Workshop 6: Religious Freedom on the Margins of Empire

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Part of Resistance and Transformation: Unitarian Universalist Social Justice History

In This Section

Introduction
From Resistance and Transformation

…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…
Workshop-at-a-Glance
From Resistance and Transformation

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…
Spiritual Preparation
From Resistance and Transformation

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….
Welcoming and Entering
From Resistance and Transformation

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….
Opening
From Resistance and Transformation

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…
Activity 1: Power and Authority
From Resistance and Transformation

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,…
Activity 2: Challenging Religious Authority in 16th century Poland
From Resistance and Transformation

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 3: The Cambridge Platform and Congregational Polity
From Resistance and Transformation

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….
Closing
From Resistance and Transformation

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…
Leader Reflection and Planning
From Resistance and Transformation

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…
Faith In Action: Using Your Congregations Power
From Resistance and Transformation

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…
Alternate Activity 1: Are Freedom, Reason, and Tolerance Enough?
From Resistance and Transformation

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…
Taking It Home: Religious Freedom on the Margins of Empire
From Resistance and Transformation

…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…
The Cambridge Platform
From Resistance and Transformation

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….
Handout 1: Socinianism
From Resistance and Transformation

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…
Find Out More
From Resistance and Transformation

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,…

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The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Workshop 6: Religious Freedom on the Margins of Empire

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