We are delighted to welcome Lizzie Kingston Harrison to the General Assembly staff team, in the role of Congregational Connections Lead.

Lizzie will be connecting with individuals and congregations across our movement to help share knowledge and experience, so that more people can benefit from the good practices and innovations that have been developed locally, building on the work done by the previous Congregational Connections Lead, Rev. Bob Janis-Dillon.

Lizzie loves building authentic and meaningful connections with people and creating spaces where ideas can be shared freely and creatively. She cares deeply about Unitarian principles and left her career in teaching to contribute to this loving and vibrant community. Her role is to find new ways to connect our congregations so that we can share resources, serve our communities, and inspire each other. Lizzie’s doctoral thesis is on the eighteenth-century Unitarian dissenter Joseph Priestley, and she has a deep respect for the radical and liberal values on which the movement is founded. Lizzie grew up in Norwich and now lives in Suffolk with her husband and daughters. The beautiful coastal countryside and the grounded and welcoming community at Framlingham Unitarian Meeting House have helped her to find a spiritual home.

Lizzie said: “I am delighted to be the new Congregational Connections Lead and to serve our loving, free-thinking, and inclusive community. My research on the origins of Unitarianism gave me insight into the principles on which the movement is founded and when I started attending services, I was excited to find that those values live on in a compassionate and vibrant way. In this new role, I am so glad to have the opportunity to build fresh and dynamic connections and create new ways for us to share ideas and inspiration.  I am keen to listen and hear your priorities for congregational connection so if you would like to get in touch, please email me.“

Find out more about our staff team here.

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Rev Kate Dean of Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, Hampstead, appeared in the Camden New Journal recently to highlight the lack of options in the borough for same sex couples who wish to have a spiritual or religious marriage ceremony. Just 4 out of 86 non-conformist churches in Camden offer same-sex weddings.

“It is so difficult to find places that will allow same-sex couples who want to express their love for each other in a religious setting… In such a diverse borough, it may be that LGBTQ couples do not realise the opportunities that some churches offer” – Rev. Kate Dean

Read the full article which appeared on 30 September 2021.

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Photo: Rev. Michael Allured, Rev. Alex Bradley (Tutor) & Rev. Robin Hanford

This year, two students have completed their training at Harris Manchester College, Oxford, and been accepted onto the Roll of Ministers. Rev. Michael Allured and Rev. Robin Hanford had their Valediction Service at the College’s chapel in June, with a small congregation of tutors, family and friends present in line with covid-19 guidance. Now, Michael and Robin share some of their feelings about completing their training during the pandemic and their future ministries:

Rev. Michael Allured said:

“I am honoured to become a Unitarian minister and proud to join my husband Feargus on the GA ministerial Roll. Thanks to him and everyone who has encouraged and supported me on a journey that began at Golders Green Unitarians in 1989. To be a minister of religion is a tremendous privilege and I’m deeply conscious of the responsibility that this role carries. I shall do all I can to live up to that honour in the coming years as I walk alongside fellow pilgrims in times of joy and sorrow. May we encourage each other in our continuing explorations and attempts to make sense of life’s ultimate questions and what we are called to do for each other and for this precious and fragile world. It was joyful to share my valedictory service at Harris Manchester College, Oxford  with Rev. Robin Hanford. Robin and I spent a year training together and I missed not joining him for his second year. So although I graduated in 2020 the 12 month wait for my valedictory service because of Covid-19  was worth it to celebrate in person with Robin and his family.”

Rev. Robin Hanford said: “The last few years have been something of a whirlwind! I can still remember my interview at Harris Manchester College, and that feeling of euphoria when I was told that I had been accepted to train for ministry in the Unitarian and Free Christian Churches. In fact, it feels like it was only yesterday! That said, a lot of training has been crammed into two years. Training for ministry while living in Harris Manchester College and studying for a University of Oxford Postgraduate Diploma and being President of the college’s Middle Common Room was a very busy but ever such a special and rewarding experience. One of the things I believe to be harder than training for ministry during a pandemic must be training a minister during a global pandemic! I owe huge thanks to all at Harris Manchester College for their support. I am also hugely grateful to the Oxford Unitarian congregation who could not have been more supportive of my student pastorate with them. Sharing a valediction service with Rev. Michael Allured was a very moving experience. Michael has been a huge source of support for me throughout my training. I know that we will continue to support each other as Ministers of Religion as much as we did when we were students.“
Congratulations Michael and Robin and all the best for your future ministries!

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Unitarian Chief Officer Liz Slade has taken part in an online conversation about assisted dying, hosted by Tim Wyatt for Religion Media Centre, with Rabbi Jonathan Romain, founder of Dignity in Dying, Dr Sarah Foot from the Christian Medical Fellowship, and Dr Hina Shahid from the Muslim Doctors Association.

The Unitarian movement voted in 2013 on the issue of assisted dying. In our recognition of the worth and the dignity of all people and their freedom to believe as their consciences dictate, members voted to support the principle that individuals should have the right to seek support for assisted dying in certain circumstances, and that legislation should respect this choice and allow them compassionate assistance without fear of prosecution of anyone involved. Many Unitarians are passionately in favour of a change in the law, while recognising the need to allow a diversity of voices to be considered on this important moral issue. In June 2021, we welcomed the launch of new Religious Alliance for Dignity in Dying.

You can watch the video in full here.

Make your voice heard during the Second Reading of the Assisted Dying Bill by joining this demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament.

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Ipswich Unitarians held a celebration on Saturday 25 September to mark the reopening of Ipswich Meeting House, one of the oldest non-conformist chapels in the country, after the completion of a huge renovation project supported by English Heritage costing £750,000.

Tessa Forsdike, the secretary of the trustees of the Meeting House, said the restoration work should guarantee the future of the building for at least the next 100 years. She said: “This is a very important day for us. It gives us the chance to show off what has happened here and show what makes this such a special place.”

You can watch a video of the celebratory events here.

You can find out more about the renovation project here.

You can read more about this story in the local press here.

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We are delighted to have reached an important milestone as Hale Chapel in Hale Barns, Cheshire, becomes the 100th Unitarian place of worship to register to conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies. The chapel’s minister Rev. Jeff Gould conducted their first same-sex wedding in August.

Reflecting on the day, Rev. Gould said: “The congregation of Hale Chapel was delighted to host its first same-sex wedding in the middle of this past August. The couple who celebrated their marriage at the chapel had recently moved into a house that adjoins the chapel’s garden and cemetery.  Their research revealed that a Unitarian house of worship would be the ideal venue for their inter-faith wedding, as one partner is Christian and the other is Jewish. I was delighted to officiate at a ceremony that involved elements of both religious traditions. The congregation is grateful that their first same-sex wedding couple will have a continuing relationship with the chapel, and look forward to welcoming other couples whose profiles reflect the diversity and richness of the local community.”

Unitarians have long supported lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, and we are proud to provide marriage ceremonies for all couples. In fact, we were one of the the first churches to offer same-sex marriages. Find out more here.

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Cotswolds Unitarians are supporting Active Peace Education in local schools, organised by Malvern Quakers. Rosemary Webb (pictured), who co-leads local Unitarian youth group the Malvern Transformers, is delivering the sessions ‘Rights for Kids’, ‘Six Hours to Change the World’ and ‘All Are Welcome’ in local schools, together with Quaker educators. Click here to find out more here.

Photo: Bosbury Primary School

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