Our Unitarian Universalist faith is rooted in the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth, a Jewish prophet who taught the worth and dignity of all humankind, who challenged the structures of power that dehumanize, exploit, and separate. He was killed for what he believed. His message lived on
Ours is a faith that could not die; ours is a faith that cannot be silenced.
Our Universalist faith is rooted in Origen and Clement of Alexandria, second century church leaders who believed in the promise of eternal love. They taught that all persons would be welcomed into God’s embrace, and that no one would be condemned to eternal hell or damnation. Theirs was a God of absolute love. Their writings were banned and burned. Their message lived on.
Ours is a faith that could not die; ours is a faith that cannot be silenced.
Our Unitarian faith in rooted in Arius, who in the year 325, challenged the concept of the Trinity, crying out that “God is One,” believing that the awesome Mystery of the Universe could not be divided or reduced into parts or persons. His voice was silenced. His truth lived on.
Ours is a faith that could not die; ours is a faith that cannot be silenced.
Our Unitarian Universalist faith is rooted in the Protestant reformation, which re-examined the teachings of religion, called for renewal in faith, and challenged the authority of one person to speak for all people of faith. Many reformers were silenced, but their message sang on.
Ours is a faith that could not die; ours is a faith that cannot be silenced.
Our Unitarian Universalist faith is rooted in women and men who dared to think beyond the Reformation thinkers. People like Michael Servetus, who was burned at the stake in Geneva in 1553; Katherine Weigel who was burned at the stake in Poland in 1539 for believing Jesus was a human being; and Frances David who, in 1579, was martyred in a Translyvanian prison cell. There were nameless others, brave women and men who were exiled or tortured, beaten or burned. They suffered in the pursuit of religious freedom, the right to seek personal truth, and tolerance for differing beliefs. They were silenced. Their voices lived on.
Ours is a faith that could not die; ours is a faith that cannot be silenced.
Our Unitarian Universalist faith is rooted in the European Enlightenment, when great minds affirmed the role of reason in discerning truth, when optimism about human nature began to spread, when greater rights were extended to the common people, and when science was moved to the center of responsible inquiry. Many reformers were silenced. Their message lived on.
Ours is a faith that could not die; ours is a faith that cannot be silenced.
Our Unitarian Universalist faith is rooted in Poland, where a group of free-thinkers, the Socinians, dared to teach that human reason is a form of revelation, that the religious life is lived through deeds and not creeds, and that non-violence is the hallmark of a community of faith. They were silenced, forced to flee from Poland in the deep of winter. Their spirit lived on.
Ours is a faith that could not die; ours is a faith that cannot be silenced.
Our Unitarian Universalist faith is rooted in Transylvania, where, in 1568, King John Sigismund, history’s only Unitarian King, issued the world’s first declaration of religious tolerance. In his Kingdom, different religious beliefs were permitted. Discussion and debate was encouraged. No one was silenced. The Edict of Torda was overturned when King Sigismund died. Its influence lived on.
Ours is a faith that could not die; ours is a faith that cannot be silenced.
Our Unitarian Universalist faith is rooted in the British colonies, where in the 1700’s, in the face of Evangelical fire and brimstone, prophets like George DeBenneville and John and Judith Sargent Murray preached hope and not hell, planting the seeds of the Universalist Church. Many of these churches could not be sustained, but their spirit could not be silenced.
Ours is a faith that could not die; ours is a faith that cannot be silenced.
Our Unitarian Universalist faith is rooted in the ideals of the United States of America. This country was founded, in part, from the ideals of our Unitarian Universalist faith. The founders of The United States of America crafted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution on values inspired by the Edict of Torda and the philosophies of the Enlightenment. These visionaries were well schooled in the Unitarian affirmation of the individual, deeply mindful of the role of reason in public discourse, highly skeptical of religious fervor, and committed to the religious neutrality of government. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John and Abigail Adams all worshipped with Unitarian congregations. Benjamin Rush, the founder of American Psychiatry and a Universalist, signed the Declaration of Independence. Three of the first six presidents of the United States were Unitarians. Two more Presidents would follow after them. Thomas Jefferson even predicted that the Unitarian faith would become the predominant faith in America by the year 1800. He was wrong. His ideals lived on.
Ours is a faith that could not die; ours is a faith that cannot be silenced.
Our Unitarian Universalist faith is rooted in New England, where, in the early 1800’s, liberal ministers preached that every human being has the capacity to cultivate and nurture their innate moral goodness. They taught that one’s living environment shapes one’s behavior. They called no one a sinner, but encouraged everyone to live out their inherent worth and dignity. Mainstream churches called these ideas heretical. But these ideas could not be silenced.
Ours is a faith that could not die; ours is a faith that cannot be silenced.
Our Unitarian Universalist faith is rooted in Boston, where transcendentalist pioneers like Theodore Parker, Margaret Fuller, and Ralph Waldo Emerson looked beyond the bible and Christianity to seek the Universal truth in all religion, all nature, and all people. These proponents of a natural spirituality saw wonder and beauty in the ordinary moments of a day, and found divinity alive in the forests, flowers, streams, gardens, and skies. They looked to the East for teachings from Buddhism, Hinduism, and other ancient faiths. These visionaries sought unity and community through common practical goals rather than common theological opinions. Even many Unitarians and Universalists vilified these religious freethinkers. Their vision could not be silenced.
Ours is a faith that could not die; ours is a faith that cannot be silenced.
Our Unitarian Universalist faith is rooted in the social justice movements of this country. Ours is the first denomination to ordain woman to the ministry, in the early 1800s. Key leaders of the movement to give women the right to vote included Unitarians Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Unitarians and Universalists were leaders in prison reform, compassionate treatment for the mentally ill, rights for the differently abled and those with special needs, the beginning of kindergartens, and public school reform. Universalists were early leaders in the movement to end slavery, advocating civil disobedience to bring about change. We were instrumental in the founding of the forerunner of the Red Cross, and the modern nursing movement. Our denomination sent more ministers to Selma to march with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. than any other faith tradition. Our denomination was the first to openly ordain gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender ministers. Our denomination has consistently supported the peace movement and urged nuclear disarmament and non-violence. We are becoming advocates for environmental justice and sustainability. What is divisive or controversial in many faith traditions is commonplace in ours. Justice cannot be silenced.
Ours is a faith that could not die; ours is a faith that cannot be silenced.
Ours is a faith that helped give birth to religious humanism. Rejecting the belief in God or the supernatural, religious humanism affirms the human capacity to use reason, knowledge, science, and human potential to shape a more just, moral, and compassionate world. Religion without God has been condemned as a sin that must be silenced. For us, it is a meaningful path that some choose to walk.
Ours is a faith that could not die; ours is a faith that cannot be silenced.
Our Unitarian Universalist faith is rooted here, at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Reading, which keeps the long tradition of liberal religion alive and growing in communities north of Boston. Our Unitarian Universalist faith is rooted here, in us: the members and friends of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Reading. We will determine the future and the promise of what Unitarian Universalism will offer our world that aches to become One. We will embody the defeats and the triumphs of this ancient faith, this faith of diverse and divergent spiritualities, this faith in action, this faith of affirmation and uplift, this faith that cannot be silenced, this faith of and for the future.
Ours is a faith that could not die; ours is a faith that cannot be silenced.
