Indeed our ancestors would be horrified to learn that their commitment to living by the consent of constituent members would one day lead to erode covenant, and that independence would overtake mutual reliance. Joining and covenanting are different in the way a wedding is different from a marriage. We must revitalize that which connects us as individuals and religious communities. If you’re willing, challenge yourself to consider what values are being served by practices that land on the independent side of the scale, and consider what beautiful things might emerge if your congregation’s practices were more firmly rooted in interdependence. But these aren’t even the best reasons. Let’s look at some examples. © Copyright 1996-2021 Unitarian Universalist Association.All Rights Reserved. Congregational polity is a bird grounded with a broken wing. Somewhere along the line, our collective understanding of congregational polity became like that Wikipedia definition. Our covenant makes demands, and. We offer a wide variety of online courses and short-term intensives in UU theologies, UU history and polity. The UU Church of Delaware County is highlighted in the current edition of the UUWorld, which will be hitting Unitarian Universalist members’ mailboxes at any moment. For our Puritan ancestors, though, the motivation for governing individual behavior wasn’t just copacetic community life but deep awareness that people who practice loving each other are best able to love God. Our ancestors were religious radicals, no mistake about it. Hanson went on to serve a celebrated ministry in subsequent churches and, in 1992, was awarded the Angus Maclean Award for outstanding contributions to religious education by the UUA. Congregational Polity. Please, please, when citing external documents like Dr. Ortega’s “ 5-page essay preemptively defending CRT from its critics ” and “Congregational Polity and the Myth of Congregational Autonomy” by Sue Phillips, give a url link or other information about where to look for such references. It’s also the commitment to connect, the means to connect, the content of the connection, and how we maintain the connection. Marcus Fogliano will speak on the subject of Congregational Polity, the 1600’s document that defines how our faith is organized, and how … Unitarian Universalist churches practice congregational polity. Covenant is multidimensional, working horizontally from person to person but also from that community to individuals and around to the Sacred however we define it. They invented, or rather reinvented, what we call congregational polity, that doctrine of the church that insists that each congregation is to be governed by its own members. A summary of current UU conversations; a quick refresher on the basics of congregational polity, where covenant is the central organizing principle; and a history of … Polity is a word that points to who has authority to make decisions or how decisions are made. If you are interested in how our church is governed, then click here. I want to explore this idea of covenant a bit further, because in many of our congregations the meaning of “covenant” has been compressed into the means by which we convey expectations and exercise a degree of control over individual behavior. Congregational polity “Congregational polity” is the Unitarian Universalist technical term for the way in which churches, fellowships and societies of this denomination are governed. Learn what we believe here. This structure of self-government is called congregational polity. Without some kind of vital, clear center around which we convene ourselves, we will not hold. Our faith is practiced in covenanted community. Congregational polity is not the autonomy of individual congregations but the covenanted communion of autonomous churches. We would be hard-pressed to construct a more relevant list today. Congregational Polity and UUism; Governance at UUCWC; Board of Trustees. Covenant lives on as a vestigial metaphor for interconnection in our movement, but that is all. To understand what polity is we have to understand what values it manifests. We would all agree that congregational polity locates the freedom to determine who can join and how squarely within each congregation. Because folks join the community by entering into covenant, folks can only leave by being released from that covenant.xi. But this freedom can be exercised in ways that emphasize either independence or interdependence. Our church, like other Unitarian Universalist churches, is governed under the “congregational polity” model, meaning our members make ultimate decisions including the adoption of church bylaws, the election of the Board of Trustees, the adoption of … Endless rethinking of decisions that well-informed leaders have already made. The clearest, most prophetic voices in our movement right now are from beyond communities asking to be in actual mutual covenant. It is flat-out ahistorical, not to mention wrong. This call, wherever it comes from and however it manifests in our individual lives, is that which compels us to come together. Our ancestors navigated the American Revolution, the creation of civil democracy, and the separation of church and state, not to mention profound theological shifts. But if they are not a part of a covenanted community they have not been claimed back. One of the deepest convictions that unites us as Unitarian Universalists is a belief in the possibility of a beloved community among people, whether members of a family or the most diverse representatives o Our collective anxiety about this tension and the resulting deification of individual conscience have squashed the rich dimensionality of covenant until it has become synonymous with a vague sense of commitment to a vague set of principles. It is the architecture that supports shared religious life. American Unitarianism emerged out of the culture that the Cambridge Platform described. This is why the prevalence of often-vituperative claims impugning the motives of our UUA is so ironic. You can't be an individual member of Unitarian Universalism.) It was a declaration of covenant. Congregational polity is a system in which every local church or congregation is independent and ecclesiastically sovereign. Questions like: Polity enstructures a community’s assumptions about how the world, God, and people work. It is no wonder that independence is all that remains of our beloved congregational polity. We will cover how covenant is the center of UU faith, how our congregational polity works, and how we can create strong, healthy communities. It also means we choose to be interdependent with other congregations in the Association. These covenants are engaged liturgically so that the worshipping community regularly remembers the greater good to which they are collectively called. It was in Puritan New England where congregational polity reached its developmental zenith, and the strengths and weaknesses it revealed in that initial phase continue today. How does someone become a UU minister? Our people have integrated the rationalism of science, the intuition of transcendentalism, and the ethics of humanism. This understanding repels healthy people, weakens connections among churches, and perpetuates widespread suspicion about leadership. We share this polity with churches in the Baptist, Congregational (UCC), and Disciples of Christ traditions among others. It is also among communities—which are always greater than the sum of their parts—and with the greater Love that surpasses all our understanding. So while the Wikipedia definition might describe a little piece of congregational polity, it misses the larger story. The faithful people who gathered in Cambridge that sweltering summer knew absolutely that they needed one another if they were to serve God. Polity is a doctrine of church, specifically the way churches are connected to one another. If we are to live into the full potential of our interdependence we must put covenant back at our center. As part of their reforms, Puritans desired to replace the Church of England's episcopal polity (rule by bishops) with another form of church government. These are our ancestors, yours and mine, the authors of the “congregational way”. Rev. Yes, I just called it heresy. Refusal to consider wisdom from the larger community of congregations. If the conflict becomes intractable, this community recognizes that someone might need to leave, since the peace and well being of the whole is more important than that of any single individual.x But they also promise one another that they won’t just leave—they promise not to remove themselves from fellowship on a whim. Our Committees. These people are not anarchists after all, no matter what Wikipedia says. Theological Perspective; Unitarian Universalist Tradition: A Short History; Comparative Congregationalisms; The UUA Bylaws: A Study in Ambivalence; The Spiritual and Cultural Ethos of Unitarian Universalism; Part Two. The Cambridge Platform itself is full of stipulations governing individual behavior. To be an officially recognized congregation in our tradition is to join the Association of congregations. It connects us to our ancestors and gives us practiced means to stay connected to one another even as those connections take new form. But covenant is more than impulse and echo. What are the rights of a member? Polity with priests and bishops at the center make sense in sacramental traditions, where intermediaries are required to extend the gifts of God to the people of God, and where adherents are called to participate in specific sacraments as both a practice and requirement of faith. Puritans had tried for decades to reform the Church of England. Amos' question sets the theme for Wright's newest collection of essays on congregational autonomy in Unitarian Universalist churches. How can we say yes to something—much less do it—if we don’t know what we’re being asked to do? There is no higher authority that dictates policy to the congregation. Congregational Polity Like all Unitarian Universalist congregations, UUMAN governs itself through “congregational polity”. There is no such thing as a Unitarian Universalist by themselves. And not in the cute renegade sort of way. Hubristic belief in congregational specialness. And yet we are a people of competing commitments. Here’s why we should care: this pervasive misinterpretation of congregational polity, with its emphasis on individual conscience and direct democracy, is a major cause of decline and source of ill health in Unitarian Universalist congregations. Celebrates the big ideas and everyday moments that all children share... We all honor the Spirit of Life, the Spirit of Compassion, the Spirit of Justice, the Spirit of Love, Unitarian Universalist Association "Congregational Polity sees no power that extends beyond those who elected them, that is, the congregation. We have managed to stay together even as the core Christian story receded as one among many wisdom stories. This is not covenanting. In plain English, we govern ourselves. All rights reserved.See also Provocative Propositions on Polity: a self-study course on congregational polity based on this report. Believing that congregational polity is primarily concerned with supporting and protecting individual voices and congregations is nothing less than heresy. The Unitarian Universalist Church in Reston (UUCR) is governed by congregational polity, meaning that the members of the congregation independently make their own decisions regarding UUCR policies, programming and finance. Learn More. In a creedless faith that has grown away from the trunk of our original theological trees, this tradition is absolutely essential. Correcting misinterpretation and healing congregational systems from past damage are reasons enough to reinvigorate our collective reengagement with congregational polity. This way of practicing covenant puts tepid mutual agreement at our collective center. Contemporary edition of the 1648 Cambridge Platform, the historic document that articulated the foundational principle of congregational polity. Polity is how our little ragtag band of heretics and liberals communicates across time to tell us who we are and why. Our church is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association, through which the 1,000 UU congregations in the United States seek to help each other. This tension between freedom and connection is also our birthright. “Congregational polity is the form of church government in which each congregation is an autonomous, self-governing, covenanted body. "1 In that phrase, Thoreau’s use of the word “rich” has been interpreted as meaning, “having A summary of current UU conversations; a quick refresher on the basics of congregational polity, where covenant is the central organizing principle; and a history of … A Report by the Commission on Appraisal, Unitarian Universalist Association. That preaches, doesn’t it? Our congregations might move away from debate- and voting- centered Annual Meetings toward collective discernment about purpose and empowerment of Unitarian Universalist ministries in the wider world. She led vision and strategy for the New England staff team as they served the 231 congregations in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.... For more information, see the UUA.org page about the New England Region. Where is this congregation? Some would place autonomy and interconnection on opposite ends of a spectrum, with tension so taut that pulling a bit in one direction threatens to pull the other of its pedestal. Polity Our fifth principle states that we affirm and promote, “The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.” In the spirit of this principle, Unitarian Universalists practice what is called “congregational polity.” Touching on important historical material, Wright offers the reader stimulating reflections on vexing liberal religious matters that inform both our present and our future. The Congregational tradition was brought to America in the 1620s and 1630s by the Puritans—a Calvinistic group within the Church of England that desired to purify it of any remaining teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Hanson was ordained by our church, exercising the right of congregational polity. (617) 742-2100 | info@uua.org. System of ecclesiastical polity in which every local church congregation is … On our continuum, this approach to membership falls way down toward independence. When referring to an association such as the Unitarian Universalist Association, it points us to what holds congregations together with common direction and shared identity and purpose. But this gift comes with great responsibility. The Unitarian Universalist minister replied, "No, actually we have something called 'congregational polity' which means that the congregation as a whole is the only one who can call or dismiss me." Congregational polity is not fundamentally about autonomy or protecting individuals from spiritual coercion. Sue Phillips was our UUA's Regional Lead for New England. So when our friends at Wikipedia define congregational polity as “self-governed voluntary institutions” they are defining it in opposition to dominant religious culture, in which churches are governed by priestly authority and denominational hierarchies, and people participate because the safety of their souls depend on it. We might refocus General Assembly’s “Service of the Living Tradition” away from celebrating ministers and toward a ritual recommitment to covenant among Unitarian Universalist people and communities. But they were not, as many believe, theological radicals. Unitarian Universalist Community Polity UU Santa Fe is self-governing. We offer a wide variety of online courses and short-term intensives in UU theologies, UU history and polity. It’s a choice, a process, and an ongoing relationship. As individuals and groups we want to belong but are reluctant to be claimed. They intentionally and explicitly avoid using the term “independent” to describe their relationship to other congregations.xii They celebrate that each church is distinct, with special gifts and challenges, and that while churches certainly don’t have control over each other they are nonetheless all connected. Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, VA We join the country in lighting a flame at this National Moment of Unity and Remembrance. The covenant I have been talking about this morning is not just between people. They do this not because they want to punish each other but because they believe no one should ever “be cut off from the privileges of the covenant.”vii, Their organizing document says explicitly that while officers and ministers can be helpful they are not absolutely necessary for the congregation to be healthy.viii Admittedly, there is a long section in there too speculating about possible roles for ministers, deacons, pastoral visitors, teachers, treasurers and all that. See “The Etymology of Religion” for a marvelous treatment of the origins of the word “religion”. We all honor the Spirit of Life, the Spirit of Compassion, the Spirit of Justice, the Spirit of Love, Unitarian Universalist Association Equating congregational polity with autonomy undermines our interconnectedness, erodes our covenant, and endangers our communities. UU social justice priorities, global religious traditions, and congregational administration. They promise to look out for their neighbors’ welfare, and consult with them when they ask for help. And, if so, the members would be called, compelled, bound to proclaim it and try to bring it to bear in their whole society.”xv “For any who might suppose our 17th century free-church ancestors talked mostly about original sin, predestination, and hellfire, I am glad to be able to tell you, not one of those topics is even mentioned”xvi in the records of the founding churches. So let’s get this out of the way. If Unitarian Universalism is going to survive in the coming time—much less thrive—our center must hold. They were radical because of their polity, which was based according to historian Perry Miller on “The pioneer formulation of the principle that a corporate body is created by the consent of its constituent members.”xiv This was a new idea in 1648, that members of a community could freely gather according to their will and mutual consent and together exercise a stake in the collective mission of the body. The Polity Intensive Class will happen June 19-23 at the site of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s General Assembly in Spokane, WA. Unitarian Universalist Association. This is, in the words of the great Conrad Wright, a significantly different thing.ii Let me repeat that. As congregations, we covenant together through the Canadian Unitarian Council, which provides resources for Unitarian churches to grow and develop. Their theology was virtually indistinguishable from the churches they left behind in Europe. So, in some ways, is our faith. Our theologies may differ about what or who is calling us, but we are united in a belief that we are part of an interdependent web of existence. Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religious tradition that was formed from the consolidation of two religions: Unitarianism and Universalism. Participation in our congregations and communities is “voluntary” in the sense that it is not strictly required by external authority. As described in the section on congregational polity, in our tradition authority lies within local congregations. Conrad Wright, Congregational Polity: A Historical Survey of Unitarian and Universalist Practice (Boston: Skinner House), 1997, p. 12. exploring the possibility of entering UU ministry? There are those who say that identity—especially identity that is mediated by institutions—will cease to matter in the coming age. Just a few years before they had escaped persecution and oppression of religious and secular authorities, coming to the new world to create a new way. these cannot be ignored no matter how loud the voices resisting the accountabilities envisioned in our polity. Covenant—the collective commitment to and practices of religious community—is how we have stayed together. This failure means that the next time a sister congregation needs help they are less likely to receive it. At our initial meeting, the senior minister explained that in Unitarian Universalism congregations choose their own ministers, and that this combination of responsibility and authority is congregational polity. This congregation lays out in delicious detail the ways they will show up for their neighboring congregations. But are we not responsible to the call to manifest the interdependent web by co-creating beloved community? These include strong local and democratic involvement in each congregation, but also a fierce unwillingness to be organized in any authoritative ecclesiastical body. In Wikipedia, congregational polity is defined as a collection of “self-governed voluntary institutions”, which I suppose is at least vaguely accurate, but then the article calls this form of polity “a type of religious anarchism.” You gotta love Wikipedia. For more information contact conglife@uua.org. Rev. For more information contact info@uua.org. (617) 742-2100 | info@uua.org. I mean in the literal way—like apostasy—the renunciation or abandonment of a religious principle. I showed such promise in my not-knowing that the second thing I was asked to do was serve on the ministerial search committee for my congregation’s assistant minister. The call to covenant might be a theological imperative, but our collective covenant isn’t worth the paper it isn’t written on, for there is no such covenant. The ways we choose to connect with one another IS our center. (polity is church governance. In exactly the same way, a person can claim Unitarian Universalist beliefs. Polity is a general term for the form of church organization adopted by a religious tradition. Copyright © 1997 by the Unitarian Universalist Association. Are humans essentially good or fundamentally sinful? Our polity will be revivified when we actually help our people enter and re-enter into covenant with each other and with the larger community of congregations. Students will discover the mechanics of governance by observing Unitarian Universalist polity in action. And yet this amnesiacal interpretation of our tradition pervades many of our communities. There is another way. Annotated, with a new introduction by Alice Blair Wesley. We can ignore those claims, but they endure anyway. Today, the materials in this packet continue to be used in UU … In just the same way, the independence of individual UUs is often privileged over interdependent community in our congregations. 24 Farnsworth Street | Boston, MA 02210 If we are indeed Unitarian Universalist, and not Generic Religious People or even worse Generic Spiritual people, then by definition we claim and are claimed by a specific tradition. It is here, in each of us, in our DNA as Unitarians, Universalists and Unitarian Universalists, for the congregations whose story I just told came together in Cambridge in 1648. For example, before the 40 members of Fort McKinley United Methodist Church voted to be… Unitarian Universalist Polity Congregational Polity sees no power that extends beyond those who elected them, that is, the congregation. They chose to come together to create a covenanted community of autonomous churches. They put covenant at the center because they believed, in the words of scholar Alice Blair Wesley, that “The task of the free church could be summed—in their terms—as loving God and loving one another so well that in their own study and discussion, dispute and conference, prayer, consultation and more discussion in the free church, the members might learn together the divine will of the loving God… [as it] relates to justice, peace, and reasonable laws. Meanwhile, other congregations and communities use covenant as a way to express their deepest aspirations and values. Inderdependence: Renewing Congregational Polity. The future of our faith is at stake. Occasionally a special congregational meeting may be called. This practice of membership falls on the interdependent end of the continuum. Our church is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association, through which the 1,000 UU congregations in the United States seek to help each other. The rich dimensionality of mutual covenant and interdependence has been sheared off, leaving only the barest bones of isolated self-governance and independence. In a religious association organized according to congregational polity, each local congregation has the sole authority to govern itself. In the early 1990s, the Rev. Anyone who has ever tried to live in religious community knows how important it is to have clear expectations about how we will try to be with one another. New congregations promise to offer the “right hand of fellowship” to existing ones, and large congregations pledge to propagate new ones. Across the country, bells will toll as we remember all those who lost their lives to COVID-19. It’s time we remembered. To be a Unitarian Universalist person or congregation is to claim and be claimed by covenant. Whether by individual conscience, justice-seeking community, or by God, Unitarian Universalism teaches that we are called to create beloved community in community. 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