"CLF" by Laura Cavicchio ©

IX. CONCLUSION: Religious Prospecting ‘On the Edge’ 

The Fall of 1999 brought the ministry of the Rev. Jane Ranney Rzepka and the broadening of opportunities for participation by lay leaders and members.  Members now participate in the annual election of members of the Board of Directors by voting at the Annual Meeting of the Church or by mailing a special ballot.  Quest regularly publishes member profiles and personal accounts and articles written by the membership. Feedback from readers is solicited regularly concerning current events of the church and the denomination.  Readers are encouraged in creative ways to participate from a distance or in person in key denominational gatherings such as the General Assembly in June. 

With Rzepka’s ministry, the church became increasingly de-centralized in its governance.  The twelve members of the Board are drawn from diverse geographical locations and conduct the affairs of the Church via telephone conference, e-mail, and in face-to-face retreat meetings.  A newly energized batch of subcommittees in Religious Education, Fundraising, and the like conduct business across distances. As lay leaders they are charged with, and accept, a new level of responsibility for ‘visioning’, competency, and stewardship.   As of October, 2000, Rzepka saw to it that the six-year payroll and rental debt now in the amount of $92,550. was paid off.  For the first time since 1970, the CLF was free of debt, although the Church continues to labor with financial difficulties. ^[164]

 In the area of religious education, the first color-printed periodical, UU&ME, for children ages six to eleven, was created by Religious Education Director Betsy Williams to replace the former Junior News.  The popular publication provides stories and activities for children as well as opportunities for interaction with and among the readership.  Reaching beyond the CLF membership, special funding was procured beginning in 2001 for the mailing of UU&ME to all second graders in every Unitarian Universalist congregation in North America.  For far-flung member families, Quest and a variety of membership services guide and encourage spiritual practice at home in the CLF tradition – wherever ‘home’ may be, is an on-going source of togetherness and teaching, as seen in this correspondence from Switzerland:

"Let me say first that both Tom and I are grateful for Quest.  In our busy lives it usually is the only bit of inspiration for reflection that we have; it reminds us that we have chosen the right path for ourselves and our children.  The little ‘rituals’ that we do follow have actually become important for both children.  Our initial reason for joining CLF was to have some sort of base to draw from in order to explain god’ and ‘religion’…I sought and found, in the orientation packet, two prayers that we say with the children every day…"^[165]

As a member congregation of UUA, the Church of the Larger Fellowship supports the Principles and Purposes of the Association.  Members today no longer subscribe to a bond of fellowship.  After an initial inquiry by mail, phone, or e-mail, prospective members complete a membership form and informational survey that helps the Church to better get to know them and their particular needs.  When they decide to join, members sign and return a copy of the current CLF Mission Statement, ending with the words,  "I/WE hereby join the Church of the larger Fellowship, Unitarian Universalist."  As of the year 2001, membership totaled 3188 individuals in 2700 households, many of whom include children and teenagers.  Demographics show that members come from every state in the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia, and are dispersed throughout 69 countries.  Some members are Unitarian Universalist clergy, or other religious professionals.  

Forty-one fledgling or very isolated churches are members of Church on Loan.  As of the year 2001, the Church has a young adult ministry, a prison ministry, a ‘welcoming congregation’, and is looking at ways to adapt programs that are intentionally anti-oppression and inclusive.  Members find meaning and communion across all kinds of boundaries.  Witness these remarks by CLF Administrator, Lorraine Dennis:

"Mental patients and prisoners write to us all the time to say how much their membership means to them, how they feel personally accepted as part of the congregation, and how receiving Quest contributes to their spirits.  Much as

they would like to, they may not be able to respond financially to our annual

canvass drive, but they enjoy participating in other important ways, like

returning their ballots when new Board members are being elected.  It’s a

wonderful thing."  ^[166]

The following letter testifies to the meaningful connection derived from CLF membership – from a woman in Missouri who sent a photograph for the "membership wall" at General Assembly, held in Cincinnati in 2001:

"Here is a photo of me and of my husband to use at the CLF booth at General Assembly…I live on the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri and the nearest UU Church is in Springfield, MO, about 90 miles away.  All of the churches here are very different from a UU church and I feel pretty isolated sometimes.  My membership in CLF means so very much to me.  I look forward to Quest each month – it helps me to know that I am not alone."  ^[167]

This same CLF’er shows the independent and adaptive spirit typical of many who live without access to a Unitarian Universalist minister or a conventional congregation.  Strongly committed to living their free religious values wherever they may find themselves, members who marry use CLF materials to create their own Unitarian Universalist wedding ceremonies, but that is not all.  Witness these concerns:

"While I am writing to you I just wanted to mention another aspect of our isolated state.  What do CLF members do when there is a need for a funeral service?  It is just that a funeral can come up pretty unexpectedly and I am thinking, wow, I need to look into this so I will be prepared.  The church in Springfield has no minister right now and the fellowship in Jefferson City does not either. I don’t expect you to come up with any answers, just wanted to share what is in my heart right now."^[168]

Fortunately, the minister and staff of the CLF can provide some answers – in pastoral assurance and guidance by phone or e-mail, as well as in the recommendation of helpful resources for creating memorial ceremonies.  Members also bridge the gaps by sharing their real stories, as well as their joys, concerns, and support with one another. 

The larger fellowship’ stands on the edge of all paradigms for mission and ministry that could ever have been envisioned.  Being a ‘global’ fellowship and a ‘virtual’ parish is nothing new for the CLF; however, the reality of cyberspace interconnection has transformed this era of ‘religious prospecting’.  For an institution such as the CLF, the availability of electronic communications has been a gift.  It is also true that responsive institutions have little choice but to adapt to this technology, or become obsolete.  Under the ministry of Jane Rzepka, ‘church by mail’ became church by e-mail, and ‘the post office mission’ became a mission by website.  The new CLF website serves several purposes.   One is as an extension arm to new membership.  The site is visited annually by thousands of newcomers worldwide who are just discovering Unitarian Universalism.  It provides a new level of visibility and speed in the transmittal of information about the church, as well as ways to initiate inquiry, or move into the membership application process. 

Secondly, via a special password, established members can access services, such as the CLF’s library, read on-line publications, or download materials, such as current and archived editions of Connections and other resources for home worship and education.  A recently re-established religious education committee that ‘meets’ electronically has begun plans to design and launch its first adult education class’ via the CLF website.  With the help of interactive software, subscribed students from all over the globe will be able to join together to study and participate in discussions about ‘UU’ history.  A new ‘Welcoming Congregation’ class will also be conducted electronically.  Two list serves, one for the general membership and one for those with a special interest in matters of family and Religious Education, have also been extremely popular.  The shift to electronic access among members now means that a CLF’er stationed on an aircraft carrier in Hawaii can share personal stories, experiences of faith, ideas and resources, debate, or discussion on religious issues with a member living in the desert in Utah.   List subscribers have recently begun the practice of facilitating a prayerful Sunday morning on-line sharing of joys and sorrows.  A new list serve for college students is newly up and running.  There is also a list for UU’s in the military that is not exclusive to CLF, but which is managed by a CLF’er in the Naval Reserve. 

       While "small group" ministry is proliferating in conventional churches, CLF is evolving its own.  In this dramatic and significant passage in the institution’s history, ‘being church’ in the CLF tradition is yet again subject to change.  But why not?  So many people are dependent upon their internet ‘habit’ for connection and information.  Given the infinite menu that is available on the web, including the inevitable destructive influences and messages, it is important that the CLF is a ‘voice’ in that universe. It is a little early to know whether electronic accessibility will produce long-term growth in the numbers of Church members.  Chances are that it will, given the ease with which inquiries can be made by people from all over the world who cruise the CLF website.  These actualities raise new implications about the CLF’s identity as a high quality religious society, its accessibility, and what constitutes membership; but its deepest mission remains the prospecting of human will and spirit across whatever boundaries are present.  From the earliest efforts of the Pamphlet Mission and the first tracts and letters of the Post Office Mission, no creedal assent has barred the honest inquirer from the bonds of ‘the larger’ free fellowship. 

Prospecting: going forth in expanding liberal truth and word to uncover other like-spirited religious prospectors with whom to share in free fellowship.  I recall those words as I also reflect upon my earlier discussion of The Post Office Mission:  "These accounts bear witness to a burgeoning church’ of "Freedom, Fellowship, and Character in Religion" that was not of wood or  stone, but evolving out of the perseverance, solidity, and radical openness of the human mind and heart.  These accounts exemplify how the bonds of fellowship embedded both in human structures and spirit allowed for the transmission of the liberal word on the frontiers of religion, culture, and geography."  And in the words of Charles Lyttle: "How sacred the flame on these little, transient altars of spiritual freedom!"  

Like those pioneers who painstakingly gathered names and sent the liberal message with perseverance through living webs of interconnection, the CLF has gone worldwide as a religious welcome wagon and carrier of truth.  Born again of strife and the will to transcend ignorance and isolation, the ‘larger fellowship’ is one of shared comradeship, word, and ministry willing and able to be on the edges – of ‘what is’ church, and ‘what is’ our liberal mission.  By the virtue and spirit of its active members and leadership, may it thrive, grow in vision and innovation, and always be a ‘backstay’ along the expanding frontiers of religious liberalism.

"CLF" Table of Contents  ·  Bibliography >>

^[164] Ibid – Rzepka e-mail.

^[165] Correspondence from Carol McEowen, 2001, with permission, files of the UUCLF.

^[166] Used with permission, 2002.

^[167] Correspondence from Barbara Fredholm, 2001, with permission, files of the UUCLF.

^[168] E-mail to Laura Cavicchio, April 3, 2002, used with permission.

Last updated June 12, 2005