Talk:General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches

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Creating a section on governance[edit]

I'm a member of this denomination and have noticed that there's no reference to the form of polity used. It's a combined congregational / presbyterian form of governance, which follows a congregation > district > general assembly model, where each congregation is autonomous! Would it be okay for me to go ahead and add this section? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Torspedia (talk • contribs) 12:03, 3 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Query re missing reference[edit]

removed

A survey of members in 2004 found 61% regard themselves as Christian.

I can find no referrences to this survey or results. I have removed it until an accurate citation can be provided. From my experience, I would guess that 61% is probably about right, but we should have a propper reference -- Chris Q 07:56, 12 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

It was a survey carried out by the General Assembly's Taskforce in 2004 - and subsequently published / discussed in The Inquirer throughout the earlier stages of 2004. Unfortunately, I do not know the exact date when the results were first published. --Steelson80 23:00, 14 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"Purpose of Page"[edit]

Is this page simply about the GA or about Unitarianism in Britain currently represented by the GA? I was thinking of adding some of the history from the page on Unitarianism to this page but wasn't sure since much of it predates the GA. Angelamaher 10:38, 29 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I have added a little on the Acts of Uniformity and Toleration. Angelamaher 11:03, 29 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Very good question! I had presumed that the Unitarianism page was mainly about the history of an idea and therefore international. Whereas, the GA page was mainly about the history of an organisation and therefore largely domestic. Of course, to do either subject justice, there has to be an overlap between the two. Yozzer66 18:47, 29 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Missing history[edit]

The following article suggests that the first unitarian service was in 1774, and the first Unitarian chapel was "within 4 years".

Unitarians in London

This is earlier than the 1813 Act, and therefore implies that the services were illegal. It also means that some early history is missing from the Wikipedia article. Ogg (talk) 18:28, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I trust this has now been cleared up. I wrote an article on Essex Street Chapel. BrainyBabe (talk) 10:56, 25 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

major changes proposed[edit]

I have proposed at Talk:Unitarianism, and repeated at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Religion/Unitarian Universalism work group, the possibility of creating History of Unitarianism in Britain. That would enable most of the material in this article to be moved over. It seems to me that this article, as a national religious organisation, needs a structure more along the lines of Unitarian Universalist Association; it could evern learn from Church of England. Any objections, suggestions, or offers of help? BrainyBabe (talk) 11:50, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

For reference, here is the structure of the UUA article: 1 Other Unitarian Universalists 2 Congregations 3 Organization 3.1 Corporate status 3.2 Decentralized association 3.3 Principles and purposes 3.4 General Assembly 3.5 Finances and membership fees 4 Related organizations 5 Presidents of the UUA 6 Moderators of the UUA 7 Boy Scouts of America controversy 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

I propose for the GA something like: 1 History of Unitarianism in Britain (pointing to the main article, with a summary) 1.1 Previous organisations (BFUA, etc.) 2 Congregations 3 Organisation 3.1 Structure 3.2 Principles and purposes 3.3 Societies (UCA, etc.) 4 Related organizations (UUA, etc.) 5 Officers 6 See also 7 References 8 External links BrainyBabe (talk) 10:55, 25 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Reflect current reality[edit]

In attempt to redress the balance of the article from nearly 100% history to reflect the fact that the GA is a living and vibrant organisation of living people (on 29 March 2011) I added to the preface ... "Unitarians are now an open faith community celebrating diverse beliefs differing from many other religions in that it believes in helping people find their own spiritual path rather than defining it for them [1]. Essentially it could be said to be an opensource neutral personal development movement." Except the last sentence, which is a personal interpretation, this is a slightly condensed quotation from www.unitarian.org.uk. (Philip Colfox secretary@bridportunitarians.co.uk) — Preceding unsigned comment added by PhilipColfox (talk • contribs) 15:15, 29 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]