FAITH LIKE A RIVER
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Adults
WORKSHOP 7: WE'RE ALL SWIMMING IN THE STREAM TOGETHER – COVENANT
2011
BY JACKIE CLEMENT ALISON CORNISH
© Copyright 2011 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 9/29/2014 10:58:26 PM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
WORKSHOP OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
For I say—whether you ever heard, directly, of this little event in Dedham or not—to understand in any depth our liberal free church tradition, or to make much sense of deeply rooted everyday realities of Unitarian Universalist churches now, today, you must understand in your bones the historical importance of the spirit of love manifest in the doctrine of covenantal organization, as this little group of people in Dedham understood it in New England in 1637. — Alice Blair Wesley
This workshop considers the history and meaning of covenant in our religious tradition. It explores the difference between a covenant and a statement of belief and examines the importance of covenant in the free church tradition as it pertains to both freedom of thought and freedom of governance.
Before leading this workshop, review the Accessibility Guidelines for Workshop Presenters in the program Introduction. Prepare to accommodate individuals who may be in the group.
GOALS
This workshop will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
WORKSHOP-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Welcoming and Entering | 0 |
Opening | 5 |
Activity 1: What Is Covenant? | 35 |
Activity 2: A History of Statements of Belief | 30 |
Activity 3: Building a House of Covenant | 35 |
Faith in Action: Our Covenant | |
Closing | 5 |
Alternate Activity 1: A History of Covenant | 25 |
Alternate Activity 2: The Unitarian Universalist Principles | 30 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
Read your congregation's covenant and the ones commonly used by contemporary Unitarian Universalist congregations found in Handout 1, Congregational Covenants. Take time to consider the meaning of these covenants in the congregation and in your life. You may wish to light a candle or in some way create a sacred space and moment to deeply connect with the meaning, the joys and the responsibilities of being together in religious community.
You may wish to ask participants to engage in this same spiritual practice so that they, too, arrive at the workshop centered and ready to engage with the material and the group.
WORKSHOP PLAN
WELCOMING AND ENTERING
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Welcome everyone to the workshop as they enter. Ask them to sign in, make (or pick up) name tags, and pick up the schedule and time line handouts from the welcome table. Point out the posted agenda for this workshop.
Including All Participants
Write the agenda in large, clear lettering and post it where it will be easily visible to all participants. Provide name tags large enough and markers bold enough so names will be easily visible.
OPENING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Light the chalice and share these words:
We light this chalice as a beacon of the free church tradition,
a tradition that lives on in us,
a tradition that calls us together by covenant,
by mutual promise to walk together in the ways of faith.
May ours be a community of love that calls us ever to peace, hope, justice.
ACTIVITY 1: WHAT IS COVENANT? (35 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Read or tell the story "The Agreement."
Then, call participants' attention to the covenant they made with one another in Workshop 1. Ask:
Distribute Handout 1, Congregational Covenants. Invite participants to read aloud together either the congregation's covenant or one of the two commonly used covenants on the handout. Invite participants to choose a conversation partner to consider:
Allow 10 minutes for this conversation.
Then, indicate the definition of covenant that you have written on newsprint. Engage discussion, using these questions:
ACTIVITY 2: A HISTORY OF STATEMENTS OF BELIEF (30 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Explain that the tradition of covenantal organization comes from our Unitarian roots and stretches back to the New England Puritans. Our Universalist forebears (and, at various times, our Unitarian forebears as well) sought to name what held them together, choosing to articulate a set of shared theological understandings about the nature and responsibilities of humanity and the nature of God.
Distribute Handout 2, A Collection of Covenants and Statements of Belief. Then, present the information from Leader Resource 2, A History of Statements of Belief. As you go along, pause where indicated on Leader Resource 2 to read (or have a volunteer read) the text of a statement of belief from Handout 2. Point out the date of each statement of belief on the Time Line of UU History. After each text reading, ask the group to consider and respond to the two questions you have posted.
Invite participants to consider two documents from the two different strands of our tradition: the Universalist Winchester Profession of 1803 and Unitarian minister William Channing Gannett's "Things Commonly Believed Today Among Us" from 1887.
Lead the group to compare the documents:
What seeds of theological agreement do you observe that foreshadow the eventual merger of the Unitarians and the Universalists?
Conclude by asking for general comments about the evolution of beliefs in both the Unitarian and Universalist traditions, and about the ongoing efforts to include, rather than exclude, those whose conscience compelled them to believe something outside the denominational mainstream.
ACTIVITY 3: BUILDING A HOUSE OF COVENANT (35 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Participants each construct a "House of Covenant," based either on your congregation's covenant or a sample covenant.
Distribute Handout 3, Building a House of Covenant and Handout 4, House of Covenant Template. Make sure each participant has Handout 1, Congregational Covenants.
Explain the project in these or similar words:
First, cut out the house template (if this has not already been done).
Then, follow the suggestions on Handout 3, Building a House of Covenant for each part of the house—the foundation, roof, walls, and doors and windows.
Decorate your house with the appropriate elements of your covenant. You might use words, pictures, or colors to represent each element. There is no one way to construct a house—or a covenant!
When you are done decorating, assemble the house using tape or glue. As you work, you are invited to share with each other your own interpretations of the covenant.
When creations are complete, consider displaying them for the rest of the congregation to admire.
Including All Participants
Not all participants will consider themselves artistic, so, provide supplies that invite expression without requiring drawing ability. Printed copies of a covenant that can be cut up, printed clip art, and old magazines can provide a source of inspiration and artwork.
CLOSING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Distribute Taking It Home. Announce the date, time, and place of the next workshop and any other "housekeeping" information. Request or remind volunteers if you want participants to read material aloud or perform other roles at the next meeting.
Invite participants to gather around the chalice. Share these words of Martin Buber:
The real essence of community is to be found in the fact—manifest or otherwise—that it has a center. The real beginning of a community is when its members have a common relation to the center overriding all other relations; the circle is described by its radii, not by the points along its circumference.
Extinguish the chalice.
FAITH IN ACTION: OUR COVENANT
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Learn the history of how your congregation came to adopt its covenant or came to use a common Unitarian Universalist covenant.
Name the ways in which you see the idea of covenant embodied in your congregation, whether that covenant is specifically written out or not. What are the ways your community builds mutually beneficial relationships? What milestones along the way led your congregation to work together and create or adopt a covenant?
Covenants rarely define the remedies or courses of action to take if the covenant is broken. Consider ways in which congregations might bring people back into right relationship when the covenant has been broken or a relationship has been damaged. Does your congregation have such remedies? Are they inherent in a covenant or must the remedies be specifically spelled out?
Identify strategies your congregation currently uses. Explore how you might broaden the list of actions currently used to establish or re-establish right relationship.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
After the workshop, co-leaders should talk together to evaluate this workshop and plan future workshops. Use these questions to guide your shared reflection and planning:
TAKING IT HOME
For I say—whether you ever heard, directly, of this little event in Dedham or not—to understand in any depth our liberal free church tradition, or to make much sense of deeply rooted everyday realities of Unitarian Universalist churches now, today, you must understand in your bones the historical importance of the spirit of love manifest in the doctrine of covenantal organization, as this little group of people in Dedham understood it in New England in 1637. — Alice Blair Wesley
Covenants have a historical role at the core of our Unitarian Universalist tradition, but agreements of relationship and behavior, based on shared values, are used in many aspects of life. Besides your faith community, where else in your life do covenants exist? Are the covenants implicit or explicit? Are there areas of your life where no covenant exists now, but where you might adopt one?
Consider your family life. What shared values do you celebrate? What are the shared expectations of behavior and relationship? How do you come back into right relationship when there is a misunderstanding or breach? Consider writing a family covenant. What would it include?
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: A HISTORY OF COVENANT (25 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Take about ten minutes to present the contents of Leader Resource 1, A History of Covenant. Indicate key events on the time line as you present the material.
Tell participants you will ask them to form small groups to consider the way in which a covenantal organizing structure differs from one where a congregation is organized around a set of beliefs. Invite participants to move into groups of three while you post the list you prepared on newsprint. Provide each triad with markers and two sheets of plain paper, and invite them to draw a diagram showing a congregation organization along creedal or belief lines and one organized along covenantal lines. Ask them to include the three concepts you have listed on newsprint however they wish to in the diagrams.
Allow triads ten minutes to work. Then invite each group to present their diagrams.
Invite responses to these questions:
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 2: UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST PRINCIPLES (30 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Distribute Handout 5, The Unitarian Universalist Principles. Explain that the handout shows two versions of the Unitarian Universalist Principles. The first version was adopted at the consolidation of the two denominations in 1961 and the second was adopted by the General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association in 1985 and amended in 1995.
Invite participants to read the handout. When everyone has done so, take ten minutes to lead a discussion of the questions you have posted on newsprint.
Next, read this excerpt from the Commission on Appraisal's 2005 report Engaging Our Theological Diversity:
The exceptional popularity of the Principles as a guiding statement of common commitment among individual Unitarian Universalists has been surprising. The committee that steered the process leading to the near-unanimous adoption of the Principles and Purposes never anticipated the various uses to which their work would be put. Their charge was simply to propose an amended statement of purpose for the Bylaws, replacing the statement adopted at the time of consolidation in 1961—a document that many denominational activists had come to view as dated in terms of language and political fashion. However, as Warren Ross comments in The Premise and the Promise, "To an astonishing extent today's Principles and Purposes... have won a lasting place in Unitarian Universalist hearts and have been woven intimately into the fabric of our denominational life."
Invite participants to move into groups of four and discuss how they feel about the Principles and Sources, as a covenant, as a statement of belief, and as a religious document. Allow ten minutes for group conversations. Then re-gather the large group and invite small groups to share briefly.
Explain that although the Principles are an important guiding document, they were never meant to be carved in stone for all time, and, in fact, a review of the Principles began in 2008. Ask participants to consider the thoughts expressed in their small group discussions and reflect on what changes they would wish to see in a revision of the Principles.
FAITH LIKE A RIVER: WORKSHOP 7:
STORY: THE AGREEMENT
By Barry Lopez.
One time...before there were any people walking around this valley there were bear people. They had an agreement with the salmon....The salmon would come upriver every fall and the bears would acknowledge this and take what they needed. This is the way it was with everything. Everyone lived by certain agreements and courtesies. But the salmon people and the bear people had made no agreement with the river. It had been overlooked. No one thought it was even necessary. Well, it was. One fall the river pulled itself back into the shore trees and wouldn't let the salmon enter from the ocean. Whenever they would try, the river would pull back and leave the salmon stranded on the beach. There was a long argument, a lot of talk. Finally the river let the salmon enter. But when the salmon got up into this country where the bears lived the river began to run in two directions at once, north on one side, south on the other, roaring, heaving, white water, and rolling big boulders up on the banks. Then the river was suddenly still. The salmon were afraid to move. The bears were standing behind the trees, looking out. The river said in the middle of all this silence that there had to be an agreement. No one could just do something, whatever they wanted. You couldn't just take someone for granted.
So for several days they spoke about it. The salmon said who they were and where they came from, and the bears spoke about what they did, what powers they had been given, and the river spoke about its agreement with the rain and the wind and the crayfish and so on. Everybody said what they needed and what they would give away. Then a very odd thing happened—the river said it loved the salmon. No one had ever said anything like this before. No one had taken this chance. It was an honesty that pleased everyone. It made for a very deep agreement among them.
Well they were able to reach an understanding about their obligations to each other and everyone went (their) way. This remains unchanged. Time has nothing to do with this. This is not a story. When you feel the river shuddering against your legs, you are feeling the presence of all these agreements.
FAITH LIKE A RIVER: WORKSHOP 7:
HANDOUT 1: CONGREGATIONAL COVENANTS
OUR CONGREGATION'S COVENANT
(Leader: Add the text of your congregation's covenant to this handout before copying for the group.)
COVENANTS COMMONLY USED IN UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CONGREGATIONS
Love is the doctrine of this church,
The quest of truth is its sacrament,
And service is its prayer.
To dwell together in peace,
To seek knowledge in freedom,
To serve human need,
To the end that all souls shall grow into harmony with the Divine-
Thus do we covenant with each other and with God.
— Arranged by L. Griswold Williams
Love is the spirit of this church,
and service is its law.
This is our great covenant:
To dwell together in peace,
To seek the truth in love,
And to help one another.
— James Vila Blake
In the freedom of truth,
And the spirit of Jesus,
We unite for the worship of God
And the service of all.
— Charles Gordon Ames
FAITH LIKE A RIVER: WORKSHOP 7:
HANDOUT 2: A COLLECTION OF COVENANTS AND STATEMENTS OF BELIEF
Rule of Faith, Philadelphia Convention of Universalists (1790)
Section 1. OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. We believe the scriptures of the old and new Testament to contain a revelation of the perfections and will of God, and the rule of faith and practice.
Section 2. OF THE SUPREME BEING. We believe in one God, infinite in all his perfections; and that these perfections are all modifications of infinite, adorable, incomprehensible and unchangeable love.
Section 3. OF THE MEDIATOR. We believe that there is one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; who by giving himself a ransom for all, hath redeemed them to God by his blood; and who, by the merit of his death and the efficacy of his spirit, will finally restore the whole human race to happiness.
Section 4. OF THE HOLY GHOST. We believe in the Holy Ghost, whose office it is to make known to sinners the truth of this salvation, through the medium of the holy scriptures, and to reconcile the hearts of the children of men to God, and thereby dispose them to genuine holiness.
Section 5. OF GOOD WORKS. We believe in the obligation of the moral law as to the rule of life; and we hold that the love of God manifested to man in a redeemer, is the best means of producing obedience to that law, and promoting a holy, active and useful life.
Winchester Profession, New England Convention of Universalists (1803)
Article I. We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments contain a revelation of the character of God, and of the duty, interest and final destination of mankind.
Article II. We believe that there is one God, whose nature is Love, revealed in one Lord Jesus Christ, by one Holy Spirit of Grace, who will finally restore the whole family of mankind to holiness and happiness.
Article III. We believe that holiness and true happiness are inseparably connected, and that believers ought to be careful to maintain order and practise good works; for these things are good and profitable unto men.
As we believe these to be truths which deeply concern the honor of the Divine character and the interests of man, we do hereby declare that we continue to consider ourselves, and our societies in fellowship, a Denomination of Christians, distinct and separate from those who do not approve the whole of this Profession of Belief, as expressed in the three above Articles.
...Yet while we, as an Association, adopt a general Profession of Belief and Plan of Church Government, we leave it to the several Churches and Societies, or to smaller associations of churches, if such should be formed, within the limits of our General Association, to continue or adopt within themselves, such more particular articles of faith, or modes of discipline, as may appear to them best under their particular circumstances, provided they do not disagree with our general Profession and Plan.
And while we consider that every Church possesses within itself all the powers of self-government, we earnestly and affectionately recommend to every Church, Society, or particular Association, to exercise the spirit of Christian meekness and charity towards those who have different modes of faith or practice, that where the brethren cannot see alike, they may agree to differ; and let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Boston Declaration, Universalist General Convention (1899)
The conditions of fellowship in this Convention shall be as follows: The acceptance of the essential principles of the Universalist faith, to wit: The Universal Fatherhood of God; The Spiritual authority and leadership of His Son, Jesus Christ; The trustworthiness of the Bible as containing a revelation from God; The certainty of just retribution for sin; The final harmony of all souls with God.
The Winchester Profession is commended as containing these principles, but neither this nor any other precise form of words is required as a condition of fellowship, provided always that the principles above stated be professed.
Universalist Bond of Fellowship (1935)
The bond of fellowship in this Convention shall be a common purpose to do the will of God as Jesus revealed it and to co-operate in establishing the Kingdom for which he lived and died.
To that end, we avow our faith in God as Eternal and All-Conquering Love, in the spiritual leadership in Jesus, in the supreme worth of every human personality, in the authority of truth known or to be known, and in the power of men of goodwill and sacrificial spirit to overcome evil and progressively establish the Kingdom of God.
National Conference of Unitarian Churches Statement of Purpose (1865)
Whereas, the great opportunities and demands for Christian labor and consecration at this time increase our sense of the obligations of all disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ to prove their faith by self-denial and by the devotion of their lives and possessions to the service of God and the building up of the Kingdom of his Son, therefore, the Christian churches of the Unitarian faith here assembled unite themselves in a common body to the end of reorganizing and stimulating the denomination with which they are connected to the largest exertions in the cause of Christian faith and work.
Things Common Believed Today Among Us, William Channing Gannett, Western Unitarian Conference, 1887
The Western Conference has neither the wish nor the right to bind a single member by declarations concerning fellowship or doctrine. Yet it thinks some practical good may be done by setting forth in simple words the things most commonly believed among us—the Statement being always open to re-statement and to be regarded only as the thought of the majority.
All names that divide "religion" are to us of little consequence compared with religion itself. Whoever loves Truth and lives the Good is, in a broad sense, of our religious fellowship; whoever loves the one or lives the other better than ourselves is our teacher, whatever church or age he may belong to.
The general faith is hinted well in words which several of our churches have adopted for their covenant: "In the freedom of the Truth and in the spirit of Jesus Christ, we unite for the worship of God and the service of man." It is hinted in such words as these: "Unitarianism is a religion of love to God and love to man." Because we have no "creed" which we impose as a condition of fellowship, specific statements of belief abound among us, always somewhat differing, always largely agreeing. One such we offer here:
FAITH LIKE A RIVER: WORKSHOP 7:
HANDOUT 3: BUILDING A HOUSE OF COVENANT
Parts of a covenant include:
The Foundation
Alice Blair Wesley in her 2000-01 Minns Lecture series "Our Covenant" paraphrased James Luther Adams, saying,
Strong effective, lively liberal churches, sometimes capable of altering positively the direction of their whole society, will be those liberal churches whose lay members can say clearly, individually and collectively, what are their own most important loyalties, as church members.
The foundation of a house is the most solid element upon which the rest is built. Which element of your covenant is the most fundamental for you? What is your most important loyalty? What words in your covenant express this? Express this near the base of your house model.
The Walls
A covenant provides us with a definition of boundaries. It lays out the behaviors, actions, and responsibilities that define our communities. Like the walls of a house, our covenant provides the defining shape of our community. What parts of your covenant define the shape of your life together? Express this on the walls of your house.
The Roof
A covenant provides a safe space for spiritual exploration, just as a roof provides us safety from storms and sun. Which parts of your covenant provide you shelter? Express this on the roof of your house.
Doors and Windows
Although our covenants define the shape of our communities and define their boundaries of belonging, they were never designed to be exclusive, to wall us off from others or to wall us in. Like the doors of a house, our covenants must allow us the freedom to enter and depart. They must provide a welcome for others. Like the windows of a house, they should also help us to see beyond our own walls. In what ways does your covenant welcome others into your house? In what ways does it provide you insight into the faith of others? In what ways does it provide you freedom? Express this on the doors and windows of your house.
To assemble your house after you have cut it out and decorated it:
FAITH LIKE A RIVER: WORKSHOP 7:
HANDOUT 4: HOUSE OF COVENANT TEMPLATE
FAITH LIKE A RIVER: WORKSHOP 7:
HANDOUT 5: THE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST PRINCIPLES
Unitarian Universalist Principles (1961)
The Association, dedicated to the principles of a free faith, shall:
(a) Support the free and disciplined search for truth as the foundation of religious fellowship;
(b) Cherish and spread the universal truths taught by the great prophets and teachers of humanity in every age and tradition, immemorially summarized in the Judeo-Christian heritage as love to God and love to humankind;
(c) Affirm, defend, and promote the supreme worth and dignity of every human personality, and the use of the democratic method in human relationships;
(d) Implement the vision of one world by striving for a world community founded on ideals of brotherhood, justice, and peace;
(e) Serve the needs of member societies;
(f) Organize new churches and fellowships and otherwise extend and strengthen liberal religion;
(g) Encourage cooperation among people of good will in every land.
Unitarian Universalist Principles (1985)
We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote
The living tradition which we share draws from many sources:
Grateful for the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision. As free congregations we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support.
FAITH LIKE A RIVER: WORKSHOP 7:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: A HISTORY OF COVENANT
The free church tradition of which we are a part does not offer up a creed, a certain set of beliefs, that everyone must accept in order to belong to the community. Instead, the boundaries of our community are determined by commitment and participation. Our central question is not "What do we believe?" but rather "What values will we uphold and how will we do this together?" Our covenant, the promises we make to each other in regarding how to we will be a community of faith, is at the heart of what it means to be Unitarian Universalist.
The notion of covenant is an ancient one. It is a central theme of both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. When the early Puritans came to America looking to form a new type of church, they chose to gather their churches using the ancient form of covenant. These first churches in America were created by mutual consent for mutual benefit in a time and place where survival depended on mutual cooperation, but they were not formed solely from need. They were also a reaction to a form of church organization that not only required everyone to subscribe to a certain set of beliefs and also put all power and control into the hands of a church hierarchy. It is important to remember that our freedom of belief is closely tied to our freedom of self-governance, or congregational polity (See Workshop 8, Gently Down the Stream — Polity).
By today's definitions, neither the Pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony nor the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony would be understood as either democratically governed or theologically diverse by today's definitions. They did, however, lay the basis for the values of congregational polity and theological diversity which ground our contemporary faith communities. The Cambridge Platform of Church Discipline written by the New England Puritans in 1648 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, describes the form this new church governance was to take. In The American Creed, Forrest Church paraphrases the Puritans' essential covenant as this:
We pledge to walk together
In the ways of truth and affection,
As best we know them now
Or may learn them in the days to come,
That we and our children may be fulfilled
And that we may speak to the world
In words and actions
Of peace and goodwill.
The Cambridge Platform goes on to define, in some detail, just what constitutes a church. Yet, this, a simple promise to walk together in the ways of truth and affection, remains the basis of the document.
The Puritans held a Calvinist theology; they believed that some people were elected for salvation by God. For the Puritans, a church was to be a voluntary gathering of select individuals who, by their "personall and publick confession" of a faith conversion and "blamless obedience to the word," were presumed to be among those chosen for salvation, the "Saints by calling."
While all who lived in the parish were expected at church services and gatherings, only those who were true members of the church, the Saints by calling, were admitted to communion, had a say in the affairs of the church, or had their children baptized. This led to problems, however, by the third generation, public professions of religious conversion decreased. In 1662, a synod of churches adopted the Half-Way Covenant in order to deal with the problem of falling membership. The Half-Way Covenant permitted not only the baptism of the children of Saints, as the Cambridge Platform had, but also baptism of the children of the children of the Saints. This was designed to keep the children within the community of the church with the hope that they would, one day, receive personal conversion. The Half-Way Covenant was controversial, but and ultimately did not solve the problems of dwindling conversion experiences and falling membership. The distinctions of election and sainthood fell away over the years, but the essential core of the Cambridge Platform remained. Churches still gathered by covenant, a voluntary and mutual promise to walk in the ways of truth and affection as best they were known. Over time, congregations adopted new wording to reflect their own covenants.
Around 1880, the Rev. Charles Gordon Ames, minister of the Spring Garden Unitarian Society in Philadelphia, wrote a covenant for his congregation. An adaptation can be found as Reading 472 in Singing the Living Tradition. In 1894 the Unitarian church of Evanston, Illinois, adopted the covenant written by its minister, Rev. James Vila Blake. This covenant, too, can be found in the current hymnbook, Singing the Living Tradition as Reading 473.
A survey taken of 459 Unitarian churches at the turn of the twentieth century showed that 90 churches used some variation of Ames' wording while 111 others used locally devised wording. In the book, Congregational Polity, Conrad Wright reports of these covenants that "some were highly theological, others purely business in character having no spiritual purpose, and still others 'evidently resurrected from the tomb of oblivion, for the benefit of the (survey).'"
A more recent survey, conducted by the UUA's Commission on Appraisal for their 2005 report Engaging Our Theological Diversity, asked congregations if they regularly used words of covenant in worship. Responses from 370 congregations showed that 42 used the words of covenant as penned by L. Griswold Williams or an adaption of them. Forty-one congregations reported using the covenant written by Blake, or an adaptation. Nine congregations said they used a covenant that combines the words of both Williams and Blake and four congregations reported using an adaptation of the Ames covenant.
FAITH LIKE A RIVER: WORKSHOP 7:
LEADER RESOURCE 2: A HISTORY OF STATEMENTS OF BELIEF
The concepts of voluntary association and freedom of belief were important in the developing Universalist faith, as they were in Unitarianism. Just as the Cambridge Platform of the Puritans was to set the stage for Unitarian societies in North American, so the early history of Universalism in America has its defining documents.
As Universalism was gaining adherents in the late 18th century there was a call for organization and a national meeting of Universalist societies. The first wider meeting was held at Oxford, Massachusetts in 1785. However, many use the founding of the Philadelphia Convention of Universalists in 1790 to mark the organization of Universalism as a denomination. The 1790 meeting in Philadelphia adopted two documents —the Rule of Faith and the Plan of Church Government which set parameters for the new denomination. The Plan of Church Government called for the autonomy of congregations on matters of faith and practice. The Rule of Faith called for a common theological understanding based in Christian scripture and dedicated to a life of good works through belief in the Holy Trinity and universal salvation.
(Leader: Pause and invite participants to read, "Rule of Faith, Philadelphia Convention of Universalists" from Handout 2. Lead a discussion using the questions you have posted on newsprint.)
Two years later, the Universalist churches of New England petitioned the Philadelphia Convention for permission to meet separately based on the hardship of travel for meetings, and the New England Convention was born. At their 1803 meeting in Winchester, New Hampshire, the New England Convention adopted what came to be a long-standing statement of faith known as the Winchester Profession. The Winchester Profession provided somewhat less theological definition while maintaining its belief in Christian scripture, the Holy Trinity, a life of good works, and universal salvation.
The adoption of the Winchester Profession did not come easily. The disagreement turned not on a point of theology, but on whether requiring any statement of belief at all was acceptable. Some felt that a statement of belief was necessary to clearly distinguish Universalism from among the various Christian beliefs being preached. Others felt that any statement, however broad, was limiting to personal conscience. Ultimately, the New England Convention adopted the Winchester Profession, with a Liberty Clause which allowed individual societies or groups of societies to adopt additional articles of belief provided these did not conflict with the beliefs laid out in the Profession.
(Leader: Pause and invite participants to read "Winchester Profession" from Handout 2. Lead a discussion using the questions you have posted on newsprint.)
In 1899, a further statement of faith was adopted by the Universalist General Convention in Chicago. What came to be known as the Boston Declaration reaffirmed a strong foundation in Christianity while maintaining room for individual conscience.
(Leader: Pause to read aloud, or have a volunteer read, "Boston Declaration" from Handout 2. Lead a discussion using the questions you have posted on newsprint.)
The importance of a life of good works was prominent in the Bond of Fellowship drawn up in 1935. Here, theological belief is broadened, and the social basis of Universalism is emphasized. This seems a clear reflection of influence of the Social Gospel movement of that the early 20th century, which called for a socially conscious form of religion that would apply the teachings of Jesus to the problems of the day: such as poverty, injustice, war, and poor education.
(Leader: Pause to read aloud, or have a volunteer read, "Universalist Bond of Fellowship" from Handout 2. Lead a discussion using the questions you have posted on newsprint.)
While the Unitarian side of our history has fewer examples of affirmations of belief, it is not wholly without them. In their annual report of 1853 the officers of the American Unitarian Association (AUA) set forth a statement of their beliefs. According to Earl Morse Wilbur in Our Unitarian Heritage, this statement aimed to defend Unitarianism against orthodox Christians' criticisms of rationalism and radicalism. Since the AUA was, at that time, an association of individuals rather than an association of congregations, and the statement of beliefs came from the officers rather than the entirety of its membership, this statement did not necessarily voice a widely-accepted creed.
Twelve years later, in 1865, the National Conference of Unitarian Churches was founded. Its Statement of Purpose sets out an unmistakably Christian vision.
(Leader: Pause to read aloud, or have a volunteer read, "National Conference of Unitarian Churches Statement of Purpose" from Handout 2. Lead a discussion using the questions you have posted on newsprint.)
William Channing Gannett, Unitarian minister and a leader in the Western Unitarian Conference in the late 19th century, is remembered as both an outspoken opponent of creedalism and author of the statement "Things Most Commonly Believed Today Among Us." While Gannett in no way meant his statement as a creed, it was an attempt to articulate the Unitarian beliefs of the day, and thereby answer challenges regarding over the theological basis of Unitarianism. The statement won wide support at an 1887 meeting of the Western Unitarian Conference.
(Leader: Pause to read aloud, or have a volunteer read the first two paragraphs of, "Things Most Commonly Believed Today Among Us" from Handout 2. Invite participants to silently read the bullet points. Lead a discussion using the questions you have posted on newsprint.)
Today, still, no creed stands as a basis of membership in our societies. Freedom of belief and conscience, as along with freedom of association, is an active legacy of both our Universalist and Unitarian forebears.
FIND OUT MORE
Engaging Our Theological Diversity (at www.uua.org/documents/coa/engagingourtheodiversity.pdf), the 2005 Unitarian Universalist Association Commission on Appraisal Report
Hughes, Peter, ed. The Cambridge Platform (Boston: Skinner House, 2008)
Wesley, Alice Blair. Our Covenant: The 2000-01 Minns Lectures. (Meadville Lombard Theological School Press, 2002)
There is considerable information about the history and legacy of the Cambridge Platform on the website of the United Church of Christ, with whom Unitarian Universalists share a polity that is rooted in the Cambridge Platform.