peculiar notions, but to prepare them for impartial, conscientious judging of whatever subjects may be offered to their decision;

Not to burden the memory, but to quicken and strengthen the power of thought;

Not to impose religion upon them in the form of arbitrary rules, but to awaken the conscience, the moral discernment.

In a word, the great end is to awaken the soul, to excite and cherish spiritual life.

-- William Ellery Channing (1780 - 1842)

Volunteers Needed

At this early point in the history of the American Unitarian Conference, we do not have a paid staff.  Accordingly, everything that gets done is done by volunteers.  We can only achieve our aims if people give of their time to make our dream of a reborn Unitarianism a reality.  Our greatest needs are set forth below.

Outreach Director
We need a person to coordinate our outreach.  This would involve working to distribute information about the AUC and setting up speaking engagements to make presentations about the AUC.

Speakers Bureau Members
Because we cannot afford to send speakers on long trips, we need people from around the country to represent the AUC as speakers before congregations and other interested groups.  This would involve learning a good deal about the AUC (we will help train you) and delivering a well defined message.

Open Door Congregation Program Coordinator
We plan to launch a program whereby congregations can make a lesser commitment to the AUC than joining.  By becoming members of the AUC Open Door program, a congregation would be making a statement that theistic Unitarians would feel welcome in that congregation. This position would involve organizing mailings and fielding questions from prospective member congregations.

Journal Editor
To edit this journal.

Liturgical Materials Coordinator
To coordinate the development of liturgical materials and a hymnal.

Our Scattered Friends

The American Unitarian Conference to date is largely an internet phenomenon, that is to say that most of our members were made aware of the Conference via websites or e-mail lists, and much of our ongoing contact is via the internet.  As a result, our membership is geographically dispersed, with members from Maine to Arizona and Alaska to Florida (as well as Canada and Hungary!). However, this condition is not a new one for American Unitarians.  The brief article below, gleaned from the January 1854 issue of the Quarterly Journal of the AUA, bears witness to how widespread geographically Unitarianism has been over the years. Communications technology has changed dramatically since then.   Today we use the internet at the speed of light, or we use mailings that deliver such things as this journal in a few days, rather than in a few weeks, as was the case in 1854. However, the human issues are the same - American Unitarians have friends, many and warm, in nearly all places, and we need to reach out to them.  It is the sincere desire of the American Unitarian Conference to assist in forging a bond of union amongst all friends of our faith.

Our Scattered Friends - From the Quarterly Journal of the American Unitarian Association, Vol. 1, No. 2, January 1854 (author unknown):
There is probably not a town in the United States, of any considerable size, in which there are not some Unitarians. Those who speak disparagingly of the progress we make as a denomination, overlook this important fact. It is true, we do not constitute a closely organized and widely extended party. It would not be very easy to drill us into such a party. There is something in the genius of our body which is averse to sectarian propagandism. But, for all this, we have friends, many and warm, in nearly all places. Especially in the growing towns and cities of the West may they be found, men of enterprise and vigor, who were trained up in our Sunday schools and churches in New England, but who, perhaps, now find few to sympathize with them in those remote communities where they have cast in their lot.

One of the great objects for which the American Unitarian Association was formed was to be a bond of union, and a fountain of sympathy and help, to all friends of our faith wherever they may be. The Secretary of the Association may promote this object by an extensive correspondence with these scattered believers, offering to send them books or tracts, and giving them from time to time assurances of sympathy and affection. To enable him to do this, he has commenced recording the names of all decided and earnest Unitarians of whom he may hear as living in places where no Unitarian Societies have been formed; and already he has a large number of such names on his list. The object of this statement is simply to express the pleasure he will feel in receiving additions, from any quarter, to his catalogue, that he may, to some considerable and useful extent, put himself in communication with the believers that are “scattered abroad”.

AUC Press Coverage in 2001

The AUC enjoyed a considerable amount of press coverage in the past year. Most articles focused either on the AUC’s effort to bring God back into Unitarianism, or on our independence from the UUA. Below is a list of some of the press coverage in 2001.

Chicago Tribune, front page, Saturday, April 21 “Unitarian group splits, wants God in its religion” by Julia Lieblich

Wall Street Journal, Friday, May 11 “God, Optional” by Dave Shiflett

Charlotte Observer (Religion News Service), April 21 "Will the Unitarian-Universalists split" by Kevin Eckstrom
Washington Times, April 8 "Unitarians in fight over use of similar, older group name" by Larry Wilham
Christian Century, May 9 "Theological stirrings in Unitarian Circles"
Associated Press, Thursday, Sept. 13 "Religion in the News" by Jay Lindsay
Washington Times, June 18 "Legal battle shows Unitarian schism" by Rachel Zoll
The Lutheran (the journal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), June, "Worldscan" item
The Flint Journal, April 21 "Tempest: Church fears politics taking over theology" 
Kalamazoo Gazette, May 5 "Even Unitarians go through what looks like church warfare"

This list is but a sampling of the press we've appreciated, along with articles in the Dallas, Boston, Salt Lake, Orlando and other daily newspapers that we don't have on file.  If you have any articles not mentioned, we would enjoy a clipping for our archives.

September 25, 2001

Dear AUA members and friends,

I am writing in connection with the lawsuit filed against the American Unitarian Association by the UUA over the use of the name American Unitarian Association. As you know, in our initial response to the threat of the lawsuit we offered to discuss the issue with the UUA leadership. Our suggestion was ignored and the UUA filed the lawsuit. The new leadership at the UUA has been much more open to discussion. Dean and I met with them a few weeks ago and, as a result of those discussions, we have agreed with the new leadership at the UUA to settle the lawsuit. Going into this discussion we had four requirements: dropping the lawsuit, retention of American Unitarian in our name, an acknowledgment that the outcome of the lawsuit was uncertain, and a statement that the two associations can and should have an amicable relationship. The UUA agreed to all our requirements, and we agreed to change our name.

Defending the lawsuit was consuming a great deal of our time and some of our financial resources. The lawsuit had reached the stage where it was about to consume many hundreds of hours and significant financial resources. The lawsuit had very substantially reduced our ability to do the work of the association, namely to give rebirth to the American Unitarian tradition and the development of an independent Unitarian voice in North America. Dean and I reached the conclusion that our time and limited financial resources would be better spent doing the constructive religious work of the American Unitarian movement rather than continuing the legal struggle to keep the AUA name.

Accordingly, we have agreed to change the name of the American Unitarian Association to the American Unitarian Conference. We thus retain the term American Unitarian and will continue to refer to ourselves as American Unitarians. The term conference is broad enough to encompass the fact that we may have both individual and congregational members. Under the agreement, we have the right to adopt any name our membership may choose so long as it does not include "American Unitarian Association." We will retain our web site www.americanunitarian.org. The legal steps necessary to effect this change will be completed within the next two weeks. Shortly, the American Unitarian Conference and the UUA will release a joint statement.

We have accomplished a great deal within a short time. We have achieved national recognition, including prominent coverage in many national newspapers. We have created a new community of people who share our faith in God and who value and are willing to work to maintain the Unitarian tradition. We have begun the work of creating religious education materials true to the Unitarian tradition. We are developing liturgical materials and a hymnal. We will now have more time and resources to achieve these goals.

We have made a difference. We offer hope to many who value our tradition. The heartfelt support that so many have expressed for our undertaking gives us strength. We can now move forward with a renewed vigor to achieve our aims. Dean and I appreciate the support you have given us and we look forward to working with you in the future to promote the American Unitarian tradition and to breath life into our faith.

Faith, reason, freedom.

Cordially,
David R. Burton
President
American Unitarian Association

Joint Press Release of the AUC and the UUA

Boston, MA and Alexandria, VA.

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the American Unitarian Conference announced today that they have agreed to a settlement of the lawsuit filed by the UUA in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, VA. The American Unitarian Conference was incorporated as the American Unitarian Association ("AUA") in September, 2000. In the lawsuit, the UUA asserted ownership of the American Unitarian Association name and mark. The AUA also claimed lawful ownership of the AUA name. Given the uncertainties and costs of litigation, the parties have agreed to settle the lawsuit.

As part of the settlement agreement, the AUA has agreed to modify its name to the American Unitarian Conference.

"Our goal is to promote traditional Unitarianism. That tradition holds that faith in God, freedom, reason and tolerance should be central to the religious experience. We reached the conclusion that going forward under a new name would better enable us to achieve our goals than devoting resources to continuing litigation," said Davd R. Burton, President of the American Unitarian Conference.

"I am pleased that the case has been resolved and I will operate on the assumption that this dispute was among persons of good faith. It was never our intention to oppose the right of the American Unitarian Conference group to exist, only to protect and preserve our historic name and mark. The Unitarian Universalist tradition is broad enough and deep enough to hold many religious points of view," said the Rev. William G. Sinkford, President of the UUA.

"We look forward to a constructive and cordial working relationship with the new leadership at the UUA," said Burton.

For more information, contact:
John Hurley, Unitarian Universalist Association. 617-742-2100
Davd R. Burton, President, American Unitarian Conference. 703-548-5868