Inspiring Churches
There are many inspiring Unitarian Universalist congregations in our association. Here are two that I hold central to my sense of vision and inspiration. In both cases, these congregations are deeply engaged with the particulars of their community context and are known as leaders throughout their community. Each are doing the work of being an intentionally multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-generational community, both within an explicitly Unitarian Universalist framework. Their worship experiences are heart-felt, music-rich, and spiritually engaged; their leaders are visionary, inspiring, and transformational.
All Souls Unitarian Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma
While I had heard about Tulsa before Senior Minister Marlin Lavanhar made his invitation to Bishop Carlton Pearson's Pentecostal-Universalist congregation, it was the turning that came in the wake of that event that really caught my attention and inspired me to follow All Souls regularly and attentively. I had the chance to hear from Marlin directly when he offered the keynote at a Worship Arts Conference in Denver in 2010, and through that encounter I came to better understand his and his congregation's strategies for faith formation, integration and community leadership.
All Souls Unitarian Church, Washington DC
My love for All Souls goes back to its multi-site church plants with A. Powell Davies in the 1950s. Throughout its history, All Souls has been deeply engaged in its community, and has been a leader known equally for its powerful worship services as it is for its social change work. This makes sense, as All Souls understands these two areas as profoundly connected: worship is the place where we practice and rehearse the Beloved Community.
All Souls Unitarian Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma
While I had heard about Tulsa before Senior Minister Marlin Lavanhar made his invitation to Bishop Carlton Pearson's Pentecostal-Universalist congregation, it was the turning that came in the wake of that event that really caught my attention and inspired me to follow All Souls regularly and attentively. I had the chance to hear from Marlin directly when he offered the keynote at a Worship Arts Conference in Denver in 2010, and through that encounter I came to better understand his and his congregation's strategies for faith formation, integration and community leadership.
All Souls Unitarian Church, Washington DC
My love for All Souls goes back to its multi-site church plants with A. Powell Davies in the 1950s. Throughout its history, All Souls has been deeply engaged in its community, and has been a leader known equally for its powerful worship services as it is for its social change work. This makes sense, as All Souls understands these two areas as profoundly connected: worship is the place where we practice and rehearse the Beloved Community.