Reclaiming a Vocabulary of Reverence within Unitarian Universalism
May 27, 2003
Unitarian Universalism today is strong and vibrant. We continue to receive the attention of the media, and visitors are coming to our congregations as more become interested in our liberal faith. Can we make Unitarian Universalism even stronger by embracing language that will speak to our individual searches for truth and meaning? The Rev. David Bumbaugh, Unitarian Universalist minister and religious humanist, has called this language "a vocabulary of reverence." Bumbaugh writes, "We have manned the ramparts of reason and are prepared to defend the citadel of the mind. But in the process... we have lost... the ability to speak of that which is sacred, holy, of ultimate importance to us, the language which would allow us to enter into critical dialogue with the religious community."
In order to encourage your thoughts and reflection on how we might advance the dialogue and shape the ways in which we tell our own stories of faith, we offer these resources for your consideration.
Yours in Faith,
Rev. William G. Sinkford
Statements and Sermons
- Share the Good News with a world that badly needs it, by Rev. William G. Sinkford, UU World, March/April 2003
- The Language of Faith (PDF), by Rev. William G. Sinkford
- Reverence (PDF), by the Rev. Jennifer Brooks
- Reverence as the Language (PDF), by the Rev. Craig Hirshberg
- Reverence Revisited (PDF), by the Reverend Lucinda Duncan
- A Language of Reverence (PDF), by Axel H. Gehrmann
- The Soul and the Language of Reverence (PDF), by Enrique Gómez
- Religious Language: The Language of Reverence (PDF), by Dale Arnink
- Watch Your Language (PDF), by the Rev. Fredric J. Muir
- Motherhood and Apple Pie (PDF), by Rev. Katie Lee Crane
- Shedding the Shroud (PDF), by James Walters
- Living Words (PDF), by Sheila Schuh
- Winning the Peace (in the Middle East and the U.U.A.) (PDF), by Rev. Chris Buice
- The Road to 2073 (PDF, 6 pages), by David Bumbaugh
- Toward a Humanist Vocabulary of Reverence (PDF) by David Bumbaugh
- You Matter to God: the Heart of Universalism (PDF), by Barbara Wells
Media Coverage
- "Revisiting Unitarian Universalism," by Rich Barlow, Boston Globe, July 17, 2004
- "Unitarian Leader Urges Church to Recover Language of Faith," by Kevin Eckstrom published on Belief Net (also published in the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times)
- "Words of 'reverence' roil a church," by Michael Paulson, Boston Globe, June 28, 2003
- "A Heated Debate Flares In Unitarian Universalism," by Richard Higgins, The New York Times, May 17, 2003
Books and Writings
- "Language of Reverence", presented by Meadville Lombard Theological School, Lee Barker, President and Professor of Ministry, during the 2004 General Assembly Plenary I
- Heretics' Faith: A Vocabulary for Religious Liberals, by Rev. Dr. Fredric Muir
- With Purpose and Principle: Essays about the seven principles of Unitarian Universalism, edited by Edward Frost
- Our Seven Principles in Story and Verse: A Collection for Children and Adults, by Kenneth Collier
- A Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism, by Forrest Church and John A. Buehrens
For more information contact info@uua.org.
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Last updated on Friday, April 13, 2012.
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