American Unitarian Conference Forum

http://home.earthlink.net/~psdlund/id11.html

Phil's Little Blog on the Prairie -Sermons

The Future of Our Faith: A 50/50 Chance

(selections..see link above for full sermon)

"....It’s not so much a matter of survival as it is a matter of relevance. We are rapidly becoming a footnote in the history of religion in America."
"...Our 150,000 adult members are barely a bump on this changing American religious landscape, which means our traditional growth strategy of waiting for a few stray liberal religious fellow travelers to stumble over us is going to become increasingly ineffective."
"...The general population is getting larger, and our feeder system (the Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Evangelicals or other varieties of Protestants) is shrinking. In that regard, I’d say we have less than a 50/50 chance of surviving as a force for good in the world."
"...We’re not trying to become one of the largest denominations in the United States, and we’re certainly not out to convert everyone. We just want to remain a presence at the table, to continue to be a force for good in the world. And to do that, we really only need to grow just a little bit more than we have been over the last few years."
"...In fact, we really don’t expect many of the children and youth we raise in our congregations to stay in our faith tradition. We don’t necessarily expect them to be Unitarian Universalists at their 21st birthday, let alone at the end of their lives. That’s because we’ve applied the same growth strategy we currently have for attracting new members to retaining our children and youth—if you can find us and figure out a way to fit in, then feel free to stick around…if not, tough luck."

The author goes on to outline various growth and retention strategies with the keypoint on the retention of youth members.  One of the key pieces is a return to "specific, deliberate religious activities"

"Simple things like
·        sharing family meals;
·        spending a few moments before bedtime to share the joys and worries of the day;
·        having real conversations about what matters most in life;
·        adorning your living spaces with symbols of your faith tradition;
·        celebrating holidays in ways that the religious significance comes through; and
·        participating in your community of faith in ways that make it part of your family’s emotional support system."

To me, these solutions note only partially address the problems faced by mainline and not so mainline liberal religions.....specifically, the lack of a coherent and soul satisfying theology...one that meets the needs of its members....that is why the more evangelical and fundy churches are growing...most people reside at the mythic stage and those religions meet their psychological needs...for better or worse.

For us, in the AUC, we are a sliver of a sliver of the religously liberal population.  I think our greatest contribution will be toward holding out the possibility of a real "historic yet progressive" theology that can satisfy at least a portion of the liberal sliver.  A reminder to those lost in today's liberal morass that the outlines of a real faith still exist.
Not an easy faith...a faith that demands continuous introspection...a faith as a ladder...not a destination.

Phil's Little Blog on the Prairie -Sermons

http://home.earthlink.net/~psdlund/id4.html

It’s Just Like Regular Church, Except…

The author makes this point:

"We often insist on describing ourselves by what we are not. We’re the church that has no creed, no dogma, do beliefs. We won’t impose anything on you or your children. Come as you are, stay as long as you’d like. If you can’t find something worthwhile here, so long—it was fun while it lasted."
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Not so true...they do impose secular political beliefs on children...etc.
He goes on to say that he prefers:
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"I would describe it as “It’s like regular church—plus….”

But I think he fails to really explain the plus....he goes back to the same old same old reasons for their mission etc.  The "plus" he speaks of is not really any different than what he noted above as a complaint.  Just reiterating things does not make them new.

"And we should be liberal in sharing our faith as well. We should offer this faith freely. Now I think we do this fairly well with the children in our religious education programs. After all, we don’t just teach them about our neighboring faiths—we also teach them about our own."
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What is the "faith" that is taught ???  To me, it is a P.C. polyglot of ideas.  
This is where the AUC & Unitarian Christians could contribute.
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"I’m talking about Unitarian Universalists who are well-versed and comfortable in their faith, who are willing to speak up in their communities as people of faith, who truly believe that our congregations and our tradition have something of value to offer. I’m talking about people who are willing to offer this faith and all it calls us to do and be, with our heads and our hands and our hearts—mind, body, and spirit.

That, I believe, is a faith worth standing by.

--The Rev. Phillip Lund
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I am still waiting for this faith to be described...theologically, not as a series of secular talking points.
> God?
> Evolution of spirit?
> Jesus and other religious figures?
> Prayer / Meditation?
etc.

E, I don't have anything to add; just want to say thank you for sharing your observations with the rest of us. I contiue to be most appreciative of what you bring to this forum.

Fred