Sidney Mead is a distinguished American church historian, a UU, and a former President of Meadville Theological School.…

Cooke’s history ends in 1900, the 75th anniversary of the American Unitarian Association. While dated, the chapters have a completeness and an immediacy of event that later, more objective histories, do not carry.…

The period 1880-1900 is often overlooked in Unitarian history. The so-called “Western issue” in the Western Unitarian Conference gains some attention, but that controversy may represent geographic interests as much as theological issues.…

Grindall Reynolds (1822 – 94) was ordained in 1848 and ten years later became minister in Concord, Massachusetts, where he served until his death.…

Edward Everett Hale (1822 -1909) served long (1856 – 99) as minister of South Congregational Church in Boston. He was a noted author and lecturer attaining a fame far beyond Unitarianism.

Hale’s sermon finds inclusion because it suggests a division of labor between congregants and minister.…

This essay by “the original transcendentalist” (the first group was called Hedge’s Club) is fascinating for its wry descriptions of the transcendentalists by an inner critic.

But for this course more attention must be paid to Hedge’s defense of the church not only (peculiarly for a Unitarian) as a divine institution, but as more important than theology.…

What strengths and weaknesses are obvious in the FRA?

Was there an important principle in the FRA’s break with the AUA?…

Ed Atkinson has been a UU minister since 1964, settled in 1969 at Cohasset, Massachusetts.

The full article deals with the recognition of Christianity in our by-laws.…

A constant refrain from the beginning of Unitarian doctrine to the present day is the “decline” in the number of good ministers. The article is mainly notable for Bellows description of the problem, but his reasons why the ministry did not attract might seem to many to have validity today.…

The last section heralds changes in religion and proposes some specific steps for liberal Christianity to increase in numbers and influence.…