Archive for May, 2005

My new old book: William Vidler

Tuesday, May 31st, 2005

I got a book (or rather a bound volume of magazines) in the mail today from England that I won on eBay. It is the oldest Universalist work in my collection. Here’s the text of the title page, as it is informative and rather charming.
The Univeralist’s Miscellany; or Philanthropist’s Museum. Intended chiefly as an antidote [...]

New UU resource site

Tuesday, May 31st, 2005

Peter Bowen, no stranger to the UU blogosphere and small group movements, has debuted his new site:
UU Planet

A German view toward open Christian sources

Monday, May 30th, 2005

A while back I wrote about how the core works of Christian faith should be open (free of copyright, and by extension open to interpretation) and have been scratching around the historical margins to look to works that are old and have lost copyright protection.
I’m glad to see others are chiming in. Last year, Tom [...]

Role play time: the UUA goes broke

Sunday, May 29th, 2005

Here’s a little game I’d like my Unitarian Universalist readers to play, and clarifying questions and comparitive statements by non-UUs are welcome.
If the UUA went broke — it nearly happened once, but imagine a senario where investments sour and loose value, planned gifts dematerialize, the Annual Program Fund collapses, bad property purchases return to haunt, [...]

Simple Church omnibus

Sunday, May 29th, 2005

I know there are a few of us that pine after a simple church: one that attends to Christian ministry without the extraneous trappings associated with “establishment” churches.
There is a certain Radical Reformation appeal to them mingled with a tinge of fire-eyed obsession that makes me shudder a bit. (Perhaps it takes the place of [...]

Ecclesial bodies in the UUA’s weight group

Sunday, May 29th, 2005

In order to compare the UUA website with other denominational websites, I need to find that group that best matches the UUA in heft.
I found:

International Council of Community Churches 126 churches ; 108,806 members
Church of the Brethren 1062 churches; 132,481 members
Reformed Church in America 897 churches; 278,739 members
Mennonite Church USA 980 churches; 110,253 members

If you know of [...]

Music review, asks Terrance

Saturday, May 28th, 2005

OK, Terrance tagged me for this web-party-game-not-a-meme-thing. I’ll bite.
1. What is the total volume of musical files on your computer?
About five gigs. Not much, but they’re all legal.
2. What song are you listening to right now?
The last thing I was listening to — before taking off the MP3 player — was Shirley Bassey singing “Goldfinger”. [...]

I’ve got Skype: internet telephony

Saturday, May 28th, 2005

Technology day at Universalist Towers!
I’ve installed the Skype software, and got an account. It is free internet telephone service, though I confess I don’t quite know what I’ll do with it.
If I know you, email me at blog — at — universalistchurch.net and I’ll give you my user name.

“Book of Prayer” on eBay

Saturday, May 28th, 2005

A copy of the very, very scarce Universalist Book of Prayer is on eBay. The whole text, less the psalm selections, is here but a number of you have emailed me asking where one could get a copy.
For the time being, if the price is right: Here

Why ministers get votes at General Assembly

Saturday, May 28th, 2005

Lacking direct evidence, I think the reason that some ministers have a vote at General Assembly is because the Unitarians and Universalists consolidated. Those who criticize the practice seem to think the Unitarians merged with the Unitarians.
Not to pick on the UU Enforcer, but he broached the subject and better to get this off my [...]


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