Contents
1. GA 2019
2. New President and Vice-President
3. New Lindsey Press Books
4. Sri Lanka and Derry
5. Instagram
6. GA Weekend (29-30 June 2019)
7. The Samuel Jones Fund
8. Pilgrimage for WellBeing @ MillHill
9. In The News
1. GA 2019
The General Assembly’s 2019 Annual Meetings were a great success. Thank you to everyone who attended and participated. You can find the presentations on governance and social media on the Annual Meetings 2019 website.
Those who attended are strongly encouraged to complete the Annual Meetings Survey.
Next year’s Annual Meetings will be held in Birmingham on 7-9 April 2020.
2. New President and Vice-President
Rev Celia Cartwright, former minister of the Unitarian Chapel in Kendal, has been elected as the President of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches for the year beginning April 2019.
Rev Cartwright was minister at Kendal Unitarians from 2006 until 2016 following ministries in Padiham and Rochdale and as Lay Leader in Charge and Lay Pastor for Torquay, Exeter (Fellowship) and Sidmouth in the West Country. She studied for the ministry at Unitarian College Manchester and has a BA (hons) Theology and Religious Studies from the University of Manchester. Before entering ministry in her later 30s Celia was, amongst other things, a Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nurse, a retail sales Manager in both ASDA and Principles, and Personal Assistant to the Personnel Director of GA (financial services). In her spare time, she says, she raised her son and daughter, sang in a choir or two and walked the family dog.
Celia comes from a Unitarian family, her parents were both active in the Movement; her father, Ernest was a lay preacher, organist, Chair of the Torquay church and President of the Western Union of Unitarian Churches and her mother served on various congregational committees as secretary. Celia attended Sunday Schools in various churches and was active in church life in her youth. Currently Celia is Treasurer of the Unitarian Peace Fellowship, and a tutor on the Worship Studies Course; she is a former District and National President of the Unitarian Women’s League, served as President of the Ministerial Fellowship and President of the Unitarain Association of Lay Leaders (now UALM). During her Presidency Celia will also be co-leading one of the Engagement Groups at the RE Summer School at Great Hucklow.
Mrs Anne Mills of Bury Unitarians has been elected Vice President of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches for the year beginning April 2019.
3. New Lindsey Press Books
Two new Lindsey Press books were launched and sold out in record time at the Annual Meetings. Both are now available to purchase via online retailers or directly from Essex Hall by phoning 020 7240 2384 Monday to Friday between 10am and 5pm for immediate despatch.
‘Unitarian Women: A Legacy of Dissent’
Edited by Ann Peart, with contributions by Rory Castle Jones, Andrew Hill, Derek McAuley, and Alan Ruston.
A celebration of the pioneering achievements of Unitarian women who made a difference to their world – as writers and artists, social reformers, suffrage activists, peace campaigners, educators and politicians, preachers and ministers – for 200 years from the mid-18th century. As Unitarians, they dissented from the orthodox doctrines of their time; as women, they dissented from the restricted cultural roles prescribed for them by society. They were supported by networks of friends – both women and men – and this book traces some of those interconnections across England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Revd Ann Peart is a historian and former Principal of Unitarian College Manchester. Lindsey Press, 2019, ISBN 978-0853190929, softback, £10.
‘Fragments of Holiness – for Daily Reflection’
Edited by Catherine Robinson.
A collection of reflective texts for every day of the year. More than half are insights offered by Unitarians, past and present, famous or unknown. The rest are insights borrowed from world faiths, humanist philosophers, writers, poets, and radical social thinkers. They could form part of a daily practice of personal reflection at the start or end of the day. They could also be used by small groups as a resource for contemplation and discussion. For worship leaders they may be a useful source of themes when planning services, especially as many of the entries commemorate notable dates in Unitarian history. Catherine Robinson is a member of the Oxford Unitarian congregation. Lindsey Press, 2019, ISBN 978-0853190912, softback £9.
4. Sri Lanka and Derry
President Rev Celia Cartwright made a statement in response to the terror attacks in Sri Lanka and the killing of Lyra McKee in Derry, Northern Ireland. Read the statement in full here.
5. Instagram
Unitarians UK are now on Instagram, the image-based social media platform! You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
6. GA Weekend (29-30 June 2019)
Please support the GA Weekend and Community Appeal raising funds during the weekend of 29-30 June.
With your financial support, the General Assembly will: build on the agreed “Next Steps” priorities, develop ministry and local leadership education and training, raise our profile nationally, organise the Annual Meetings, promote religious education and develop the national youth programme, provide resources and advice for congregations, support The Inquirer, support the 2020 Derby Unity growth project, assist congregations in improving Safeguarding, promote social justice and a sustainable and fairer world.
You can read a special message from our President Rev Celia Cartwright and Chief Officer Liz Slade on our website.
You can also find a useful worship service pack for GA Weekend on our website.
Please make cheques payable to ‘GA of Unitarian & FCC’ and send to Unitarian Finance Department, Essex Hall, 1 Essex St, London, WC2R 3HY.
7. The Samuel Jones Fund
The income of the Samuel Jones Fund is applied ‘in augmentation of the salaries of such conscientious and Dissenting Ministers as shall stand in most need of assistance as the Managers of the Fund shall approve, preference being given to those who have been students at Manchester (now Harris Manchester) College, Oxford’. New applicants are also invited and grants are considered annually.
Applications should be in hand by 16th June 2019 and be on a form obtainable from the Secretary: Rev Peter Hewis, 1 Little Blenheim, Yarnton, Kidlington, OX5 1LX, email or tel: 01865 372265.
8. Pilgrimage for WellBeing @ MillHill
Rev Jo James will be walking the Santiago Primitivo pilgrimage in Spain solo over 14 days in June to raise money for WellBeing @ MillHill, the mental heath self-help group at Mill Hill Chapel, Leeds.
WellBeing @ MillHill is a vital resource for people who meet together to overcome challenges, practice wellbeing and share what helps. But it requires professional support and the fees for this cost Mill Hill Chapel approximately £6k per year. Mill Hill is self financing and receives no public funds so Jo wants to contribute to these costs and gain support and recognition - and this fundraiser is his way of doing that. You can sponsor Jo on his Go Fund Me page.
9. In The News
Swansea Unitarians appeared on the 10 o’clock BBC Wales News with a story about their position as the only church in the city registered for same-sex marriage. There was extensive coverage of their ‘Pride & Faith’ interfaith LGBT+ service held on 5 May as part of Swansea Pride, including on BBC Wales News online (in Welsh and English) and at Wales Online.
A Sunday service on the theme of ‘Unity’ led by Rev Alun-Wyn Dafis at Brondeifi Unitarian Chapel, Lampeter, was recorded for the BBC programme ‘Yr Oedfa’ and broadcast on Sunday 28 April. It is available to listen to online until 26 May, here (in Welsh).
Dublin Unitarian Church added the name of murdered Derry journalist Lyra McKee to their list of 2,500 victims of The Troubles, read out annually, and this was reported in several newspapers including The Irish Times and Politico.
Our retiring Chief Officer, Derek McAuley, was celebrated for his work in changing the law on same sex marriage in The Camden New Journal.
Carolyn Jones, member of Altrincham Unitarians in Manchester, wrote a Thought For The Week entitled ‘God Has No Borders’ for The Messenger.
In The Daily Mail, an article on discrimination against gay and transgender people in the United States reports that 90% of American Unitarian Universalists ‘support laws that would protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in jobs, public accommodations and housing’ according to a 2018 survey.
The President of the Unitarian Universalist Association, Rev Susan Frederick Gray, has written for the Sojourners website that the church needs to recapture its prophetic zeal.
Also of interest…
David Brooks writes in The New York Times about the importance of rituals.
In an editorial The Guardian calls for the protection of those persecuted because of their religious beliefs.
On the Religion News website, Cathleen Falsani explores millenials’ relationship with faith.