Workshop 2: Charles Chauncy

Beautiful orange sunset over a deep blue ocean. — Tapestry is Sunsetting

The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Part of What Moves Us: Unitarian Universalist Theology

In This Section

Introduction
From What Moves Us

And let me tell you, if you have indeed been renewed in the spirit of your minds, it will [show] it self in your lives. — Charles Chauncy This workshop introduces Charles Chauncy’s Theology of Spiritual Renewal. The workshop translates Chauncy’s mid-18th-century theological program for spiritual…
Workshop-at-a-Glance
From What Moves Us

Activity Minutes Opening 5 Activity 1: Four Human Capacities 20 Activity 2: Introducing Charles Chauncy 25 Activity 3: Testing Chauncy’s Ideas 20 Activity 4: Reflecting on Personal Experience 20 Closing 5…
Spiritual Preparation
From What Moves Us

Reflect on the following questions, looking for connections between your theology and Chauncy’s. You may wish to write your reflections in your theology journal. Have you ever had an experience that you would call “spiritual”? If so, describe the experience in your journal. Then, after you have…
Opening
From What Moves Us

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Small worship table and cloth Chalice, candle and lighter or LED battery-operated candle A copy of Singing the Living Tradition, the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook Newsprint, markers, and tape Optional: Microphone Preparation for Activity Set up th…
Activity 1: Four Human Capacities
From What Moves Us

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers, and tape Timepiece (minutes) Participant journals Variety of writing and drawing implements Preparation for Activity If participants may need journals, obtain notebooks with unlined pages. Gather a variety of writing and drawing…
Activity 2: Introducing Charles Chauncy
From What Moves Us

Activity time: 25 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers, and tape Newsprint sheet listing the four categories of experience (Activity 1) Story, “Introducing Charles Chauncy” Handout 1, Chauncy’s Four Categories of Experience Handout 2, From A Sermon on the Out-pouring of the Holy Ghos…
Activity 3: Testing Chauncy's Ideas
From What Moves Us

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers, and tape Participant journals Variety of writing and drawing implements Preparation for Activity Write questions for small groups on newsprint and post: Does it make sense to you to use Chauncy’s four categories as a guide for…
Activity 4: Reflecting on Personal Experience
From What Moves Us

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers, and tape Participant journals Variety of writing and drawing implements Timepiece (minutes) Optional: Bell or chime Optional: Microphone Preparation for Activity Prepare, but do not post, a sheet of newsprint with these prompts:…
Closing
From What Moves Us

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Small worship table and cloth Chalice, candle and lighter or LED battery-operated candle A copy of Singing the Living Tradition, the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook Taking It Home handouts for all participants Preparation for Activity Review the Tak…
Leader Reflection and Planning
From What Moves Us

After the workshop, co-leaders should make a time to get together to evaluate this workshop and plan future workshops. Use these questions to guide your shared reflection and planning: What have you learned about your own ability to explore personal experiences as part of your own strategy to…
Taking It Home: Charles Chauncy
From What Moves Us

And let me tell you, if you have indeed been renewed in the spirit of your minds, it will [show] it self in your lives. — Charles Chauncy (1705-1787) Think of a practice you might do to help you deepen your spiritual life. Try it and decide if, indeed, you have begun to construct a Unitarian…
Introducing Charles Chauncy
From What Moves Us

Charles Chauncy was the leading opponent of the Great Awakening, the Protestant evangelical movement that swept through the British North American colonies between 1739 and 1745. Chauncy was born into the elite Puritan merchant class that ruled Boston….
Handout 1: Chauncy's Four Categories of Experience
From What Moves Us

By Charles Chauncy. The Four Categories First: Sensations For traditional Christians like Chauncy, spiritual awakening is prompted by the minister’s sermon, and thus his voice, the sounds of the words impressing themselves upon the bodies (eardrums) of the congregants become the sensations first…
Handout 2: From A Sermon on the Out-Pouring of the Holy Ghost
From What Moves Us

Charles Chauncy preached this sermon May 13, 1742, at the First Church of Boston. Printed by T. Fleet, for D. Henchman and S. Eliot in Cornhill, 1742. Excerpts 3 and 5 include paraphrasing as well as direct quotes from the sermon. First Excerpt The Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit, as the word is…
Leader Resource 1: Charles Chauncy Portrait
From What Moves Us
Leader Resource 2: Chauncy's Theology in the Congregation
From What Moves Us

This is a 30-minute activity. Invite participants to explore ways Chauncy’s theology might illuminate the place of spirituality in your congregation. Use these questions as a guide: How does our congregation pay attention to spirituality development?…
Leader Resource 3: Engaging as Religious Professionals
From What Moves Us

This is a 30-minute activity. You may wish to write reflection questions on newsprint, and post. Invite participants to reflect on the place of Chauncy’s theology in contemporary Unitarian Universalism….
Find Out More
From What Moves Us

Edward M. Griffin, Old Brick: Charles Chauncy of Boston, 1705-1787 (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1980). Charles H. Lippy, Seasonable Revolutionary: The Mind of Charles Chauncy (Chicago: Nelson Hall, 1981). Conrad Wright, The Beginnings of Unitarianism in America (Hamden, CT: Archon…

Download all of What Moves Us (Word) (PDF) to edit or print.

The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Workshop 2: Charles Chauncy

Tapestry is Sunsetting

Shop Books & Gifts

Gracie Feeds the Birds

Get Inspired for Worship

Garden Prayer

Find Faith Development Tools

Red Bud