This six-session program for individuals and groups explores
A Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism
by John A. Buehrens and Forrest Church.
© 1991 by the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Handout 5 is from the Humanist Manifesto I and II, edited by Paul Kurtz
(Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books). Copyright © 1973 Prometheus Books.
Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
This Study Guide was originally developed for members of the Church of the Larger Fellowship, which includes Unitarian Universalists unaffiliated with any settled congregation and which serves small groups of Unitarian Universalists meeting regularly for worship and discussion.
If you are reading A Chosen Faith on your own, the Study Guide can help you to deepen your experience with the thoughts of Forrest Church and John A. Buehrens. Sharing the book and your responses to it with someone else can add the stimulation of dialogue to personal reflection. However, you may find the simple discipline of reading and writing suggested by the Study Guide to be an enriching experience in itself.
If you are a member of a congregation, you'll find guidelines here for a series of six sessions of 11/2-2 hours, exploring the material through a combination of individual response and group interaction. As a rule, the Study Guide suggests more than enough activities to fill the time allowed for each session. Leaders may choose among the suggestions in planning sessions appropriate for their group. (If you think some of the "by yourself" suggestions would interest members of your group, you should feel free to share them as options for individual work between sessions.)
A workable group may number as few as four or as many as a dozen participants. For groups of ten or more, co-leaders are recommended. Co-leaders should plan each session together, deciding how best to share the leadership tasks. If more than 12 people are interested in joining, it would be wise to start a second group to allow each participant adequate time for self-expression.
Whether you are working by yourself or with a group, you will need a copy of the book, A Chosen Faith, and a personal notebook for your responses to the suggestions in this guide. For group meetings, only the leader(s) need a copy of the Study Guide; copies for participants are optional. Groups will also need a chalkboard or newsprint for some sessions.
For each session in the Study Guide, you are invited to read the corresponding pages in A Chosen Faith. After an initial session focusing on the Foreword and Preface, each session considers the two complementary essays addressing each of the five sources of our faith. Group leaders are invited to close any session with a brief reading from A Chosen Faith, one of the books listed in "Suggestions for Further Reading" (pp. 219-221 in A Chosen Faith), or something of their own choosing. Participants might take turns providing brief opening and/or closing words for each session.
You may be inspired to continue your study with some of the "Suggestions for Further Reading." Finally, the Study Guide offers options for using A Chosen Faith for further exploration and spiritual growth beyond this program. UUA Moderator Denise Davidoff writes in the Preface: "If you are a Unitarian Universalist, this book can help you speak your faith. I promise that you will find it an exhilarating experience." May the experience awaken you to the sources of your own faith and enlighten your understanding of Unitarian Universalism.