Adin Ballou (1803-1890) was in varying turns both a Unitarian and a Universalist minister. He was actively involved in the movement to abolish slavery beginning in the late 1830s, until the abolition of slavery following the Civil War. He was also a leading theorist for the New England...

The passage of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 caused considerable conflict among the Unitarians of Boston. The Fugitive Slave Law required that runaway slaves be returned to their so-called masters. It also criminalized anyone who aided or harbored runaways....

Slavery has often been called America's original sin. Yet, white American Unitarians, like most white Americans, were slow to speak out against slavery as an immoral institution. The Unitarian minister William Ellery Channing (1780-1842) was no exception. Channing was a major voice for American...

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Leader Resource 5, Imagining a Parker/Gannett Debate Preparation for Activity Assign roles in advance of the workshop. Co-facilitators may want to play Parker and Gannett, or especially enthusiastic group members may be invited to take on this...

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Participant journals (Workshop 1) Writing paper and pens/pencils Alternate writing materials such as color pencils or markers Preparation for Activity Write these questions on newsprint, and post: Were there surprises in today's workshop? Is your...

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 2, Adin Ballou and Christian Non-Resistance Leader Resource 4, Adin Ballou, Portrait Optional: Computer and digital projector Preparation for Activity Review Handout 2. Make copies for participants. Prepare to project Leader Resource 4 or...

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 1, Collaboration or Confrontation? Leader Resource 2, Theodore Parker, Portrait Leader Resource 3, Ezra Stiles Gannett, Portrait Optional: Computer and digital projector Preparation for Activity Review Handout 1. Make copies for participants.

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Story, "Channing and the Response to Slavery" Leader Resource 1, William Ellery Channing, Portrait Optional: Computer and digital projector Preparation for Activity Read the story. Make copies for participants....

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Worship or centering table and chalice Participant journals Writing materials, including paper, pens, pencils, color pencils, and markers Taking It Home handout Preparation for Activity Customize the Taking It Home section of this workshop and copy...

Description of Activity Form groups of three. Invite each group to choose a contemporary social justice issue. You might suggest equal marriage, peacemaking, ethical eating, fair housing, or another issue important to your community and congregation....

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Worship or centering table Chalice, candle, and lighter or LED battery-operated candle Timepiece (minutes) Chime or bell Copies of Singing the Living Tradition, the UUA hymnbook, for all participants Optional: Cloth for worship/centering table...

Materials for Activity Sign-in sheet and pen or pencil Name tags for participants (durable or single-use), and bold markers Workshop 1, Handout 1, Schedule Optional: Refreshments Preparation for Activity Have copies of Workshop 1, Handout 1, Schedule on hand for those who need one. Using the...

From the Unitarian Universalist Association archives.

From the Library of Congress.

From the Library of Congress.

Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison. — Henry David Thoreau, "Civil Disobedience" In July of 1846, Henry David Thoreau was jailed for refusal to pay his taxes. Although he spent only one night in prison, this experience was the motivation...

Often, history is presented as a time line, highlighting the actions of extraordinary individuals and chronicling the events that shaped an era. However, not all change is effected in the same way. Even the most individualistic leader owes a debt to other people, communities, and ways of thinking.

Arthur Powell Davies did not start out as a Unitarian minister. He came to the United States in 1928 from England, as a minister in search of a "freer" strain of Methodism. Once he found his home in the Unitarian movement, he became one of the leading figures in the American Unitarian Association...

Margaret Fuller was born in 1810, at a time when women could not attend institutions of higher learning. Although brilliant, she was denied the educational opportunities enjoyed by her father and her male peers. She persevered in her education, on her own terms. She refused to accept the limited...

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers, and tape Optional: Newsprint list of your congregation's social justice projects (Workshop 1, Alternate Activity 1) Preparation for Activity Create a chart on newsprint with three columns, titled Prophetic, Parallel, and...