UCA Fundraising Request

December 3, 2022

Thank you UCA members for a great 2022! As the year ends, and you consider you charitable giving, would you prayerfully consider contributing to the UCA?

Your donations allow us to spread unitarian theology, and connect unitarian Christians, by putting on a yearly conference, hosting the UCA website, publishing unitarian works, producing the UCA Podcast, making unitarian apologetics videos, and more. The Christian world needs the truth we unitarians have to offer, and your generous donations make that possible!

To donate, or make changes to your current giving, go to the donate page on the UCA website, and click the Donate Now button.

Donate

You can set any monthly or one time amount. We value all donations, including the proverbial widow’s mite. We give thanks for donations of $10/month or greater, by identifying you as a UCA Partner, who receives a free yearly gift from us, as well as a discount to our yearly conference.

And in December of 2022 and January of 2023 we have a generous benefactor, The Grace Fund, who will match your giving – so your monthly or one-time gift will have double the impact! Your $100 will become $200, or your monthly $10 will for the first year be multiplied to $20 a month. If God has blessed you financially and you would consider donating more, either once or monthly, this would be a great time to do it.

The Grace Fund, a charitable equity foundation serving as a multi-generational granting mechanism for unitarian Christian churches and ministries, has already donated generously to unitarian bible translation projects and other unitarian ministry efforts, and we’re all looking forward to watching how the Grace Fund continues to help unitarian Christian ministries do big things!

Thank you again to The Grace Fund for partnering with the UCA, and thank you to all of the UCA members. The year 2023 promises to be fruitful for the unitarian movement because of you!

Secure your seat! Registration closing for #UCAcon2022

September 28, 2022

If you were thinking of registering, the time is now. On Sept. 30th the catering order goes in, so we need accurate numbers. That’s only a few days away.


So what can you expect? The longer…and funner(?)…answer is on UCA podcast episode 60, Pre-UCA Conference 2022 Roundtable (below). But here’s the purpose in short form:

  • Connect with other unitarian Christians
  • Present academic papers to advance the unitarian case
  • Share practical knowledge to empower each other’s ministries

It’s shaping up to be a great event. Your feedback from last year’s conference was excellent. It inspired this year’s workshops, the meetups, and a unique program for the closing night plenary session.

If you’ve registered, be sure to download the Eventleaf app to your mobile device and sign in. If you can’t make it this year, follow @UnitarianChrist on Twitter (the official UCA account) and watch for hashtag #UCAcon2022. We’ll have “live” updates and posts throughout the weekend.

We’re excited to see many of you again, and many of you for the first time!

Here’s the roundtable discussion skipped ahead to where we start talking (02:44).

A sneak peek into the upcoming UCA Conference 2022

September 14, 2022

Today’s UCA podcast roundtable is about next month’s conference (schedule here), and it’s brimming with information. Anna Brown, Jake Ballard, and I discuss:

  • The paper review process
  • Paper topics listed and discussed
  • Q&A time information
  • Affordances of the larger venue
  • Workshop topics (will run parallel to paper presentations)
  • Evening plenary sessions
  • Meetup topics for Friday afternoon
  • The available baptistry and debate training on Saturday afternoon
  • The Conference Partners
  • Info about our twitter live event postings #UCAcon2022 (follow @UnitarianChrist)

Thanks to Anna and Jake for or a great discussion. Enjoy episode 60 – Pre-UCA Conference 2022 Roundtable!

Exciting Extracurriculars – 2022 UCA Conference

August 26, 2022

There’s more in store than just the UCA Conference!

Gather Your Team

Arrive early on Thursday with your team or committee and use the building to get some work done, in person! Then enjoy the weekend as a reward for your hard work. Email conference@unitarianchristianalliance.org if you would like a space.

Pre-party at “The Abbey”

Also arrive early and drop in at “The Abbey” for the UCA Pre-party, Oct. 13, noon to 5pm. It’s a mile up the road at an 1865 schoolhouse turned church and then turned house. Take in some singing, refreshments, and joy. Alan Cain shows you around in the video below. Fun!

UCA Pre-party Video

Evening Visits

Gather with others after the evening meeting (ending around 8:30). There are restaurants, a brewery downtown, and plenty of space to just hang out and get to know others.

Baptistry

There is also a baptistry available Saturday afternoon for any who want to use it.

Local Attractions

Come early or stay later and take in some local attractions, including the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Cedar Bog Nature Preserve, and more (listed on the Conference page).

Hope to see you there!

The UCA Conference has room for you . . . so far!

August 22, 2022

So many good memories here, so many lovely Christ-followers! Will we see you at the UCA Conference this year?

Our venue is better and bigger than last year, but we anticipate that we may fill it up! So don’t delay; you can register now here.

This year we’ll have informative, cutting-edge presentations like last year, but we’ll also have less-theoretical offerings in the form of hands-on workshops and meet-ups. But it won’t be the same without you.

Registration is OPEN! UCA Conference: October 13-15, 2022

July 12, 2022

Tickets are NOW AVAILABLE for the second annual UCA Conference, in Springfield, Ohio, October 13-15, 2022!

You can register right HERE, right now!

The UCA Conference planning committee and the UCA Board of Directors have been hard at work bringing to life what is set to be a spectacular event full of fellowship, food, and teaching! This year, you’ll get the opportunity to network with like-minded believers; to learn about new ministries, projects, and opportunities; to be challenged by insightful academic presentations; and to be enriched by a variety of topical workshops hosted by Unitarian Christians from all over!

We had so many join us last year that we’ve had to open more seats for 2022. However, make no mistake, space for this event is still very limited. We are expecting a large turnout this year, so please DON’T WAIT to sign up and make sure you guarantee your place for yourself, friends, or family members.

Please visit the Conference page for information and to register right away!

We can’t wait to see YOU in Springfield, Ohio this October 13-15!

a few policy and mission clarifications

June 3, 2022

In this post, which has been approved by the UCA Board, I will make a couple of clarifications to help with some misunderstandings of the UCA which crop up from time to time.

Because the UCA is a non-profit organization which aims to promote unitarian Christian theology and to connect like-minded believers, it can best achieve its mission by being neither a church nor a denomination nor a high-control group. Only by protecting its members’ right to hold various beliefs outside of the Affirmation can the UCA most effectively achieve this two part mission.

So, given this mission as an organization, we will not do many things which a Christian church must do. The UCA does not exercise church discipline, and has no spiritual authority over its members. We encourage all UCA members to become members of churches, house-churches, or online fellowships in which all aspects of Christian teaching and practice are taught and lived out, and in which responsible, biblical church discipline is exercised.

It has sometimes been suggested that the UCA elevates knowledge or theological prowess over issues of holiness and good character. This is not and never has been true. Serious character issues, in our view, are grounds for the UCA to distance ourselves from any person, including but not limited to: sexual immorality, sexual harassment, sexually predatory behavior, antisemitism, racism, vicious conspiracy theories, divisiveness, and in general unkind or immoral online or offline behavior. In general, any violation of our terms of service can be a sufficient reason for the termination of membership.

The UCA has recently been accused of being a “politically correct” organization. But the UCA does not and will not participate in culture war or political issues: we exist to promote unitarian Christianity and to network and serve unitarian Christians. It seems that some have misinterpreted moderation decisions in the UCA Facebook group, in which people have been admonished or removed for aggressive online behavior, to mean we will tolerate anything. Some also seem to interpret our narrow focus as implying that in our view no other aspects of Christian teaching matter. But of course, they all matter, and all churches must teach them. But the UCA as such (but not its individual members and member groups!) must remain neutral about many such issues which are understood differently by various unitarian Christian groups. In fact, it is to be expected that UCA members and even members of its Board will differ widely on various issues outside of the UCA’s Affirmation.

Another common confusion is noticing that a Board Member has publicly said X, Y, Z, and thinking that therefore it is the position of the UCA that X, Y, and Z. But the UCA has no official policy or statement unless it has been approved by the whole Board, and it will be clearly posted as such at unitarianchristianalliance.org. Board members, like every member of the UCA, have many opinions and interests beyond the scope of the UCA mission and its policies. The views expressed in podcasts, blogs, Twitter feeds, videos are their own, and do not necessarily represent those of the UCA.

In conclusion, bad actors have no safe harbor among us. Nonetheless, it is important for any UCA member to exercise all caution and wisdom in dealing with those who contact you via UCA means (e.g. the Facebook group, the contact boxes in the Directory) for the simple reason that we can’t vet all UCA members or police all such interactions.

Call for Conference Papers: deadline of July 1, 2022

April 7, 2022

The Board of the Unitarian Christian Alliance is pleased to announce a general call for papers to be presented at the second annual UCA conference in Springfield, Ohio, October 14 – 16, 2022. (Watch this blog for the opening of registration.)

  • The submission deadline is the end of the day (U.S. Eastern Standard / New York time) of July 1, 2022.
  • Submissions will be blind-reviewed by a committee of three.
  • We are looking for scholarly (or at least: informed, insightful, and well-argued) papers which are also accessible to an educated lay audience on topics which can advance the cause of unitarian Christianity.
    • Topics may include but are not limited to: biblical theology, systematic theology, biblical studies, textual criticism, history of theology, history of unitarian Christianity, apologetics, Christian philosophy, analytic theology.
  • Authors may submit even if they are neither a member of the UCA nor a unitarian Christian.
  • Paper submissions should conform to the Chicago Manual of Style (Notes and Bibliography style, with footnotes and bibliography).
  • The main text should be no longer than 6,000 words, so that the presentation is no longer than 45 minutes. 
    • Submitted papers longer than 6,000 (in the main text – so not including footnotes) will be automatically rejected. 
    • Authors should plan on about 10 minutes of audience Q&A after their talk. 
  • Papers may be read, although authors are encouraged to present the material in an engaging way. 
    • Conference presentations will be video-recorded and may be posted on the UCA YouTube channel, and our social media committee may also snip out interesting “sound bites” for short videos. 
    • By submitting a paper, you agree that your presentation may be filmed and used in these ways by the UCA.
  • Still, a fully written paper must be submitted; an outline or proposal is not enough. 
  • Authors of accepted papers will be expected to supply a PowerPoint or Keynote or Google Slides (etc.) presentation to accompany their talk by the end of Thursday, September 15, 2022. (This should be emailed to the address below.)
  • After removing any self-identifying features (e.g. your name, references to your other publications or other work), please email your submission to conference@unitarianchristianalliance.org. 
    • Our conference coordinator will ensure that the papers are suitable for blind review and then pass them on to the committee.
  • Results will be emailed to authors by the end of Friday, July 15, 2022.

Save the date: UCA 2022 Conference!

March 23, 2022

The UCA Board is excited to announce that our second annual conference will be hosted by the Lawrenceville Church of God in Springfield, Ohio!

The Board hopes to have online conference registration open online some time in the next few weeks.

Check-in for the conference will open at 4:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, October 13, 2022, and the conference will end with the last session after dinner on Saturday, October 15, 2022.

Attendees are invited to attend church on Sunday at our host church or at one of some nearby unitarian Christian churches; details to come.

If your unitarian group, ministry, etc. would benefit from an opportunity to gather in person (e.g. a board meeting), the host church has generously offered to make rooms available before the conference starts that Thursday. If your group is interested, please contact us at conference@unitarianchristianaliance.org.

Also watch this space for coming announcements about submitting a paper to be presented. (The deadline for submissions will be July 1, 2022.)

We hope to see you there!

Conference registration closes October 7

October 3, 2021

There’s still time for you to register here.

Living Hope International Ministries

Why the end of October 7 deadline? Because on October 8 we need to give our caterer a head-count. (Yes, the price of admission includes two dinners and a lunch, plus snacks and drinks!)

Atlanta Bible College

In recent days the Board and our wonderful conference coordinator Stacey have been tweaking the schedule and making sure we have all the right safety and audiovisual equipment. The speakers are putting the final touches on their cutting-edge presentations, and host Mark Cain has been honing his knock-knock jokes.

We’re very blessed this year to have an incredible line-up of unitarian Christian ministries serving as Conference Partners. By their generosity, we’re able to keep costs low for everyone and to help those to attend who would otherwise find the cost prohibitive. Stay tuned for some upcoming blog posts highlighting our 2021 Conference Partners.

Allegiance to the King

You can meet these amazing people at the conference at their tables at the back of the room and find out what they are doing to advance the cause of Christ in today’s world and how you can be a part of it.

Many will have books or other materials for sale and their table, and there will also be a book raffle, with all attendees receiving tickets to play with.

This year’s Conference Partners include: Allegiance to the King, Atlanta Bible College, Spirit and Truth, Living Hope International Ministries, Williamsburg Christadelphian Foundation, IntegritySyndicate.com, 21st Century Reformation Online, and the trinities podcast.

Hope to meet you or see you again there!

– Dale Tuggy, UCA Board Chair