New NAUA Circle
NAUA is sponsoring another new CIRCLE called Nurturing Your Spiritual Life CIRCLE that will be open to 12 participants and will meet every other Thursday beginning at 4:00 PM PDT (7:00 EDT) for 10 to 12 sessions. The purpose of the CIRCLE will be to discuss ideas and...
Dr Todd Eklof’s Response to the Monumental UUA Bylaw Changes
In this 13 minute video Rev. Todd Eklof details the many concerns that many of feel after the wholesale revision of the Principles and Values of the Unitarian Universalist Association. He repeats a theme first introduced in the Gadfly Papers that the merge of the...
UUA Delegates Vote to Eliminate Principles and Sources
The voting delegates to the 2024 UUA General Assembly voted 80.2% to amend Article 2 of their bylaws to remove the 7 Principles and the Sources and to replace them with a set of values with 'love' at their centre. Amendments to add "Reason" and "Peace" to the list...
Bob Simoni’s Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor: It’s now been 5 years since Rev. Todd Eklof published his book The Gadfly Papers and distributed it freely at the UUA General Assembly in Spokane in July 2019. Like the ceremonial nailing of the 95 Theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg by Martin...
New Issue of the Liberal Beacon
This issue of, #11 of the Liberal Beacon focuses on liberal religion’s connection to the wider world, beginning with Ann Pandya’s article about India’s first woman doctor and her relationship to Unitarianism. This is followed by an article submitted by the...
Rev. Todd Eklof – on the Road
The Rev. Dr. Todd Eklof is shown below visiting the members of the NAUA Fellowship in Hayward California. As always, it is nice when Unitarians across the continent make time, effort, and energy costs to meet face-to-face. Which reminds of the dates for the First NAUA...
New Edition of the Liberal Beacon
The Liberal Beacon #10 Featured Articles: Sensing the Spiritual Realm: Benneville and Early Universalist Pietism - Vernon Chandler Religious Pluralism in Context - Terry Cummings The Diversity of Diversity: Why Integration is Still the Right Way Forward - Bruce...
What stage of Reaction to the Changes in Unitarian Universalism are you at?
In this insightful article, Dr. Stephen Polmar examines changes and reactions within the Unitarian movement using the famous stages of grief model developed by Dr. Kubler Ross. This article was first published in the Oct. 2023 issue of the Liberal Beacon and bears...
I Before We Except Overseas – Tracing The Roots Of Our Multi-Century Identity Crisis
Most cultures of European descent cultivate individual identity more than other cultures of the world. We have to go back 60, or 100, or perhaps 300 years to find the roots of our contemporary debates over the role of identity in our society. One intriguing theory is...
Unitarian Rev. Samuel Joseph May – education, women’s rights, and abolition of slavery.
The Reverend Rick Davis talks about American Unitarian Rev. Samuel Joseph May who during the nineteenth century championed education, women's rights, and abolition of slavery. Aligning the efforts and successes of past Unitarian leaders with our efforts today,...
Understanding our Supreme Courts: US and Canadian Perspectives
In these session (origionally presented on Feb 13, 2024) our three presenters discus the ways in which our two Supreme Courts are appointed and some of the major issues with which they deal. The decisions of these courts have powerful and sometimes unexpected effects...
Darwin’s Birthday
Today, Feb. 12, marks the 215 anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin.- 1809 – 19 April 1882 I celebrate this day because of the tremendous, work, insight and ethical wisdom of this great British scientist. His discovery of evolutionary theory first published in...
Latest Edition of the Liberal Beacon –
Issue #9 of the Liberal Beacon is now available, We are currently looking for a new Editor of Liberal Beacon who has the time, desire, and some experience with layout, design, and editing. The volunteer position includes working with our current Editorial Board and...
Rev. Kate Rhode tells her story for the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR)
The Unitarian Universalist Church was once my home. Now, after the church stripped me of my ministerial credentials and defamed me for expressing what it now deems heretical views, I am suing. Read the full article here: ...
Special NAUA Service on Sunday Jan. 20 2024
This service features a sermon by Rev. Dr. Todd Eklof, entitled “Finding Our Way: Where Our Liberal Religion Must Go From Here”. Rev. Eklof is the Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane, President and Founder of the North American Unitarian...
A Remembrance of Rev. Dr. Finley C. Campbell
A Remembrance of Rev. Dr. Finley C. Campbell By Dick Burkhart, PhD Many in the Unitarian community will have heard of and been inspired by the tireless fight for racial harmony led by the Rev. Finley Campbell. In this tribute (reprinted here from the January 2024...
Losing my Religion
Losing My ReligionJudy Robbins, PsyD Although we focus on the imperiled Principles as the dominant outward sign, the entire religion of Unitarian Universalism is being reconstructed to the point where I do not recognize it. I am losing my religion. In the midst of...
NAUA Launches ‘circles’
Introducing a Fresh Approach to Interact with Fellow NAUA Members Commencing in February, we are excited to introduce a novel method for NAUA members to connect and foster camaraderie through Zoom. Initially, we will launch two Conversational CIRCLES scheduled for the...
Banned Children’s Books
The past year has seen a distinct increase in the number of books banned in our schools. Some of these bans focus on books promoting gender and sexual topics. Sometime these bans are instigated by government decree, as in Iowa. Other times bans are coming from the...
New issue of the Liberal Beacon
We are pleased to share Issue #8 of the Liberal Beacon. This issue features 4 feature articles, a tribute to Rev. Dr. Finley Campbell and a list of upcoming NAUA activities. We hope you enjoy this issue and share it with a friend or leave a comment! We wish you all...
Timely Unitarian History Lesson
In times of unrest and disagreement it is comforting to know that these times are not unique. We have been challenged by different understanding and goals of our religious organizations in the past and in the present. In this NAUA Academy video, Kevin McCulloch,...
Blessed are the Peackeepers
The recent events in Palestine/Israel and in the Ukraine gives us shocking awareness of the need for peace making. These type of long lived national and tribal warfare are an all too familiar component of our human history. However, we know from experiences in...
2023 Holiday Greetings from the NAUA President Rev. Todd Eklof
In this video Rev Dr. Todd Eklof reflections on the first year of the NAUA operation, the programs it is offers and the hope we have for Liberal Religion. He also shares his best wishes to each of you during this holiday season and beyond.
Parliament of the World’s Religions
A recording of the Nov. 2023 NAUA Academy Session is now available. "We accept all Religions as Truth” are the words spoken by Swami Vivekananda at the founding of the Parliament of the World’s Religions in 1893 in Chicago. Our speaker is Bruce Knotts, a Trustee of...
Online Communities – Good enough?
The link from this page is to the recording of a recent service at UUSpokane. This regular service is not an NAUA event, but given the need in the NAUA and all distributed organizations to create and sustain online communities, I hope it will be of interest. I also am...
Tributes to Rev. Dr. Finley C. Campbell
In this special issue of UUMUAC"s View from the Mountaintop 11 friends provide memories and pictures of Rev. Dr Finley C. Campbell, Rev Campbell was the founder of the Unitarian Universalist Multiracial Unity Action Council. (UUMUAC) Finley’s principled...
Different Responses to the Current State of Unitarian Universalism
The illiberalism that currently exerts control over the Unitarian Universalist denomination gives rise to many intense feelings. In this essay, reprinted from Issue #7 of the Liberal Beacon,Stephen Palmer aptly describes these reactions with which many of us are...
Rev. Kake Rhode opens law suit against the UUA
Rev. Kate Rhode has successfully launched her lawsuit against the UUA. In the suit she charges that the UUA unlawfully disfellowshipped her and thus eliminated her pension. This follows a distinguished career as a UU minister. She served many congregations over 40...
Liberal Religion – Its History and Values
Liberal Religion - It’s History and Values In this NAUA Academy Session, Rev. Dr. Todd F. Eklof discusses the origins and characteristics of liberalism in the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods, how liberalism manifested as Unitarianism in Eastern Europe and,...
Top Notch Saturday Community Worship Service
NAUA's monthly worship for October was service was exceptional. The music was first rate and Rev. Mark Gallager gave a very insightful sermon - Not Fallen Angels: Reconsidering fashionably cynical attitudes about humanity and civilization. The zoom recording of this...