The American Unitarian Association: A Brief Summary

The American Baptist Movement came from England in the 17th century, after the Baptists were persecuted by the Church of England for being dissenting separatists. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, new members were converted and congregations were formed by Baptist preachers who traveled throughout the South, in particular during the eras of the First and Second Great Awakenings.

George Fox preached to a wide area of people in the United Kingdom. He took paths through various cities to spread his word to thousands of people. The map of Wales in the appendix shows the route he took through that country. He passed though many cities to speak about Quakerism. Some of these people listened to him, accepted what he said, and went on their own quest to spread the word.

He stresses throughout the essay that the settlers who are willing to be involved in this “mission” must put their whole life into it and come together as one if they want their religion to succeed as a model for other Christian churches throughout the world. Winthrop says that God will help them in their times of need, and bless them in return for their faith in him.

The General Conference of the United Methodist Church voted in 1968 to abolish the African-American Central Jurisdiction and to merge all churches regardless of race under the new United Methodist Church. It set a goal for each Annual Conference area to merge together by 1972. South Carolina began discussions on merger as early as 1966, but it took until 1972 to accomplish the goal. The two conferences, the all-white 1785 Conference, and the African-American 1866 Conference merged at the 1972 Annual Conference meetings in Spartanburg. This paper will focus on the issues that faced the merger starting with the first Plan for Merger in 1970 until the completion of the merger in 1972.

In African-American history, "the church" has been the center of Black communities and has been established as the greatest source for African American religious enrichment and development. The term, "the Black Church” represents many details of racial and religious lifestyles unique to Black history. By 1700, most Protestant and Catholic slave owners came to a conclusion, that if a slave had a soul, conversion to Christianity had no effect on them being a slave. Some slave owners searched for passages in the Bible that made it sound as if the Bible approved the enslavement of black men and woman. During the 1730s, the "Great Awakening" movement brought about a demand for the use of livelier music called hymns in worship service. This new

Galindo analyzes that the fundamental “mission” of a congregation is the same as any other congregation that exists in any part of the world. He argues that though every congregation has a mission and a vision, at the same time, it shares a basic common mission. (43) This reminds me of my home church The First Church of Evanston and my Field Site, The Evanston Vineyard Church. Both churches have a common mission of welcoming people to the church, irrespective of their ethnic, cultural, racial, and economic and, gender backgrounds. The mission is to help people be received in the house of God with due and deserved Christian love so that they feel loved and welcomed. Both these churches encourage church attendees to attend the service and receive the Eucharist.

Church of the Brethren does not accept abortion. Participating in abortion is not support their beliefs. Church of the Brethren is a denomination that was formed to continue their practices their own way. They started as a small group and to this day still recruit new members. They solely use the New Testament as their source of guidance for the practice they preach. Rational Choice theory explains Church of the Brethren 's position in opposing abortion.

The First Great Awakening, was a religious revitalization movement that came through the Atlantic region, and even more so in the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s, forever impacting American religion & is widely known as the most important event for American religion during the eighteenth century. The First Great Awakening was inspired by an English Methodist known as George Whitefield along with other ministers, when many people in the rural areas rejected the Enlighted and rational religion that came from the Cosmopolitan pulpits and port cities. George Whitefield began this movement with speaking tours through the colonies (“The Great Awakening”).

The Making of the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message. A. J. Smith Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008.

One of the main driving forces in the Transformation of religion was the American Revolution. It ushered in a period of virtue, justice and possibilities. People embraced some of the religious teachings like those of Christianity but not fully. Thomas Jefferson was an example of this Another motive for the change in religion was the religion of old did not do much to stop the impurity that was going on Around in America, that’s what made this transformation so significant. In a time were irreligion was becoming more and more popular, this transformation brought the people away from the “darkness and closer too the light.” The religious transformation brought America closer together and helped reform society; it also eventually divided the

For this assignment I took part in a religious service at a small Orthodox Church in Baltimore.

The CODA, Codependents Anonymous group meeting I attended meets every Saturday at 10:15 at the Church of the Resurrection in Tempe. This self-help group is open and homogeneous. It is for women only, is in one of the church’s classrooms, and has a couple rectangular tables and chairs to place as needed for the group size. The date I attended, March 26th there were eleven other women, all Caucasian, ages approximately from early twenties to early sixties. Occupations and status were not discussed. The meeting is absent of a specific leader; instead members are encouraged to take turns rotating who facilitate the meeting.

This was a fun assignment and I learned about the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). Although, I am not a Calvinist, the CRC’s position on the authority of the Bible appears to believe the same as me, that the Scriptures are sufficient and no other source is needed. However, there is mention of “Freedom of interpretation” that confuses me a bit. For this assignment I have broken down the CRC position sentences to dissect each major claim.

I was thinking “Why is it so hard for me to be a member at UMC church? Am I really a trouble-maker?” Since then, I didn’t go to her church again, and struggled with what she said about me with self-doubt. My wound turned out to angry and hatred about her. While wrestling with who I was in pain, there was a season of Good Friday. There was a reading of the gospel of Luke about Jesus’ prayer one the cross, “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they do.” I was shocked by how Jesus begged the forgiveness for his enemies, and had mercy for them. They wanted Jesus crucified. They wanted Jesus dead. How was it possible for Jesus to release his wound and anger, and even to love his enemies?

The intention of the Quakers was to rehabilitate the offender and bring him/her to repentance understanding that all answers came through God. As the laws changed abolishing the use of capital punishment for any crime other than first-degree murder, Quaker ideology recognized that the opportunity to rehabilitate individuals incarcerated or their crimes would make them better citizens and not merely institutionalized individuals when they were released. “It was believed that penitence; pastoral counseling and reasonable discipline would correct antisocial behavior” (Bartollas, 2013). The goal of the institution was solitude as this would provide the individuals time for reflection