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CHAPTER V
THE UNITED
PROGRAMS Merger efforts have been culminated in two instances:
by merger in federal union form in the Council of Liberal Churches and by
outright functional merger in the Liberal Religious Youth. Although the
latter merger preceded the former by a brief time, attention will be
turned first to the Council of Liberal Churches. THE
COUNCIL OF LIBERAL CHURCHES (UNIVERSALIST—UNITARIAN) The original conception of the Council of Liberal
Churches was that it would gradually supersede both the A.U.A. and the
U.C.A. There was a hope that other liberal denominations and liberal wings
of orthodox denominations would accept membership and give cooperation and
support. The concept of organization was a federal union merger, wherein
each member denomination would have a strong, representative voice. The
C.L.C. initially was to operate the merged functions of religious
education, public relations and publications. If these moves proved
successful, sentiment favored expanding the merger to the departments of
extension and of ministry. Following much study and a plebiscite, the
Council of Liberal Churches was voted at the joint assembly in Andover,
Massachusetts, in August, 1953, and incorporated in Delaware in October of
that same year. Its governing board, known as the Council consists of eight
members each from the A.U.A. and the U.C.A., and by
virtue of this membership and the budgeting control of the two
denominational boards, the C.L.C. is in effect jointly owned by the two
denominations, even though it is legally independent. The Division of Religious Education of the C.L.C.
began functioning in 1954, and since then has been in continuous operation
with its efforts well appreciated by the churches of both denominations. In
1955, a Public Relations office was opened in New York City with a
director. After six months this office was closed because adequate support
was not forthcoming from the denominations which reflected the inherent
impossibility of conducting public relations and promotion for two
separate bodies in a single operation. Only a very limited amount of a
general public relations program thereafter has been carried out by the
Administrator of the C.L.C. Although it was hoped that the merged
publications function, and especially a joint denominational magazine,
could early become operative, exploration between representatives of both
denominations discovered major stumbling blocks in finance, staffing, and
control. It was then decided that the merging of the publications function
would be postponed and the situation remains currently in this state. A Joint Interim Commission was established at the 1953
Joint Biennial Meeting at Andover to evaluate the work of the C.L.C. and to
study and recommend the next Steps in Federal Union. This Commission
reported its findings at the 1955 meeting in Detroit: The record of our Joint Division of
Education since its establishment, July 1, 1954, demonstrates how
productive united effort can be. Despite appropriations lower than had
been anticipated, our devoted and creative staff have exceeded our bright
expectations. C.L.C.
general administration has been economical, but federal
administration is at best cumbersome. A third national board and further
duplication of committees are inevitably costly. This is one reason why we
will not recommend expansion of federal union in additional divisions. The Commission believes that the
delegates at this time should authorize a step—by—step procedure whereby
the member churches and other local groups of both denominations may
democratically determine whether the A.U.A. and U.C.A. shall be merged, and
if so, in what manner. We recommend the establishment of a
Merger Commission to accomplish this end. Thus, to all intents and purposes, the C.L.C. has been
confined to conducting a joint religious education program for the two
denominations. The possibility of the usefulness of C.L.C. as an
instrument for gradual union seems to have been eliminated. Moreover,
there appears to be a growing feeling in both denominations that a C.L.C.
which is in effect only one headquarters function — religious education,
cannot go on because of the cumbersome top level machinery necessary to
keep it in operation. Although the organization and limited scope of the
C.L.C. is under criticism, the religious education program which it
operates has generally enthusiastic approval. The policies, finance,
program and staff are considered next. General Policies The general policies under which the C.L.C. operates
are: 1. Equal religious
education service, without priority or prejudice, for all Universalist and
Unitarian Churches on the basis of demand. 2. Creation and
dissemination of unified, modern educational materials. 3. Maintenance of high
quality service through competent, trained and experienced leadership and
staff and by use of recognized curriculum consultants. 4. Financial support of
the program by the A.U.A. and the U.C.A. on the basis of their willingness
and ability. 5. Service to local
churches regarding educational problems through a field staff and by
correspondence, including loan materials through the C.L.C. library. Finance The annual budget of the C.L.C. comes from the United
Unitarian Appeal and the U.C.A. via the latter’s Board of Trustees. The
latter guarantees the amounts it approves while the former usually
appropriates less than the amount requested; frequently, the C.L.C. has had
to ask for a supplementary appropriation in order to obtain the amount
required for its carefully considered annual budget. The amounts given by
the respective denominations in each of the last four years follow:
Net Expenditures for 1957—1958 were:
Gross expenditures amounted to nearly $95,000 with the
C.L.C. receiving approximately $12,000 income from sale of materials and
rebates of various kinds. Program The C.L.C. serves churches and fellowships of both
denominations. The total possible service area in church school work is
indicated by data on page 26, which shows a total of 564 schools and
approximately 44,300 members in the two denominations collectively in the
year 1955. Since field service is on a request basis, the C.L.C. does not
serve all church schools, except in the direct mail service which goes to
all church schools. The C.L.C. prepares numerous kinds of curriculum
materials for children and adults and maintains a library of films, slides
and books which are available for loan. The professional members of the
staff spend a considerable part of the year visiting and working with
various kinds of church groups. They have been putting special emphasis on
the development of church school programs for the junior high age group, on
leadership training and on adult education programs. Highly skilled effort
has gone into the development of the Beacon Curriculum Series for Church
Schools, but not all church schools in either denomination in 1957 used
these materials:
It is believed that the more traditional churches in
each denomination prefer to use materials other than the Beacon Series.
Some liberal religious groups outside of these two denominations are
interested in helping develop the Series and using the materials. Staff The administrative staff consists of the director,
secretary and an administrative assistant; a field staff of four very
experienced persons is assisted by two secretaries and a librarian. In
addition, there are several who serve as needed under the director: a
consultant, four editors and a curriculum coordinator. The general consensus is that the religious education
work and service have been of high quality. This common program has helped
to further mutual understanding and appreciation, at least in some areas of
the nation. LIBERAL
RELIGIOUS YOUTH The young people who form the Liberal Religious Youth
take pride in the fact that they have pioneered in the complete merger of
youth activities of the Universalist and Unitarian denominations. The first
annual meeting of the L.R.Y. in the summer of 1954 followed the third
Annual Joint Convention in 1953 of the American Unitarian Youth in its
fifty-seventh Annual Meeting (organized originally as the Young People’s
Religious Union in 1889) and the sixty-fifth National Universalist Youth
Fellowship Convention (organized as the Young People’s Christian Union in
1889). At this very first meeting they passed with rising
acclaim this resolution: “WHEREAS many young people now active in
L.R.Y. contemplate entering the liberal ministry, and WHEREAS there are no substantial
differences in training methods or religious philosophy between the
Universalist and Unitarian denomination BE IT RESOLVED that we urge the
Departments of Ministry of the Universalist and Unitarian denominations to
move toward merger under the Council of Liberal Churches.” Membership in the L.R.Y. is restricted to persons aged
fourteen through twenty-five. Membership is mainly through local groups of
which there were in the spring of 1958 some 245 reporting; of these 200
were paying dues. The L.R.Y. national quarters at the Universalist
Headquarters building where the Director, his secretary and the office
manager have their offices, is a busy place. The president of the L.R.Y.
has an office and there are always groups of young people around either
conferring with members of the staff regarding the work of their fellowship
or doing various volunteer tasks. The age span covers the college years, but the college
age youth tend to drop out, except in those groups which are organized at
the colleges. College graduates are too old to be compatible with the usual
high school groups, and this group, as in most denominations, has no real
place where they belong and have responsibility. The first of two major aspects of the program aims to
promote and develop youth groups and their programs in the local churches.
One part is the preparation and distribution of materials by the national
office for study and discussion. These materials cover a wide range from
“Boy—Girl Relationships” to “The Quest for a Future”. Some are
informational and others are suggestions for activities. They are developed
by a committee of young people, by people of special experience, and by the
staff, and seem mature and helpful. Another part is field work, that is
visiting churches and youth groups to stimulate interest, assist in
organization, and counsel on problems. The Director spends part of his
time at this, but the bulk of the field work is done by the young people
themselves. Teams are formed usually at or as a result of a conference and
they go about in their districts helping local church groups. The second major aspect of the program is conferences.
Throughout the Fall, Winter and Spring, some twenty weekend conferences,
stimulated and assisted by the national office, are held in districts and
regions. During the summer some fifteen conferences of a week or more
duration are held throughout the country at convenient places. The purposes
of these conferences are inspiration, study, acquaintance and the
interchange of ideas. One of the conferences is combined with the annual
Continental Convention where official delegates hear reports, carry on
their business, and elect officers and the council. The receipts and disbursements have run in the
neighborhood of $25,000. The receipts are primarily from the united appeal
of the two denominations, (U.U.A. cir. $13,700; U.C.A. cir. $4,500). The
expenditures are usual for maintaining headquarters and carrying on the
program described. OTHER
UNITED PROGRAMS The Senexet Conference is a completely unified effort.
Its composition and functions have been described in the chapter on the
Ministry. The Joint Biennial Meeting is an expression of common
concern and interests and the recognition of the common base for attacking
the respective problems of the two denominations. In addition, several
regional and state conventions are collaborating on common problems.
Denominational executives testify to the increasing spirit of cooperation,
particularly in the Midwest and to some degree in New England and other
sections. Universalist and Unitarian ministers have joined
together in a number of local and regional associations. There have been
twenty-nine Uni-Uni combinations of local churches. Merger is not solely a
present day idea, but one which has been thought about and discussed for
many years. 
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