Unitarianism first developed as an institutional movement during the Protestant Reformation in Europe. Transylvania and Poland, the countries where Unitarianism initially appeared, were far from the power centers of both the Catholic Church and the Magisterial, or mainstream, Reformation. It was...

Unitarian roots in North America stretch back to Puritan New England. Many of the original Puritan congregations, the oldest Protestant churches in the United States, are now Unitarian Universalist communities....

Activity time: 20 minutes Preparation for Activity Read the Earl Morse Wilbur words quoted in the activity description. Discuss with your co-facilitator the ways you find these values are-and are not-the dominant values in our faith tradition. Description of Activity Read aloud these words of the...

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Story, "The Cambridge Platform" Preparation for Activity Read the story "The Cambridge Platform" and copy it for all participants....

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 1, Socinianism Preparation for Activity Read Handout 1 and copy for all participants. Optional: Prearrange with a volunteer to read Handout 1 aloud....

Activity time: 25 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers, and tape Preparation for Activity Write on newsprint: "Power is the ability for individuals and groups to achieve purpose." Leave ample room for additional writing on the newsprint, and set aside. On a second sheet of newsprint,...

For more information about Socinianism, read Faustus Socinus defined early Unitarianism by Phillip Hewett, UU World November/December 2004. The complete text of The Cambridge Platform (1648) can be found http://books.google.com/books?id=aSkPAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Th…; For a thorough,...

Take a few moments right after the workshop to ask each other: What went well? What did not? Why? What do you think was the best moment of the workshop? Why? Did anything surprise you? Review the next workshop. Are there any questions to research or logistics to arrange between workshops? Make a...

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...

Materials for Activity Participant journals Writing materials, including paper, pens, pencils, color pencils, and markers Description of Activity Invite participants to consider power in their congregation, using these or similar words: Remembering the definition of power-the ability to achieve...

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Worship or centering table Chalice, candle, and lighter or LED battery-operated candle Time piece (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 Copies of 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....

As Unitarian Universalists living in a religiously pluralistic society, we are quite used to being able to discern our own beliefs and to choose (or not choose) a faith tradition to follow....

Activity Minutes Welcoming and Entering 0 Opening 10 Activity 1: Power and Authority 25 Activity 2: Challenging Religious Authority in 16th-century Poland 15 Activity 3: The Cambridge Platform and Congregational Polity 30 Faith in Action: Using Your Congregation's Power Closing 10 Alternate Activ...

...though we are forced to dissent from them in matters of church discipline, yet our dissent is not taken up out of arrogance of spirit in ourselves, whom they see willingly condescend to learn of them, neither is it carrier with uncharitable censoriousness towards them, both which are the prope...

From an article, "Prophetic Nonviolence," by Paul Rasor, which appeared in the Spring 2008 issue of UU World. Used with the author's permission. I believe we can move beyond this old divide by adopting an integrated model I call prophetic nonviolence....

This statement was passed on June 25, 2010 by the delegates to the 2010 General Assembly in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Unitarian Universalist theologians Dr. Sharon Welch, Dr. Dan McKanon, and Rev. Dr. Paul Rasor were consultants in the crafting of the statement, and all three spoke in support of it...

You will present a mock debate between two great Unitarian figures from the 20th century, William Howard Taft and John Haynes Holmes. Both men were passionate orators and spoke eloquently for their positions. Review their arguments, read the online materials on Taft and Holmes, and get ready to...

The 2006-2010 Study/Action Issue for the Unitarian Universalist Association asks the question: "Should the Unitarian Universalist Association reject the use of any and all kinds of violence and war to resolve disputes between peoples and nations and adopt a principle of seeking just peace through...

The exact meaning of the term "pacifism" can be difficult to pin down. It is used to refer to perspectives ranging from absolute rejection of violence of any kind to a principled refusal to engage in military activity and a belief that conflict among nations should never be resolved through war.