Workshop 8: Gently Down the Stream: Polity Part of Faith like a River In This Section Introduction From Faith Like a River As connected as we are—to friends, to family, to each other—we often feel ultimately on our own as we make our way through life, and that can be a... Workshop-at-a-Glance From Faith Like a River Activity Minutes Welcoming and Entering 0 Opening 5 Activity 1: What Is Polity?... Spiritual Preparation From Faith Like a River Consider what being part of a Unitarian Universalist congregation means to you.... Welcoming and Entering From Faith Like a River Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers, and tape Sign-in sheet and pen/pencil Name tags and markers Workshop 1, Leader Resource 1, Schedule Template... Opening From Faith Like a River Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Chalice, candle, and lighter or LED battery-operated candle Optional: Decorative cloth Preparation for... Activity 1: What Is Polity? From Faith Like a River Activity time: 25 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers, and tape Leader Resource 1, What is Polity?... Activity 2: Cambridge Platform From Faith Like a River Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity A copy of the story "The Cambridge Platform" Handout 1, Summary of Agreements from the Cambridge Platfo... Activity 3: The Historical Parade of Membership From Faith Like a River Activity time: 35 minutes Materials for Activity Leader Resource 2, The Historical Parade of Membership Newsprint, markers, and tape Your congregation's... Activity 4: Community of Congregations From Faith Like a River Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Leader Resource 3, A Community of Congregations Newsprint, markers, and tape Preparation for Activity... Closing From Faith Like a River Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Chalice, candle, and lighter or LED battery-operated candle Copies of Singing the Living Tradition, the... Leader Reflection and Planning From Faith Like a River After the workshop, co-leaders should talk together to evaluate this workshop and plan future workshops. Use these questions to guide your shared... Faith In Action: Lifting Up Covenantal Relationships From Faith Like a River Materials for Activity Covenant is Foundational to Congregational Polity on UUA.org Computer, projector, and speakers Newsprint, markers, and tape... Alternate Activity 1: Evolutions of Ordained Ministry From Faith Like a River Activity time: 25 minutes Materials for Activity Leader Resource 4, Evolutions of Ordained Ministry Congregational bylaws, ministerial covenant, words o... Alternate Activity 2: Debating Membership From Faith Like a River Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Leader Resource 2, The Historical Parade of Membership Leader Resource 5, Membership Debate Scenarios... Taking It Home: Gently Down the Stream: Polity From Faith Like a River As connected as we are—to friends, to family, to each other—we often feel ultimately on our own as we make our way through life, and that can be a... The Cambridge Platform From Faith Like a River In 1637, the settlers in what was to become the town of Dedham, Massachusetts, wanted to start a church. The problem was, the roughly 30 families didn't... Handout 1: Summary of Agreements from the Cambridge Platform, 1648 From Faith Like a River Here are some of the agreements made by the signers of the Cambridge Platform (or, more formally, as A Platform of Church Discipline Gathered Out of the... Handout 2: Signs of Membership: A Self-Reflective Exercise From Faith Like a River Conrad Wright writes, in Congregational Polity: A Historical Survey of Unitarian and Universalist Practice, that in the Unitarian Universalist tradition... Leader Resource 1: What is Polity? From Faith Like a River Definitions from Donald K. McKim, Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996). DEFINITIONS Polity... Leader Resource 2: The Historical Parade of Membership From Faith Like a River The notion that it is the right of every congregation to determine its own qualifications for membership is basic to congregational polity. Leader Resource 3: A Community of Congregations From Faith Like a River While freedom and independence were among the first concerns of those who founded the first Universalist churches and the precursors to the Unitarian... Leader Resource 4: Evolutions of Ordained Ministry From Faith Like a River Unitarian In the list of men who subscribed to the 1637 covenant of community of Dedham, Massachusetts appear the names John Allin and John Hunting. Leader Resource 5: Membership Debate Scenarios From Faith Like a River Make a copy of this resource and cut it in half, the PRO section on one half and the CON section on the other half. PRO: It is 1963, in Chicago, and you... Find Out More From Faith Like a River Commission on Appraisal, Interdependence: Renewing Congregational Polity (Boston: UUA, 1997) Hughes, Peter, ed. The Cambridge Platform: Contemporary... PREVIOUS: Find Out More UP: Faith like a River NEXT: Introduction Download all of Faith Like a River (Word) to edit or print.