I ran across the resolution of the 1937 Universalist General Convention, in Chicago, commending work and use of the Hymns of the Spirit.

VI. New Hymnal

Whereas, we note with interest and pleasure the appearance of the new joint Unitarian-Universalist Commission hymnal, “Hymns of the Spirit,” therefore, be it

Resolved, that this Convention expresses the gratitude of our people to the members of the joint commission for so faithfully performing the arduous task of compiling and editing this splendid and much-needed book, and be it further

Resolved, that we commend the use of this hymnal to all Universalist churches in need of new hymnals.

Universalist General Convention. Universalist biennial reports and directory. Boston, Mass. : Universalist General Convention. (1938), p. 22.

A single prayer in the services before Hymns of the Spirit beginning “Almighty God grant that the words” comes from a book identified in the index as the Theistic Prayer Book. What is this and where did it come from?

It comes from the Theistic Church in London, that lasts from 1870 or 1871 until shortly after the 1912 death of its founder and minister, Charles Vorsey, who was driven out of the Church of England. (He’s the father of the famous architech of the same name, if your mind goes to the Arts and Crafts.)  At the church, the book was known as The Revised Prayer Book, and ran through three (1871, 1875, 1892) editions.

In both Hymns of the Spirit (p. 146) and The Revised Prayer Book, the prayer appears in a section for additional prayers (in the third edition); it appears, slightly re-arranged as prayer for the “close of worship” in Hymns of the Spirit.

Cross-posted at RevScottWells.com.

The services before the Hymns of the Spirit include prayers and litanies from various sources, including the 1903 Devotional Services for Public Worship, by John Hunter. He was the minister of King’s Weigh House Church, then a Congregational church, in Mayfair, London.

You can read it at Archives.org.

I’ll see if there’s any commonalities, and if so I’ll note them below.

Crossposted at RevScottWells.com.

After about two years, I have added a new liturgical element: the shorter communion service, meant to be used “immediately after the Order of Morning Worship” and with the unusual option for “no distribution of the elements.”

This last option was once more usual for Unitarians than you might suspect. The service was conceived in spiritual terms, and in a creative alternative to individual glasses in the generation after fears — precipitated by typhoid — of infection.

The practice — a non-distributed or “spiritual” communion — deserves consideration.

1. “Embodied theology” — so much the darling of liberal theologians of the last generation — is showing its age, or at least its station, and this is the force that would resist a spiritalized view of the sacrament. Most of the people I know are well aware of their corporality, but the spirit is elusive. “Embodiment” and “messy theology”  is a misplaced complaint.
2.  Add allergies and the rejection of beverage alcohol to infection (and compromised immune systems) by many and you get a communion service where the elements themselves become a problem. This solves that.
3. I’ve met real, live Unitarian Universalists who blanch at the “cannibalism” of Communion. A spiritual service lowers a barrier.

On Thursday, March 10, 2016, there will be a gathering of the Council at the First Church in Chestnut Hill. We will be meeting to discuss collaborating with the UU Christian Fellowship on its effort to foster new UU Christian communities around the country, including the possibility of helping to establish new churches. Rev. Jake Morrill, the new UUCF Executive Director, will join us to discuss these possibilities.

When: Thursday, March 10, gathering at 9:00 a.m., worship at 9:30, with the meeting to follow. Coffee, refreshments, and lunch will be served.

Where: The First Church in Chestnut Hill, 26 Suffolk Road, Chestnut Hill, Mass.

On street parking is available and the church is a short walk from the Chestnut Hill MBTA stop.

Please RSVP, particularly for lunch, to Rev. Mark Caggiano at 617-566-6237 or markcaggiano@earthlink.net

Members from the CCCUUA are meeting with the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship at a dinner during General Assembly in Portland, Oregon.

The dinner will take place at McMenamins, at 5pm on Wednesday, June 24.

See the details at the UUCF Facebook page.

On Friday, June 27, 2014, at 8:30 a.m. there will be a meeting of the CCCUUA at the First Universalist Church in Providence, 250 Washington St., Providence, Rhode Island. We will discuss general matters of the Council as well as the current effort of gathering significant questions of Christian faith for Unitarians, Universalists and Unitarian Universalists. Light refreshments will be served.

Prior to the meeting, there will be a prayer service at 8:00 a.m. led by Rev. Scott Axford. First Universalist will hold a similar service each morning from Monday through Saturday during Ministry Days and the UUA General Assembly.

“See, I am Doing a New Thing” Next Steps for Christians within the UUA

THE COUNCIL OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES IN THE UUA
When: 2:30 p.m., Sunday, November 17, 2013

Where:
First Church in Chestnut Hill
26 Suffolk Road
Chestnut Hill, MA (Chestnut Hill T Station)

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As “spiritual but not religious” becomes a mantra of American society, there are also fresh, green shoots growing from within Christianity. Are those new ideas coming from within the Unitarian Universalist movement? Are UUs being left behind in this dawning of ideas, new and old? Please come and join a conversation about what is emerging from without and within the UUA.

There will be a talk and communion service led by Rev. Mark J. T. Caggiano, Minister of the First Church in Chestnut Hill and current Chair of the Board of Trustees. Coffee, tea and other refreshments will be provided.

There is no charge for attending, though please RVSP to Rev. Caggiano at 617-566-6237 or the contact form.

Hymns of the Spirit was, for the longest time, available from the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship for the princely sum of $5. But they’re all gone.

For a price, an online bookseller is probably your best bet (but not this one), unless you live near a church that doesn’t use them (or use many) and can spare one. That’s what this post is for. If you are looking for a copy or have some to spare, please leave a comment below.

So why did I set up the Hymns of the Spirit site?

Without a good reason could easily become a hobby site or an antiquarian folly. I have five reasons, roughly in order of importance:

• to promote a landmark Unitarian and Universalist worship resource
• to republish worship material for reuse and adaptation
• to focus attention on the next generation of hymnals and worship materials
• to provide a training tool for worship leaders
• to identify the work and theology of the era

Look forward to a formal launch in July 2013.

Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly 2013 has just ended — I watched parts of it from home — and reflected that my first General Assembly was 20 years ago, in Charlotte. One of the big accomplishments then was releasing the brand new gray hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition.

Twenty years later, we have seen supplements, but no new full hymnal since.

More interesting to me is that the old red hymnal, Hymns of the Spirit, chugs along, serving a predominately Christian base, the gray and the intervening, perhaps even less-used blue (Hymns for the Celebration of Life) hymnal being an inadequate diet for Christian worship.

But the books are wearing out; the last press run was in 1981. And it has problems.

This site is a history and reference site, and a personal project. It is a love letter to a constant friend in faith — both its hymns and the service book that begins it — and some ideas for what might come next.

Some writings will be gleaned from my blog, Boy in the Bands but others will be new and I hope to engage the help of those who, like me, have shared in benefitting from it.

This site is brand new; watch for more to come.

Sincerely yours,
(The Rev.) Scott Wells

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The Rev. Dr. Adam Tierney-Eliot, pastor of the Eliot Church, South Natick, Mass. and trustee of the CCCUUA has written about the Council at his blog, Burbania Posts on May 16.

See “On the Council of Christian Churches.”

On Sunday, June 5, the Council of  Christian Churches within the Unitarian Universalist Association will hold its annual convocation at First Parish in Weston, Weston, Massachusetts.
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Our keynote speaker is the Rev. Carl Scovel and the title of the event and his talk is “Amazing Grace: The Love of God in the Lives We Live.”

The Reverend Carl R. Scovel grew up in China, the son of medical missionaries. He attended the American School in Shanghai, Oberlin College, and Harvard Divinity School. Carl has been ordained as a minister for 54 years, including First Parish in Sudbury and, for 32 years, King’s Chapel in Boston. Carl Scovel has been active in affairs of the UUA, and served as editor of The Unitarian Christian for seven years. He received the UUA’s Distinguished Service Award in 2000.
He is active in pastoral work, teaching, and leading retreats. Carl has been married to Faith Greeley Scovel for 53 years, with three children and  seven grandchildren. Carl and Faith live in Jamaica Plain.

The day begins at 1 p.m. with lunch and speakers to follow.

Convocation 2011 Schedule

• 1:00 pm Conversation, coffee, and sandwiches.
• 2:00 pm Reverend Carl R. Scovel, Keynote Speaker, Minister Emeritus of King’s Chapel, Boston, “Amazing Grace: The Love of God in the Lives We Live”
• 2:45 pm Workshop: Grace in the Church: Rev. Dr. Adam Tierney-Eliott, Pastor, Eliot Church, Natick; Rev. Mark Caggiano, Minister, First Church in Chestnut Hill.
• 3:45 pm Business Meeting
• 4:00 pm Holy Communion Service; Rev. Terry Burke, First Church in Jamaica Plain.

See the CCCUUA Convention XXIX (2011) Brochure (PDF) for registration details.