A common source for all UU's.
Concept:
Creation of a Unitarian Universalist Text, a compilation of short stories, poems, prose, personal stories, and excerpts of other Texts drawn from the six sources, representing both the seven principles as well as the universal beliefs, truths, morals and values shared by religions and people world-wide. Material should cover as broad a range of sources as possible, and should definitely NOT all be just from famous texts or authors. A key focus will be on shorter pieces that can more easily be remembered by children and adults alike. Not every piece will appeal or speak to every person, but different parts should reach out to all ages, genders, races, sexual orientations, and differing socio-economic backgrounds.
Ideally, hard copies of the book will end up in all UU homes and congregations, but initially, the book will be available free on the web as the details of publication are worked out.
Inspiration:
The idea to create a UU Text sprang from a conversation I had with a good friend who grew up United Church of Christ (UCC).We spent many hours talking about life issues, ethical grey areas, and matters of faith.She mentioned on more than one occasion that that a particular situation reminded her of X story in the Bible, and that she often drew on ideas from these stories for guidance when deciding how to respond to various situations.She also mentioned that it was a useful common reference point for her friends at the UCC church, because all you had to do was mention the story or book and everyone got exactly what you were talking about.
I envision a UU Text creating this same kind of common bond, a common reference point for all Unitarian Universalists.Imagine children on Sunday mornings using stories from The Text in their RE Classes, while upstairs, perhaps, the adults are hearing a sermon based around one of these same stories.Or imagine one day per quarter, every UU church across the nation has a service centered around the same selection in the Text, as is happening currently with the formation of the Liturgical Year shared by many Protestant faiths.There are endless possibilities once we have a common text, but the basic sense of identity that would be created by having a common Text that all UU’s know and can reference would be amazing.
More details to come!