We have quite a few viewers of posts but not that many actual posters.
Hopefully, people will respond to these "brainstorming" questions:
1. Are you interested in a possible online / virtual church?
2. If possible, would "real time" or available for download sermons be of interest?
3. Would the availability of religious education material, for both children and adults, be of critical importance for active participation?
4. Would a live post-sermon coffee hour chat be of interest?
5. Would you be able to financially commit to the expense of maintaining an online church presence (preliminary estimates from some web sites indicate a fairly nominal cost)?
6. Would you be able to financially commit to some level of support for our Reverend(s) work / expenses?
7. Would you consider volunteering your time, according to your ability and interest, as needed?
If there are any other issues / questions please post them.
Is there a real future for an American Unitarian Church?
I'll jump in first on this one!
1. Yes, def
2. Downloadable would probably work better for me, as I can't neccessarily lock any particular time during the week up.
3. It would be very helpful
4. Don't know about post-sermon but the coffee hour chat is def of interest
5. I would
6. Yes
7. Yes, I'd be glad to help do some writing as needed
I hope there is a future for the American Unitarian Church. I'd love to see what role the AUC will play in this revival.
All the best,
Logan
Well Logan....so far the silence is deafening! I think an actual presence must exist first and then people will take a look etc. If you build it they will come...at least once in awhile. Thinking back to the pre-AUC online status it was just an idea shared by a few....making it real drew visitors.
....so far the silence is deafening!
This does not seem to be unusual. On one religious site, I read that out of every 300 hits you might get one response. So far we are well above that average.
Many people have said that they found this forum and our web site by accident. How can we get this forum and the web site better known?
When I first heard of the AUC, it was because of the news articles about the law suite filed by the UUA over the name. I searched out the AUC and have been here ever since. Since that time we have grown in membership and also declined in membership. Each time we change forum formats or web site formats we gain and loose members. We also loose Google and other search links.
One of the biggest complaints is that the web site is static. Another is that it places too much emphasis on Christianity with little attention given to the other forms of Unitarianism (as it was put by someone, modern Unitarianism should be Christianity plus). Some say it is not Christian enough. It is hard to please everyone. Some good suggestions have been made for improving the web site and the forum by adding new sections. To my knowledge no action has been taken by the individuals authorized to make the needed changes.
Another complaint is that the Board of Directors seem to no longer be active and/or verbal participants. Another is that the quarterly journal is way behind in its publication schedule. In defense of the Board of Directors and the individuals who took on the commitment to publish the journal and keep the web site current, they are not paid and have been facing the frustrations of not getting inputs and participation for many years now. They have also invested a great deal of time and money in the past to keep the AUC active. Now that being said, the AUC does need active leadership and participation by the Board of Directors to grow. It also needs individuals to live up to their commitments in time and service for the long term. I am not talking about commitments for 6 weeks or 6 months but 5, 10, 15 or 20 years. That is a lot of future frustration to face.
Participation in the forum seems low, but a few months ago this new format started with only two people. A lot of growth has taken place in a short amount of time. Several churches have formed and/or joined the AUC, but unfortunately we are not aware or informed about their activities. This could be done in a timely manner and would encourage others in their actions. I have a feeling the numbers of people associated with the AUC are much larger than it appears. (Individual members belonging to an associated group or church might not appear as members.)
Now back to your original post. My answer to all questions would be yes. Work is slowly, maybe too slowly, being done on some of the areas mentioned. Once things get rolling long, long term commitments have to be made and lived up to, both in time and money.
As to the last question. Yes, there is a future for an American Unitarian Church. One of our members already has used the AmericanUnitarianChurch.org website address.
Will look forward to seeing more input from you and others.
With love,
Rev Dorris
Agree....especially with:
" ...they are not paid and have been facing the frustrations of not getting inputs and participation for many years now. They have also invested a great deal of time and money in the past to keep the AUC active..."
I wonder if solicitation to various religious schools for articles to publish would be an idea? Be it Meadville-Lombard or non-UUA affiliated theology schools....just having our journal as a place for publication may be a draw....the only requisite is that the topic should address a Unitarian (or Universalist) subject. Maybe a mass email to various theology schools would solicit some interesting articles. Relying on lay people to submit articles is a slow and protracted process...
Another thought....existing articles written for other journals can be reprinted with permission for our journal...some of the articles in The Journal of Liberal Religion have merit.
Note this letter to the editor:
http://www.meadville.edu/LL_JLR_v7_n1_EdLetter.htm
by Dr. Brent A. Smith, Minister
All Souls Community Church
It is an interesting discussion of liberal religion ...where it went off the tracks so to speak and its future.
p.s. I find Starr-King articles to be more "unusual" and most wouldn't be of interest in our journal....I suppose this reflects location, environment etc.
Well written article indeed.
I still think adding a Universal Theist or Transcendentalist section to the website would be helpful.
Also, perhaps hiring someone to help do work for the AUC would be useful. The Christian Universalist Association (another group I belong to) made the choice to hire an executive director to coordinate the organization. Something similar might help here-even if the position is only part time. Any thoughts?
I agree that the Board of Directors seem inactive but then again I can understand the time constraints. Purely out of curiosity awhat is the process for joining the board?
Oh also I spoke via e-mail with Steve Jones the other day and he has some interest in possibly doing more work with the AUC.
Good, he is a valuable voice out there.
I like this section:
"But, when it comes to religious symbolization as it is derived from the faith of their forebears, liberal ignorance is their impotence. They want the fruits of a tree that they have not tended, do not nurture, and wonder even whether it exists! Liberals do not take the time of their faith tradition seriously enough to put themselves under its theological influence, the spiritual disciplines of language bequeathed to them by it, and the religious symbolizations that outlined the boundaries and aims of free community as a manifestation of the Spirit. Hence, it is the loss of the religious that marks the modern liberal’s particular situation brought about by the liberal’s own abandonment."