Universalist Quote of the Day #81

“We have been in the habit of treating our opposers with a respect and good manners that they have not known how to appreciate.  They have despised us for our very gentleness; attributing it to our weakness, or construing it to an admission, on our part, that they were to be respected for the popularity of their creed.  But I confess, that I can see no reason, why the man whose creed is made of equal parts of fire and brimstone, and other barbarian follies, should be entitled to more respect, than the more refined and Christian man, who beholds in God, a father, and in the whole world, a brotherhood.  I indeed, do highly respect the good and intelligent among our opposers–the generous man is always to be loved–but, for all social and spiritual purposes, I hold them not a whit the better for their barbarous creed.”

–Charles Chauncey Burr, A Review of Rev. Mr. Lane’s Lectures Against Universalism, in Six Numbers, Containing Critical and Argumentative Remarks of Every Passage in the Bible Which the Advocates of Endless Misery Quote to Support That Doctrine. Troy: Cannon Place Printing Office, 1844: 4-5.

A Special General Assembly to Require All UUA District Trustess to Listen to Their Constituents

UU historian and minister Elz Curtiss discusses the Reformation, Catholicism, and UU history in one fell swoop on her most recent blog post at PolityWonk. All of this leads to a call for a Special General Assembly to require that UUA District Trustees go on an annual listening tour and take questions from the congregations they represent on the Board. Here’s the text of the Bylaw amendment she wants this Special GA to pass:

“Every trustee shall visit every congregation or congregational cluster in her or his district every year. These visits shall be scheduled with and announced to the congregation or cluster not less than four months in advance. Each visit is to include a tour of the facilities and acquaintance with the congregational financial health, as well as not less than 60 minutes for open question and answer conversation with any members who choose to attend. Follow-up questions are permitted and the trustees are entitled to request time to research and write a full answer. These answers are to be submitted within a month and prominently posted in congregational media.”

It’s not clear exactly how serious she is about this proposal, but it’s worth considering. There’s never been a Special General Assembly called, although it’s not all that difficult (you need fifty sponsoring congregations, with no more than twenty from any single district). Requiring District Representatives who sit on the UUA Board of Trustees to be more accountable to their representees is certainly a worthy mission.

Universalist Quote of the Day #80

“We reject the doctrine of the Trinity, and affirm that God is one only; and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, inferior and subordinate to him, but sanctified, and gifted, and exalted, by him, above all other beings, angels and men; and sent into the world as his Image, the Brightness of his glory, the Representative of his truth and love, the Example, the Sanctifier and Saviour of the world.”

–Thomas Thayer, Theology of Universalism.  Boston: Tompkins and Company, 1862: 122-123

Does Your Church Change the Hymns? Does it Bother You?

Ms. Kitty brought up an important point in relation to today’s trivia question.  UU churches often change the lyrics to hymns, prayers, etc, including in some of the most commonly used ones, such as Go Now in Peace.  Your fearless blogger once attended a UU church and, turning to the page for “Go Now in Peace” in the hymnal in preparation to sing the children off to Sunday School, discovered the word “God” literally struck out with a line of ink, and “love” penciled in above it.

Does your church change hymn lyrics?  Does that bother you, or does it seem like a good idea in the pursuit of inclusion for all?  Is it just God that gets struck out?  Are there other terms you routinely see discarded?

Go Now in Peace and Spirit of Life: The Answer to Today’s Quiz

Congrats to Philocrites, who quickly guessed today’s answer.  The most commonly sung hymn in UU churches is “Go Now in Peace.” The reason for this is that it is the most popular children’s recessional, and therefore occurs in most congregations that have a separate Sunday School program. Interestingly, the words are often altered from those in the hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition. Whereas the final line exclaims “May the love of God go with you,” many churches actually sing the line as “May the spirit of love surround you.”

If we look at hymns that are actually sung as hymns, then the most common one is “Spirit of Life.” This is definitely a song that is not only widely appreciated as praxis, but also has made a theological impact on many singers. However, like all things UU, it also has its detractors, with a vocal minority who actively dislike it.

Universalist Quote of the Day #79

“I ask you also, my dear sir, to view well the contrast between yourself and Stephen.  He, ‘full of the Holy Ghost,’ dragged along by the infuriate mob, and stoned to death by the cruel enemies of the cross, prays for a blessing on his murderers, and imprecates no wo, no implacable vengeance; while you, in cold blood, and in preaching, good news, glad tidings of great joy, ‘foretell the ceaseless torments of your very friends!”

–B.B. Hallock, Letters to Rev. E.F. Hatfield in Review of Two Lectures Against Universalism Delivered by Him in the Seventh Presbyterian Church, Broome Street, on Sunday Evenings, January 5th and 12th.  New York: Universalist Union Press, 1840: 28.

UU Trivia Question of the Day #44

Unitarian-Universalists sometimes like to make fun of themselves as “the frozen chosen,” but truthfully many congregations include a lot of music in their services. Hymns are a venerable staple of UU services, and hymns are recognized by many these days as a source of theology. Within contemporary UUism, there are two hymns that are sung far more often by a much larger percentage of UU churches than any other hymns. Since, depending on how you frame the question, there are two potential winners of “most popular UU hymn,” this will be a two-part question. Feel free to guess either or both answers.

What is the most commonly sung hymn in UU congregations? A hint: it is most often performed as a children’s recessional.

What is the most commonly sung other hymn? Since it is typically sung as an actual hymn, rather than a recessional, it could be seen as the most common hymn.

Slight Follow-up on Yesterday’s Quiz

WordPress is acting strange; some drafts don’t show up, and then later they do, while some published posts don’t actually go up on the Web.  Here’s a bit of information that was supposed to be included in yesterday’s answer to the UU trivia question, yet for some reason didn’t appear in the published version.

The district-based organizational model of the UUA is taken from the system of the American Unitarian Association. The Universalist Church of America was organized into state conventions. However the UUA model has been altered somewhat over time. For instance, the UUA at first had paid District Executives, a holdover from the AUA. These were all fired in 1970 as part of the budget crisis, in part as a way to try and find money for the Black Affairs Council, and replaced with Interdistrict Representatives. It took decades for the District Executives to return, on a modified basis.

Districts Were a Unitarian Model: The Answer to Today’s Quiz

A UU College Student correctly answered that the UUA picked up its district organizational model from the Unitarians, rather than the Universalists, who were organized into state conventions.  An easy question for y’all since this question needed to be answered before your fearless blogger hit the road for summer research, which will happen in about ten minutes.

Universalist Quote of the Day #78

“The love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all then were all dead; and that he died for all, that they which live, should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again.”

–2 Corinthians 14,15