On the 29^th and 30^th January, 16 political prisoners had a joint case at the Royal Courts of Justice, appealing the lengthy sentences given to them for peaceful protest against the climate crisis. Across both days, hundreds of people gathered, listened to speakers including Chris Pachkam, and were buoyed by musical guests including Billy Bragg. In the early afternoon of the second day, dozens of protestors staged a sit-in blockade on The Strand, directly in front of the Royal Courts.

As the courts are just around the corner from Essex Hall, the offices of the General Assembly, Unitarians for Climate Justice hosted a ‘rest and welcome’ space for protesters outside the courts giving their support to the prisoners. Unitarians have long stood up for civil liberty and care for the planet, so this seemed like a straightforward cause to get behind. 

Over the course of the two days of the trial, several hundred people passed through the doors of Essex Hall, hosted in the space that was originally a Unitarian book shop, and more recently a cafe, and is awaiting refurbishment to be used as a more active space for gatherings of Unitarians and allies. 

The U4CJ team, led by Rob Oulton, welcomed people in, served them tea and biscuits, and created a welcoming space for a warm rest and a sit-down – particularly needed after the very moving silent sit-in on the road outside the courts. 

There was much gratitude expressed by the protestors – and interest in Unitarianism, especially having experienced our welcome so directly. 

As Joseph Priestley wrote in 1774, the same year that he played a part in forming the first Unitarian congregation in Essex Hall, “Religious liberty cannot be maintained except on the basis of civil liberty”.

The results of the appeal will not be known for some weeks. 

If you would like to join U4CJ’s Facebook or WhatsApp groups to be connected with other Unitarians taking steps large and small, all are welcome. There are close connections between U4CJ and our Social Justice Network, which works with newly-appointed social justice reps from Unitarian and Free Christian congregations. Please contact Ann Howell for more information.

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If you are looking for less toxic social media platform, Bluesky offers a space where hate speech and deliberate misinformation are banned. We have created a profile and will use this to test the waters and add to our social media toolbox. We invite you to find us and follow us!

Bluesky is founded on the acceptance of community guidelines that: empower user choice, cultivate a welcoming environment, and evolve with feedback. They believe that treating others with respect is non-negotiable. You can read the full guidelines here.

You can use Bluesky in your browser – https://bsky.app/ – or on your phone, just download the app. We are @unitarian.bsky.social

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There are four openings for new members to the Executive Committee. To be considered, you must apply by 31 January 2025, with support from your congregation or other Unitarian member organisation. 

You can find all the information you need, including nomination forms, here: https://www.unitarian.org.uk/how-we-work/ec-elections/

What is the Executive Committee (EC)?

The EC are the trustees of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches – the charity that supports our denomination in line with our charitable object. The current members are Rev Jo James (Convenor), John Bates (Honorary Treasurer), Sarah Benfield, Rev Laura Dobson, Zac Baker, Jenny Jacobs, and Simon Hall. 

How are they appointed?

We hold elections every two years to appoint four new EC members, who will each serve a term of four years.

All quota-paying members of congregations are eligible to vote in the election, along with Associate Members, Ministers, Honorary Members. Each person only gets one vote. 

How are elections managed?

We work with Popularis, an independent company that manages electoral processes for a range of organisations. We pay them a fee for this. 

The process is overseen by the Electoral Panel, a group of volunteers from the Unitarian movement. Each Electoral Panel member serves for three elections, with one volunteer rotated out at each election to retain knowledge . Current members are Nicola Temple, David Warhurst and Ann Peart. 

We rely on congregational secretaries to ensure that ballot papers are provided to each quota paying member in a congregation; as the GA does not hold a list of individual named congregation members, we cannot provide ballot papers directly. 

When will the elections happen?

The deadline for candidates to stand for election is the 31st January 2025. Ballot papers will then be sent out to members and congregations in early-mid February. The deadline for ballot papers to be returned to Popularis is 28 March 2025. The results of the election will be announced shortly afterwards. Successful candidates will begin their term from the end of the annual meetings, on 14^th April 2025. 

How many candidates will be elected this time?

Four candidates will be elected, in line with the GA’s constitution. 

We are in an unusual situation this year, where there are more than four vacancies on the EC. This is a result of there being fewer than four candidates standing at the last election, and then one of those elected candidates needing to step down from the EC for personal reasons. Co-opted members must stand for elected at the next election to continue.  This means that after the election, the new EC will be able to co-opt additional candidates into the remaining vacancies. 

The GA’s constitution in its current form does not anticipate the situation we find ourselves in this time – even if the full four candidates are appointed in this election, the resulting EC will not be quorate. As such, the EC are putting forward a procedural motion at the Annual Meetings to make a small change to the constitution. The proposed change will allow that EC body to co-opt additional members so that it becomes quorate. 

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(Written , in accordance with the motion passed at the last Annual Meetings): “Unitarians and Free Christians welcome the new agreement signed by representatives of the Israeli Government and Hamas.

It is a basic human right we all share to live at peace with our neighbours, regardless of religious, political, and cultural differences.

As Unitarians and Free Christians, we grieve with all those who have lost friends, relatives, partners, their health, their homes, and their livelihoods in this conflict, the roots of which go back centuries.

We hope the newly negotiated ceasefire will prove to be the beginning of the creation of a lasting settlement respecting the rights of all who live in the Israel-Palestine region.

We urge continued generosity to humanitarian relief efforts in the region through recognised charities, such as the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and Medical Aid for Palestinians.”

For reference, the full wording of the passed motion can be found here: https://www.unitarian.org.uk/policyanddebate/

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In light of the Climate and Nature (CAN) Bill that will be debated in parliament on the 24th January, a group of prominent faith leaders delivered a letter to Downing Street signed by 26 of their faith colleagues, including our Chief Officer Liz Slade. Other signatories included: the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, the Bishop of Reading, the Rt Revd Olivia Graham, and the Bishop of Kingston, Dr Martin Gainsborough, the president of the Hindu Forum of Britain, Trupti Patel; the chair of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, Qari Muhammad Asim; and the Senior Rabbi of the New North London Masorti Synagogue, Jonathan Wittenberg.

The CAN Bill would enshrine in law a series of protections to the climate, including limiting carbon emissions, ending the extraction of fossil fuels in the UK, and monitoring the impacts on human health and the destruction of nature.

So far, 108 MPs have pledged to be at the vote. You can check to see if your MP is on that list here: https://www.zerohour.uk/togetherwecan/. If not, there’s a link at the bottom of that page for you to email your MP directly and encourage them to attend the debate.

This bill aligns very well with Unitarian values regarding the stewardship of the earth and its natural resources, as well as giving voice to those most affected by climate change in this country and globally.

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In light of the recent vote to move forward with the Assisted Dying Bill in Parliament, Geoff Levermore, President of the Unitarians and Free Christians in the UK, reminds us that our denomination voted in favour of assisted dying in 2013, after a year’s examination of the issue within our congregations. Ultimately, it was our underlying values of love for our neighbour and compassion for all beings that swayed our stance. From our perspective, we respect our neighbour’s right to interpret or ignore religious texts as they see fit. Our faith tradition gives us the freedom to interpret religious texts and other sources, such as science, philosophy and poetry, and to use reason to shape a faith that fits our consciences. We put loving thy neighbour into action; deeds not creeds. As the Bible says, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” 

From Ann Howell, our Social Action Officer: It is important to mention that our vote in 2013 was far from unanimous and that while the motion we agreed on was in favour of giving terminally ill people the right to end their life in a “painless and dignified manner”, this new bill brings up some potential nuances that should be considered. Our vote was erring on the side of compassion and the relief of intolerable suffering and not meant to undermine the sacredness of human life and each individual’s agency over their own existence. 

The exact wording of the 2013 motions is: 

That this General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, recognising the worth and dignity of all people and their freedom to believe as their consciences dictate, believes that: 

1) Any individual who faces an intolerable existence because of a debilitating and/or incurable physical condition should have the right to seek support for the termination of their life in a painless and dignified manner; and  

2) legislation should respect their choice and allow them compassionate assistance in achieving such a death without fear of the prosecution of anyone involved. 

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The Executive Committee of the General Assembly held a hybrid meeting on the 23rd and 24^th November, in Birmingham and on Zoom. It was the first meeting with our recently co-opted EC member, Zac Baker (South East Wales), and we were grateful to have his thoughtful input.

We are grateful for the warm welcome from Birmingham Unitarians at their Sunday service (led by Mark Hutchinson), and the chance to be in conversation with Unitarians from across the Midlands over a delicious lunch! 

We were glad to hear a report on the work of Unitarian Transformers from Mark Hutchinson and Laura Dobson. Unitarian Transformers were launched three years ago with funding from the Wood Green Trust, to This includes collaborations with congregations (recently Doncaster, Norcliffe, and Macclesfield), as well as working with the Midlands Unitarian Association to conduct a ‘sustainability audit’ of congregations. The project has also supported the Malvern Transformers youth group connected with Evesham Unitarians, in creating resources that can be used by other congregations for their youth and family ministry. We heard Unitarian Transformers’ plans to continue development of their ‘Connections’ series of online gatherings, as spaces for Unitarians and others to find inspiration and connection. 

Our context

The first part of our meeting was spent sharing our perspectives on the context we are working in, through the questions that Convenor, Jo James asked “What are the virtues that are regularly and intentionally happening in our movement?” We then moved on to explore the opposite qualities of that list of virtues, and identifying where those negative qualities are at play. We found the exercise of sharing these virtuous and challenging qualities very helpful in grounding ourselves in a shared understanding of our context, and found it helped guide our decision-making through the meeting. 

The EC heard reports from the GA staff, including a report on a gathering that Chief Officer, Liz Slade recently convened bringing together Unitarians, other liberal faith leaders, theologians, artists, and community-builders to explore the questions of how we work in a time of transition – what we hold on to, what we mourn, what we let go of as not useful, and what ‘dropped threads’ of past practices we pick up. The gathering was framed by Dougald Hine, author of At Work in the Ruins, and Iona Lawrence, Director of the Decelerator. 

Governance

• We heard an update on progress of the EC elections process, and that our election partner, Popularis, has sent out information to the membership to welcome nominations. You can find out more about the elections here, if you or someone you know may be suited to act as one of our national trustees for the movement. 
• The EC reviewed the proposed constitution for the GA’s move to CIO status, following its update after feedback from the movement earlier this autumn. A motion proposing that this moves ahead will be put to the membership at April’s annual meetings, and we will share further information on this shortly.
• The EC continued the exploration from the previous meeting of reviewing our quota payment system. We agreed that quota payments should be revised, recognising that the current figure of £35/head has not changed for over a decade, and would be much higher if it had kept pace with inflation. There will be a likely increase to £40/head from next year and we will share further information with congregations on this change shortly. 
  

Ministry and ministry support

• The EC approved the Interview Panel’s recommendation that Melda Grantham receives Full Member status, after successfully completing her Newly Qualified Minister status.
• The Ministry Students’ Fund, which provides grants to support students’ living expenses while they are in ministry training, needs additional funds in order to support future students, and the EC committed to putting £200,000 in to the fund. Investing in the ministers of the future is essential to the health of our movement, and we will be inviting other Unitarian bodies to support this fund. 
• The EC agreed a recommendation to revise the way in which ministers’ housing is supported, in recognition that housing costs have increased significantly in recent years, resulting in some of our ministers living in housing poverty. This paper will be shared with the membership shortly.

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Nominations for the General Assembly Executive Committee (GA EC) are open – the Election Panel tells us more. 

The General Assembly is seeking new candidates to stand for election to join the Executive Committee. Who do you know who might be an asset to our movement in this role? Candidate applications close on 31 January 2025, so now is a great time to share a quiet word of encouragement with potential candidates.  

The role of the Executive Committee (EC) is to work with the Chief Officer and staff team to lead and serve the Unitarian and Free Christian movement. The words that Liz Slade, Chief Officer, wrote in The Inquirer at the time of the last EC election are still relevant now:  

“This is an exciting time to be part of this leadership group, because of the nature of the challenges we are facing. COVID-19 brought closer to home the fragility of many of our congregations, but also displayed the creativity and care they hold. We know that ‘more of the same’ could lead to chapels closing in the not-too-distant future, and we know in a movement like ours, the path to the future must be found locally, not imposed from the top down. So the work of leadership from Essex Hall is akin to that of gardeners – tending the soil, nurturing the seedlings, supporting the mighty oaks, taking care of the compost, having an eye on the weather, and the keeping the whole ecosystem in view.” 

What does the EC do? 
EC members represent the movement and are democratically elected by members across the country to be the trustees of the GA charity. Their work is to enable the smooth running of the charity according to the GA’s charitable object. They bring experience from within our movement and from their professional and voluntary work elsewhere. This may be in management, finance, communications, change management, charity governance, or some other experience. 

The EC meets around six times a year, either in person with an overnight stay (with one longer two-night meeting per year), or by video conference. We have recently moved to holding meetings at weekends to make EC membership more accessible to those in work. This arrangement could be altered further for the new configuration of members.  

Who can stand for election? 

Candidates should have been part of the Unitarian community for at least three years and have experience as a member of either their congregation’s governing body or similar committee, or have been a trustee of another charity. They will also need to fulfil the Charity Commission’s legal requirements for trustees.  

How do I apply? 
Applications need to be received by 31 January 2025, with support from the candidate’s congregation or other Unitarian member organisation. You can find all the information you need, including nomination forms, here: https://www.unitarian.org.uk/how-we-work/ec-elections/.  

When is the election? 

Biographical information on the candidates will be sent, and the election will open, in February 2025. There will be a five-week period for voting and the election will close on 28 March 2025. The results will be announced shortly afterwards. Successful candidates will take up office at the end of the Annual Meetings in April 2025.  

Questions 
If you would like to know more about the work of the EC, or whether you should consider applying, please do get in touch with Liz Slade, Chief Officer.  

This article was written by the Executive Committee Electoral Panel.  

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After the sale of their building, Newcastle Unitarians decided to donate their silver collection to Newcastle City Council. Read all about this generous gift here:

Handing Over the Silverware

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There is promising news from the Leadership and Design team in the appointment of its new Network Facilitator, Esther Wanjiru Mukera. The Leadership and Design team is an international body working to reimagine a global framework framework for Unitarian, Unitarian Universalist, and Free Churches.

“After a careful selection process we offered the position of U/U Global Network Facilitator to Esther Wanjiru Mukera.  Esther is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kenya and in her professional career she served in high level management roles. She also has a deep awareness of the diversity in resources, context and culture  among Unitarian-Universalists globally. We look forward to welcoming Esther and we will be supporting her as she puts her energy and faith into action!”

From the UK General Assembly Chief Officer Liz Slade, “It’s been an honour to be part of the LDT’s discernment process over the last couple of years, to envision a new way of collaborating between U/U communities and leaders that’s right for our times. The appointment of Esther as the first staff member is an important milestone – she will begin the work to bring this new vision into reality. The many candidates who applied for this role were exceptionally strong, and it’s exciting to feel the enthusiasm for real relationship-building between the very different expressions of our faith around the world.”

Learn more about Esther here.

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Photo: ‘Ministry In The Making’ at The Nightingale Centre, 2022

Ministers are spiritual leaders, who provide care, guidance and inspiration to our communities – and to the world. We believe in the importance of visionary leadership for our communities and offer training for ministers at Unitarian College and Harris Manchester College, Oxford. 

Applications for ministry training beginning in 2024 are now open. Apply online here. Click here to download the application guidance and declaration.

To find out more contact Simon Bland, our Ministry & Congregational Support Officer.

Deadline for applications: 16 September 2024.

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The signed accounts for the financial year ending September 2023 of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches are now available to download.

For more information about these accounts, we invite you to a Zoom call with our Honorary Treasurer, John Bates (see below).

Talk to the Treasurer: Wednesday, 4th September at 6:00 pm 

We invite you to join an open Zoom call with John Bates, the GA’s Honorary Treasurer on Wednesday 4th September at 6:00 pm, if you would like to learn more about the GA’s accounts or ask any questions. We welcome questions by email in advance.

Join the Zoom call here.

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A funding scheme to encourage growth and new ways of working.

Congregations will be able to apply to the fund for grants to invest in people – that is, to employ or contract with people who can help them innovate in the way they develop, communicate and deliver an engaging and rewarding spiritual and social experience for current and new members. ​

Ideally, two or more congregations will collaborate in a joint project, maybe with robust and thriving congregations supporting and encouraging emerging congregations. ​

District support will be critical to success and a condition to attract the match funding from the scheme.​

For more detailed information, you can download this document that answers some of the Frequently Asked Questions about this new fund.

Some examples of possible projects:

• A group of Congregations could apply for funds to recruit a new full time Minister who has innovative plans for developing local Ministry to reach beyond the current membership.​
• The scheme could pay for a full-time administrator for several Congregations, with the aim of improving revenue by innovative use of buildings, assisting the Trustees with accounting and day to day financial management, and freeing up time for Ministers or other leaders to increase community engagement. ​
• Or maybe a group of Congregations wants to commission advice on developing a clear and innovative “Welcome” message, provide training for volunteers and enhance communication with the broader community, including paying for various events to focus engagement with existing and potential new members. ​
• These are just suggestions, not prescriptions. The scheme would be open to all innovative ideas for building capabilities for rejuvenating and growing our movement​.

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Rev Derek Mc Auley, Chair of the Hibbert Trust talked to The Gleaner, Jamaica’s leading newspaper, about the debt the organisation owes to the island nation and the fund it has developed to take responsibility and start to make amends. Read the full article here.

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Monday, 8^th April 2024 

The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches are proud to announce the appointment of Prof Geoff Levermore as GA President 2024-25. Prof Levermore is a dedicated and prolific climate scientist, and notably one of the Lead Authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) contributing to the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the IPCC with Al Gore in 2007. (https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/a-nobel-contribution-to-peace-prize/) 

He attends services at both Dean Row and Norcliffe chapels in Cheshire Greater Manchester and gives services at nearby chapels in the North West and Shrewsbury. His own spiritual perspective is influenced by the theologian Gordon Kaufman’s ideas about the Mystery of Creation, and philosopher Karl Popper’s views on the Open Society. “I commit the social sin of discussing politics and religion with people. I believe in open religion, open societies, open to doubt… I’m not so spiritual, although I believe in the transcendency of things. An idea can be so wonderful – a lightbulb moment. This happens with my theology.” His personal theology drives him to make the world a better place and he is confident that technology will play a significant role in combatting global warming. 

This faith in technology comes from a career in climate science that has lasted more than 50 years, beginning when Professor Levermore earned a PhD from Imperial College in 1975. In 1979, he formed the Energy Management Team at Wandsworth Council, London and inaugurated the London Boroughs’ Energy Management Group (still running), which hosted several Government Ministerial visits. In 1983, he started lecturing at South Bank Polytechnic on building services and energy use in buildings. He moved to UMIST, later Manchester University, in 1992. From 1995 to 2009 he chaired a professional committee on current and climate change weather data for building design in the UK and is still on a similar US Weather Data Committee. 

He has authored over 150 journal papers, lectures, and books and his work has earned him numerous awards and grants, including a CIBSE (Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers) Silver Medal in 2010. Professor Levermore is currently Emeritus Professor at The University of Manchester and an Adjunct Professor at the China Agricultural University, Beijing. He continues to publish and speak at events on climate change and the potential for good building design to mitigate global temperature rises. 

The Unitarians are a progressive faith group with a long tradition of combining liberal religion with rational inquiry and respect for honest scientific endeavour. Professor Levermore continues this tradition of scientific exploration in the Unitarian community, which has included such icons as Joseph Priestly and Charles Darwin.  His role as President of the Unitarian GA will bring him around the country, speaking to congregations about his views on mitigating the climate crisis and about our moral imperative to act, as well as promoting the work of the GA. 

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