Rev. Scott Wells

Yesterday’s installment in my think-piece was all about as much as a threatened church planter could do in a day, only concerned the institutional set-up and was theologically-neutral. But very quickly you have to think about what your church stands for and how it stands for it.

This is where I think Unitarian Universalist church planting runs into the rocks. With our history of the geographical parish, there’s a presumption that there’s one parish that accommodates all the would-be Unitarian Universalists in its area. (You see it in our church naming conventions.) Which is exactly backwards to preaching the Gospel within a particular tradition and with a particular charism (gift) and gathering people to that church. Little wonder then that Boston — which was outside the parochial system — had and has a wider diversity of Unitarian and Universalist churches than anywhere else. Let’s consider Boston as “the metropolitan model” in contrast to the parochial model and work thence.

I was brought up thinking theologically that Maria Harris, the religious educator, could do no wrong. Her curriculum for a church’s self-expression is certainly a great place to start. (The Unitarian Universalist Association has, in fact, published a guide by Gaia Brown about Harris’s Fashion Me a People which may be downloaded as a PDF here. I do fault it for replaying the we’re-not-Christian-we’re-different saw again. Is it so hard to accept a Christian’s scholarship without reacting defensively?) This means I’d want to get a standard of worship down.

Easy peasy. I’d choose the simplified Protestant liturgy seen across the mainstream. “Emergent” worship practices — while hip right now — are likely to age as badly as parachute pants. Since hymnals are heavy and expensive, I’d forgo them in favor a hymn printing license from one of the larger non-”praise” licensees, like OneLicense. Because so much of the liturgical reform since the 1980s has worked under the unspoken rule of “more words is better” I would seek out slightly older, leaner texts to shape worship. In a move away from liberal Christian practice, this would mean looking before the Vatican II-inspired changes and also ditching the Revised Common Lectionary (and its assumption of church member who never miss worship and who can follow a three-year arc.) Give me, instead, the briefer traditional one-year lectionary and an opportunity to learn from the Old Testament in a more interactive environment.  And before you ask: yes Unitarians and Universalists did once use this lectionary and the vast majority of the matching collects. The Anglican church in Melanesia has a version of the collects (with that lectionary) in simplified but dignified modern English. And they’re in the public domain.

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I’m having theme heartburn and don’t want to mess with customizing something. Please forgive the rapid changes over the next few days.

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A mental exercise, in the spirit of a bad 1980s film. I must organize a church — the promise of a fairly successful church — by Sunday . . . Or Else.

The reason for this exercise is obvious. Unitarian Universalists (and other liberals) aren’t good at gathering churches, even though successive generations of new churches are necessary for a healthy ecosystem and are the best way of attracting newcomers. We treat them as the sort of thing we just have — little wonder; next to the Episcopalians we probably have the largest number of state-sponsored church foundations in the United States — or which spontaneously arise from groups of well-cultivated laypersons. The sun has set on both phenomena, and today we grow churches that limp towards a membership of thirty or forty, but rarely more. Indeed, those that don’t shrivel on the vine simply rot. So . . .

First, I pull out my address book and call my friends (many ministers; some not), asking for prayers, seeing if any would be willing to be an initial incorporator — no way I’m going to have an unincorporated church — and see if they would be willing to consult on the project. Then, as church organizer, I browse to the state- (or District-) appropriate page on the Legal Guide of the Citizen Media Law Project, to see what the incorporation and other requirements are. Fortunately, there are often more lenient options for churches than media organizations. So I work through the list and get the Federal Employer Identification Number and download incorporation details.

I brainstorm some names — running them past my friends for feedback, with a consideration of how it would be abbreviated — and register the appropriate .org of the best two or three using a domain registrar like NameCheap. I get a handy email address from Google, and with it email the UUA District Executive and an insurance agent like one from Church Mutual, and introduce myself. I use the email address to get accounts, using a short-format version of the church name, on Facebook and Twitter for later outreach use.

Next, I consider where the meeting Sunday will take place. On such short notice, I would pick the best I could afford: convenient in the mode of transportation I imagine people would use, and no farther than an average workday commute from the group I’m trying to reach. A hotel meeting-room will suffice.

And more tomorrow.

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I just found out that Jono Bacon’s The Art of Community — about creating and maintaining online communities — is now available free-of-charge (and under a Creative Commons BY-SA-NC license; it’s my favorite) as a downloadable PDF. Or, if you prefer, you can purchase a print copy.

I mention it here because I think healthy and robust online communities are essential for the revival of Universalist Christianity.

I’m quite excited about this. Jono Bacon is the Ubuntu Community Manager — I’ll not blog about Linux-y things at this blog, though; I’m keeping Boy in the Bands for that and other purposes — and knows his beans.

Since there might be others interested in this subject, I invite comments, especially for its use in religious community management.

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I’m diving back into the roots of Universalism, so I’m reading two books.

The first is Ann Lee Bressler’s The Universalist Movement in America, 1770-1880, which I’m sick to say now sells for $85 new. (It was even remaindered for a while.)

The other is one of my treasures: the 1811 “pirate” edition of Hosea Ballou’s Treatise on Atonement. This still has his home-spun turns of phrase, largely eliminated in the standard 1835 edition (which stayed in print until 1986, and which therefor a number of living persons still have.) Because it’s rare, if I run across interesting passages, I’ll post them here.

But I’m a slow reader, so any reportage will come in fits and starts.

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I welcome readers from my Boy in the Bands blog and earlier web endeavors, and newcomers. This new work will, I intend, hew closer to the faith and practice of Universalist Christians, which remains so close to my heart.

Ten years ago today, I was ordained to the ministry of the Gospel by Canon Universalist Church, Canon, Georgia. There and then, after the act of the congregation, I responded thus:

Friends: With a deep sense of responsibility, trusting not in my own strength, but in the grace and power of God, I take up the ministry to which you ordain me. I do pledge myself, so far as in me lies, to maintain the freedom of this pulpit; to speak the truth in love, both publicly and privately, without fear of persons; diligently to fulfill the several offices of worship, instruction and administration, according to the customs of this congregation and fellowship; and in all things so to live as to promote piety and righteousness, peace and love among this people and with all humanity.

Such a pledge doesn’t scan to a blog, but it shall be in my mind as I write and manage my words.

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