Quote 1 —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 of 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. ---Universalist Bond of Fellowship (1935)

Quote 2 — "We look forward to the time when the power to love will replace the love of power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace." ---William Ellery Channing, 19th century Unitarian minister

Action 1: The American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America, for many decades, supported the same social justice programs. The liberal religions realized that their beliefs were not in conflict. Believing that they might eliminate duplication of work, improve their fiscal situations, and attract more new congregants if they were a larger institution, the two organizations starting talking about joining. After years of meetings and discussions outlining plans, they merged in 1961.

Quote 3 — "If we join our dreams with the dreams of so many other people, real change is possible; and it is the task of our faith to link those dreams and make them a reality." ---Abhi Janamanchi, Unitarian Universalist minister

Quote 4 — "[Faith] is an expression of unconfined zeal of spirit. It is for unsurrendered persons. Faith tries wings, follows illusions, challenges, urges, fails, conquers. It is more than the assurance of things not seen — it is an adventure after them. Belief digs itself into the trench of creed. Faith knows no horizons, can not live in crypts, behind padlocks. Faith is for eager and audacious persons. When belief takes the place of faith, creeds become paramount. When faith is dominant, deeds become the test." ---Clarence Skinner, 20th century Universalist minister and activist

Action 2: Thomas Potter builds a chapel and waits for God to send a preacher to spread the doctrine of Universalism.

Quote 5 — "I have an almost complete disregard of precedent and a faith in the possibility of something better. It irritates me to be told how things always have been done... I defy the tyranny of precedent. I cannot afford the luxury of a closed mind. I go for anything new that might improve the past." ---Clara Barton, 19th century Universalist nurse and founder of the American Red Cross

Quote 6 — "Freedom of each to utter means freedom of all to learn." ---Waitstill Sharp, 20th century Unitarian minister who with his wife, Martha, helped hundreds flee the Nazi holocaust.

Action 3: In 1539, Katherine Weigel is declared a heretic for her belief in one God and the humanity of Jesus. At the age of 80, she is burned at the stake in Poland for her refusal to denounce her faith.

Quote 7 — "If, recognizing the interdependence of all life, we strive to build community, the strength we gather will be our salvation. If you are black and I am white, It will not matter. If you are female, and I am male, It will not matter. If you are older and I am younger, It will not matter. If you are progressive and I am conservative, It will not matter. If you are straight and I am gay, It will not matter. If we join spirits as brothers and sisters, the pain of our aloneness will be lessened, and that does matter. In this spirit, we build community and move toward restoration." ---Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley, 20th century African American Unitarian Universalist minister and religious educator

Quote 8 — "Reason and intelligence are the most effective instruments that humankind possesses. There is no substitute: neither faith nor passion suffices in itself. The controlled use of scientific methods, which have transformed the natural and social sciences since the Renaissance, must be extended further in the solution of human problems... Reason should be balanced with compassion and empathy and the whole person fulfilled." ---Humanist Manifesto II (1973)

Action 4: In 1557, Queen Isabella issues the Edict of Toleration in the name of her son, the young King Sigismund, and her name, as his reagent. The Edict, a first of its kind, declares religious freedom for the people of Transylvania.