Brief recent items from around the world

From Hong Kong: The world body responsible for internet classifications (.org, .net., .com, etc) is about to make a major opening up of classifications and one of the groups taking advantage of this is the UU group in Hong Kong, called the Spiritual Seekers Society.  They have had an internal consultation about what sort of registered names might be most useful in the future and they have decided to take out registrations on three endings: sss.org.hk; uuhk.org; uucn.org (for a future UU group in China).  Note that they are posititively thinking about future witness in mainland China!

From the Khasi Hills, India:  A recent report from their General Secretary, Rev Helpme Mohrmen, describes their plans for continuing the education of their church leaders within the contexts both of their strong local democratic conditions and their recognition of a more professional approach to ministry being required in the modern world.  Their first training session was well received and they hope that these training sessions will help leaders to develop skills that they need for doing ministry in their respective churches.  They have found that the previous training was able to boost the leaders' confidence and also empower them. The training was on leading worship, conducting rites of passage, basic Khasi Unitarian beliefs, and pastoral care.

Their Executive has also decided to start a review of partner church relations and has set up a Cell to oversee all matters involving partnerships.  Two members of their leadership were able to attend the recent UUA General Assembly and meet with American UU Partner Church Council members.

From Chennai, India:  The Madras Unitarian Church, partnered with the Glasgow and Edinburgh congregations in Scotland for the past 18 years, is just about to rebuild their 200 year old church.  The old building will come down and a modern replacement built.  The new building will be better able to serve the local community needs which the congregation tries to meet.  Professional advice has been taken and substantial financial help from an Appeal organised by the Scottish Unitarians will supplement local efforts.  The existing bell tower (separate from the main building) will be retained.

From Lagos, Nigeria:  The building of the First Unitarian Church in Lagos was recently under immediate threat because of irregularities in the planning and registration procedures when it was constructed many years ago.  The UUA International Office and ICUU have provided an emergency grant to enable rectifying procedures to be completed.  One of only three Unitarian churches of any duration in Africa, it would have been a great blow to the congregation to have lost it.

From South Australia: The small single-room Shady Grove Unitarian chapel in the hills outside Adelaide will celebrate its 150th Anniversary in October.  It has served isolated farming communities both as a chapel and a school house over the generations and still lacks electricity and power.  It does have a pedal organ, however, along with a continuing small congregation and a part-time leader based in Adelaide.

Michael Servetus Back from the Ashes and in English

Mr. Sergio Baches, the incumbent Secretary of the Michael Servetus Institute in Spain, has informed us that Michael Servetus' main work, and which took him to the stake in Geneva under the accusation of heresy, Christianismi Restitutio (The Restitution of Christianity), is now available in English.

According to Mr. Baches:
As the Michael Servetus reported in its previous communication dated 14 October 2007, Dr. Alicia McNary Forsey initiated the project to translate into English the main work by Michael Servetus, Christianismi Restitutio, already some years ago.

Under her coordination, as Managing Editor and Project Director, Christopher A. Hoffman and Marian Hillar made the first translation of the first part of the "Christianismi restitutio" entitled "De Trinitate" (On the Trinity), which was released in September-October 2007 under the title: "An English Translation of Christianismi restitutio, 1553, by Michael Servetus (1511-1553). Translated by Christopher A. Hoffman and Marian Hillar" (Lewiston, NY; Queenston, Ont., Canada; Lampeter, Wales, UK: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2007).


The purpose of this new communication is to inform you that the Second Volume (composed of two books) of the translation of "Christianismi Restitutio" has just been released this July.

You can obtain further information on the books in www.servetus.es.

Statement by ICUU President on the Tennessee Valley shooting

(This is the statement sent by Rev. Brian Kiely, President of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists, regarding the tragic news of a shooting inside a Unitarian Universalist church in Tennessee (USA).)


Dear U*U Friends around the world,

I have just learned of a terrible incident in the United States that touches our UU family. A single gunman went into the Tennessee Valley UU* Congregation in Knoxville, Tennessee and opened fire. The man was not known at the church. Details are still unclear, but it appears that at least one person is dead and several others wounded.

On behalf of the ICUU, I have sent the following message to the Tennessee Valley Congregation, to UUA President Bill Sinkford and UUA Moderator Gini Courter:

Dear Fellow UU's

On behalf of the Executive and all the national groups represented at the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists, I am writing to offer my deepest condolences in the wake of the Tennessee Valley tragedy.

We are shocked an outraged at the violence and violation committed in the sanctity of your church home, a place meant to be a safe haven. More importantly, we are deeply saddened by the loss of life, and the physical and emotional injury this terrible act has brought into your community.

We pray for you and with you in this time of trial. We pray that you will find the strength necessary to survive and rise above this crisis. We hope that your community is able to come together and be the source of strength it has always been for you and that this sad event will help bring you even closer through shared grief and shared healing.

The thoughts of Unitarians and Universalists the world over are with you in this tragic time.

Sincerely,

Rev. Brian J. Kiely

President

International Council of Unitarians and Universalists

Bishop of Nigerian Unitarian Church has died

The ICUU has just learned about the sad news of Bishop A. Soyombo-Abowaba's demise. He was the institutional leader of the Unitarian Church in Nigeria.

Brian Kiely, President of the ICUU, has written to the Nigerian Unitarians: "It is with great sadness that we have learned of Bishop Abowaba's death. Even though he was too ill to attend, we who participated in the Kenyan Leadership Conference felt his strong presence through each of you. I know I feel poorer for never having met him in person. The Unitarian Church in Nigeria has had a long and important presence in West Africa. Bishop Abowaba's strong leadership is no small part of that unique history. Unitarians and Universalists throughout the world join you in your sorrow."

The Unitarian Church in Nigeria was founded in 1919 by a gathering of liberal Christians from different denominations. Their hymns and church services are in Yoruba language, and they include the use of drums in their worship.

A call for more linguistic diversity

French-speaking Unitarians and Unitarian Universalists have joined forces in a common call for increasing linguistic diversity in the U+U world, particularly for those international languages other than English that are currently represented in the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU).

This joint statement follows the annual meeting of the Canadian Unitarian Council/Conseil Unitarien du Canada (CUC) in Ottawa, and it has been signed by representatives from associations in Canada, the French-speaking countries in Europe, Burundi, and Congo.

The statement acknowledges the work of the CUC and the ICUU is fostering diversity and the expansion of the Unitarian faith in cultural environments where English is not the primary language. It is hoped that this increasing diversity is also reflected in websites, worship resources, publications, and other written materials.

You can find the whole statement, in French and in English, in the blog of the Assemblée Fraternelle des Chrétiens Unitariens (AFCU).

(Note: Thanks to Jean-Claude Barbier from Correspondance Unitarienne for spreading the news about this.)

Change of Unitarian leadership in North East India

This information has been distributed by Khasi Hill Unitarian leader and member of the ICUU Executive Committee, Pearl Green Marbaniang, on a recent change in the leadership of the Indian organization:

“Bliss was it that dawn’d to be alive;
But to be young was very heaven”- William Wordsworth.

The cry for change that reverberated throughout the length and breadth of the Unitarian Union has brought in young faces to the top echelon of the UUNEI administration. In a historic verdict, the voters today elected four young ministers to take over the administrative affairs of the UUNEI for a three-year term. Rev.Derrick Pariat pipped Rev.Carleywell to become the President of the Union . Rev. Helpme Mohrmen was elected the new General Secretary, Rev.Darihun Khriam retains Treasurer and Rev. Pearl Greene is the new Assistant General Secretary. The position of Vice President will be filled when the new Exec meets on the 17^th.

Ten others were elected EC members, representing the four Circles (Districts) - three from the Jaintia Hills, as many from the Khasi Hills, two each from Ri Bhoi and Kharang Circles. Prominent among them are Rev.Nangroi Suting and Bah Khlur Mukhim.

General Assembly 2008 of the British Unitarians

According to their tradition, the General Assembly of the Unitarian and Free Christian Churches of Great Britain was held during the Easter weekend.

We could not find much information in the website of the British Unitarians themselves, but there is a good summary in the UUA-sponsored Inspired Faith, Effective Action blog, so feel free to check the news there. For those who like a more personal approach, Unitarian blogger Stephen Lingwood attended the meeting and recorded live his impressions of the sessions: see his Reignite blog for details.