A Small Universal Unitarian Church

In downtown Roanoke, on Church Avenue, an old church building still stands, having been erected over one hundred years earlier. For the same period of time, it has been occupied by a congregation, whose denominational origins lead back to a rural part of Kentucky in what was called the Restoration Movement, initiated by reformers who yearned for a primitive, apostolic form of Christianity, with “no creed but Christ.” Although “backcountry” in the denomination’s heritage, this particular congregation began in a boomtown. While striving to become a “first century” church, reminiscent of the apostles’ ministries and the church life from

In the Introduction section of the book, The Hidden Lives of Congregations, Israel Galindo states that a congregation is a “corporate relationship organization” (3) and is not an organization. He points out that the hidden life of a congregation would depict the “nature” of a congregation. This further identifies the relationships and faith of the congregation. According to him, the universal principles are followed by the congregations so that “systemic relationships” can work. The leaders learn the roles that they have within the people who are the congregation. The journal will focus on Dr. Fowler’s question “what is the purpose of this gathering we call the church?”

The 152nd Annual Conference of the Grand Ole North Carolina Conference convened at one of the Conference’s historical churches, Clinton Chapel AME Zion in New Bern, NC. Reverend Dr. M. Luther Hill, its gifted pastor, and his great congregation were very gracious hosts and made everyone feel welcomed. They opened their doors on Sunday and ministers, adorned in their priestly, white robes, marched in to open this great Conference in High Church Methodist fashion. The service, filled with high spiritual elements intertwining the liturgical elements, connected our hearts to the ancient tradition of the Anglican Church; however, with an African American twist. Presiding Elder Lester Jacobs, of the Washington District, delivered a soul-stirring

Unitarian Universalism (UU) is a religion based on a “free and responsible for truth and meaning”. Today, Unitarian Universalism is considered one of the most liberal religions. UU consists of major branches such as atheists, agnostics, and theists, these religion branches are based on how much they believe in the idea that there are gods. In the world, UU consists of 800,000 plus followers, while only 221,000 of them officially belong to the Unitarian Universalist Association. Members of UU often come from religions such as Judaism or Christianity which give them guidance and wisdom.

Mid-nineteenth century southern America, the writer asserts the churches in America are failing mankind by not being inclusive rather than exclusive and turning a blind-eye to the topic. Failing to live up to the core tenants of Christianity are things that erode the church and society alike. He also recalls his personal experiences with his grandfather, who was a minister, and his uncle. How his uncle had the job of being the caretaker of

This study keys in on the plight of African American churches with startling statements of their experiences in contrast to other cultures. The study expounds on all of the issues that have meaning such as

Church of the Brethren does not accept abortion. Participating in abortion is not support their beliefs. Church of the Brethren is a denomination that was formed to continue their practices their own way. They started as a small group and to this day still recruit new members. They solely use the New Testament as their source of guidance for the practice they preach. Rational Choice theory explains Church of the Brethren 's position in opposing abortion.

My photo ethnography is based off my experience at a church in Olive Branch, Mississippi. The name of it is Saint Luke Church of God in Christ. Saint Luke is pastored by Elder Earl Shannon, is located in the beautiful city of Olive Branch, Mississippi. They offer a big selection of ministries designed to meet the needs of families in the Olive Branch area. Saint Luke is also nicknamed, “The Ark of the Community”. Saint Luke has a long history dating back to 1925. In 1925 Charles and Millississ Shannon established Saint Luke Church of God in Christ. Saint Luke started out with just about twelve members. Back then each church service was held in the homes of the members. Saint Luke's first pastor was Elder Bonner. Elder Bonner was succeeded

Within the context of American society, we have strayed from the true purpose and identity of what the church was originally created to be. When we hear the word, “church,” we think of a building, a mere location where believers gather together every Sunday. The church of America might believe the essential elements of the church are an air-conditioned sanctuary, ten different ministry opportunities, and a full band to lead worship. While none of these things are necessarily bad, they do not comprise the biblical model of what the church was created to be. The church can be divided into two components: the Universal Church and the local church. Once a person becomes a believer, they are part of the Universal Church, the body of believers

At times, the specific religious traditions, practices, and beliefs of the past are not enough to fill the spiritual void of the modern human being. Even more, a single religion alone may not hold all of the answers to satisfy one’s desire for enlightenment, and many choose a new path. This is the path that led to the creation of the religious denomination of Unitarian Universalism.

The first chapter of the Unitarian Universalist welcome book kicks off with the question of, “What Do Unitarian Universalists Believe?” It expresses that they believe in the freedom of religious expression. They encourage all individuals to develop their own personal theologies, and present their religious opinions without Fear of reprisal. Unitarian Universalists can be known as heretics, because they make their own choice of what they believe or not believe. They believe in intellectual freedom, and encourage their members to have an open mind and heart that is truly free and open. They also believe in the authority of reason and conscience. The ultimate arbiter in religion is not the church or document, but rather the personal choice and decision of the individual. Unitarian Universalists are also known to be very vocal by supporting civil rights and protest unjust wars. They welcome and integrate gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender members, and help support their rights in society. They have Sunday sermons were they unite just like Christians do on Sunday in a church. Unitarian Universalists express themselves with seven principles and six sources that they all share. Their Services include time for meditation, singing and prayer led by a minister. They have a symbol known as, the “chalice”, which has a special meaning to them.

Finally, “[W]hat is the essence of Christian living?” (“Evangelicalism”, Dictionary of Christianity in America) An evangelical Protestant answer may involve “serving God in one’s calling whether in secular or ecclesiastical life. All useful callings are equally sacred in God’s eyes.” (“Evangelicalism”, Dictionary of Christianity in

I was raised in what now would be called White privilege. The Edgemont area in Provo, Utah was an extremely homogenous culture. My family, along with most of the other families in my neighborhood were young, White, middle class, highly educated, conservative, heterosexual, and Mormon with European ancestry. My father, along with most of the other fathers in the neighborhood, was a professor at Brigham Young University. Our culture was based on the teachings of the Mormon Church with a rich pioneer heritage which we celebrated every 24th of July. As children, we would don pioneer garb, decorate wagons and bikes to look like covered wagons or handcarts and march around the church building pretending to be pioneers. Not only was this event fun, but we could feel the pioneer blood flowing through our veins. The pioneers represented to us hard work, sacrifice, devotion, obedience, courage, fortitude and love of God.

Dave Browning stated in his book “Hybrid Church: The Fusion of Intimacy and Impact” that “it’s a Hybrid World”. The author defines hybrid as one goal, which provides two elements of different entities, joined together for a particular purpose. The end results will bring the best worlds together with a desired outcome. In the world today, Browning shares examples of hybrid forms: cross-breeding different plants will result in an offspring and combining features of a mountain bike and a road bike will result in a model design (Browning, 2010, p23). Some religious opinions may not agree with the word “hybrid” and see it as compromising or not being supported by Scripture. It expresses some sort of unholy combination of truth and error.

The objective of this report is to contrast and compare the culture of the Calvary Church with Catholicism, which is the religion that I practice. A field trip was taken to the Calvary Chapel in Rancho Cucamonga On February 12 of 2013, in which a clear observation of its services was