"CLF" by Laura Cavicchio ©

A Short History of the CLF

The story of the CLF has its taproot in the pioneering spirit of 19th century America, and the spread of liberal religion to the West. It begins with the human quest for religious fellowship and freedom across daunting frontiers of geographical, social, and spiritual separation. It is a story about the determination to share Unitarian and Universalist faith, and the evolution of a new paradigm for a “church without walls.” Such are the roots and the visions of the Church of the Larger Fellowship, then and now. 

Missionary zeal was high in 1800’s as churches of all denominations competed for theological territory.  Unitarians and Universalists felt an urgency to promote their gospel of a loving God in answer to the dominant Calvinist message of hellfire and brimstone.  Unitarians in Boston organized the American Unitarian Association, which dispatched itinerant ministers and missionary expeditions to fledgling Mid-West cities and distant prairies.  Universalists devised similar outreach efforts.  Liberal views in the form of letters and published tracts and pamphlets were carried on foot and horseback, house to house, and to Civil War soldiers in their camps.  Newspaper, periodicals, and books proliferated in the West as the demand for liberal doctrine and ideology caught fire.  Sunday School lesson sheets were mailed to subscribers for use in the home; printed sermons passed among neighbors served as ‘paper pulpits.’  A Unitarian women’s Alliance opened an office in Chicago and formed a relay system of letter correspondence called the “Post Office Mission.”  In Cincinnati, an invalid woman named Sallie Ellis started a ‘ministry by mail’ in her Unitarian church, and ‘Post Office Missions’ spread among churches.  Thousands of letters and packages were sent to far-flung free thinkers, bridging spiritual isolation with the farm family, the housebound, and the prisoner. 

Liberal religion forged in the wide open spaces was a blend of a radically inclusive spirit with an ethic of individualism, and a strong dose of social conscience.  It was this spirit, rooted in a vision to extend religious connections without limits that would give birth, in the 20th century, to a new paradigm for a ‘larger’ fellowship.  By the early 1900’s, ‘ministry by mail’ had grown into a global network.  It seems that the first person to conceive of such a network as ‘church’ was a Unitarian minister named William Channing Gannett.  In 1904, he launched the ‘Church of All Souls’ and for forty years he mailed a monthly pastoral letter and a sermon to a scattered ‘fellowship’ of un-churched Unitarians.  But with no means to join and no mechanism for growth, the church dwindled. 

By then, a World War was raging.  Rev. Frederick May Eliot, then the President of the American Unitarian Association, wanted to find a way to meet the needs of religious liberals serving in the armed forces.  Eliot set up a committee to study the feasibility of re-establishing a correspondence church like ‘All Souls’ under the umbrella of the Association.  Eliot’s vision was for a ‘larger’ fellowship beyond the concept of geographical location, in his words, ‘a church by mail…A church in the fullest sense of the word, a church which will serve isolated religious liberals wherever they live.’  It would be a ‘church without walls’, though rooted in a ‘parish’ identity.  The church would have a minister -- Dr. Albert Dieffenbach being the first -- for pastoral correspondence.  Members would not be names on a list, but active participants in the life, governance, and the financial support of the society, receiving the Association’s services especially tailored for home and field use.  Institutionally, the CLF would be semi-autonomous in nature: a self-governing member congregation of the Association, but with its budget and leadership under the Extension Department of the AUA.

The founding of the Unitarian CLF took place on May 24th, 1944, at the Annual Meeting of the Association.  In a time of war, the name was chosen to reflect a radical vision of religious hospitality beyond division and sectarian category. The CLF’s Purpose was stated as two-fold:  “To provide a spiritual home for isolated Unitarians and their families, and to transfer the allegiance of its members to local Unitarian churches whenever and wherever possible.”  The CLF was true to its purposes. Within four years, it grew from its original charter of 34 members to membership in every state in the USA, eight Canadian provinces, and nearly twenty countries.  Additionally, as an‘extension arm’ of the Association, the CLF undergirded the popular Fellowship Movement.  Geographically clustered CLF’ers were instrumental in starting new Unitarian fellowships --more than 400 by the end of the 1960’s.  Individuals and families who moved to communities with an already existing church were encouraged to transfer their membership.

“My Church Coming to Me” was the slogan under which the CLF began to expand its services beyond monthly pastoral letters and sermons.  A volunteer Religious Education Committee helped to develop the first full-fledged religious education materials and worship resources for use in the home or small gathering.   In conjunction with the AUA’s Department of Education, the “Church School by Mail” program was launched, with lessons adapted from the Beacon Series available on loan. In 1961, the Unitarians and Universalists merged to create the Unitarian Universalist Association. The Universalists had founded their own Church of the Larger Fellowship in 1947 under the auspices of the Universalist Church of America, and the leadership of the Rev. Clinton Lee Scott.   With the denominational merger, the two CLF’s conjoined, and the Church of the Larger Fellowship Unitarian Universalist was born.  The new entity retained the semi-autonomous nature and dual purposes of its predecessors.

The post-merger time was one of increasing innovation and diversification.  In response to requests for home educational materials for adults, the minister, Dr. George Marshall, created the popular “Independent Study Program.”  Another innovation was the “Directed Discussion Course” in which participants corresponded with a CLF director and each other. This new concept in interactive religious learning attracted the attention of the incarcerated, and in 1965, a prisoner at San Quentin became the first prisoner to join the church.  The CLF was now producing a variety of youth publications and a handbook for ceremonies of marriage, baby dedications, and memorial services.  By the late 1960’s, the CLF boasted a record membership of 5,000 adults, youth, and children, and eight staff, including the minister.  Unfortunately, this boom time corresponded with a wide-spread fiscal crisis in the UUA.  The CLF was also struggling to meet its share of operating expenses and resolve its debts.  It was concluded that the CLF would have to ‘come of age’ as an autonomous and financially independent entity, or close its doors.  And so it was that on September 24, 1970, the CLF became chartered and legally incorporated as a religious society in its own right.  This was a critical turning point as the CLF claimed its brave heritage and resolved to move ahead -- in the words of Dr. George Marshall -- “holding in its own hand and guiding by its own light (its) destiny…in the service of a greater cause.”  Fortunately, in response to continuing financial challenges, the CLF membership responded with generous gifts to the newly established Eliot-Scott Endowment Fund, named for two men through whose vision the CLF was founded – and would now persevere. 

The next few decades saw significant changes – many under the ministerial leadership of the Rev. Eugene Pickett -- that would transform the CLF.  Membership was broadened to include individuals affiliated with a local church or fellowship who by choice or circumstance also wanted a ‘church by mail.’  A new category of membership was extended to include small congregations and fellowships, signifying a move to programs and services especially designed to meet those needs. The dual purposes were recast as a two-fold mission to provide a spiritual home and connection for isolated religious liberals as well as programs and services designed to promote the growth of Unitarian Universalism.  Financial stability was made a priority, with a vigorous every member canvass process that emphasized member pledging rather than ‘dues,’ and a plan was undertaken to build the endowment.  Publications like Interconnections, and regular mailings like ‘Family Packets,’ now included stories, ideas, and experiences shared by members and families. The Church in a Box program was developed along with ‘A Month of Sundays’ with complete worship services available by subscription for use by small groups, lay-led fellowships and small churches. The institution’s lending library became an increasingly important department of the church, including sermons on videotape.  With an updated style and format, Quest replaced the former monthly newsletter.  Quest featured sermons from the denomination’s most distinguished ministers, provocative essays, book reviews, inspirational material, educational resources, and a forum for readers’ participation.  As yet another means to meet the needs of a ‘long distance’ membership, the succeeding ministry of the Rev. Scott Alexander introduced the popular ‘minister’s 800 line,’ increasing the accessibility of pastoral connection with the minister. 

With the coming of the Rev. Jane Rzepka as Senior Minister in 1999, the CLF stepped up to the new millennium with a creative and contemporary approach.  ‘Church by mail’ became church “on-line”; the ‘post office mission’ became a mission by website.  Quest, became available on-line and by podcast as well as by postal mailing.  It now included member profiles, personal accounts and articles written by lay people – reflecting the diverse voices and experiences of CLF members.  In addition, regular feedback and discussion through Quest reader forums and a host of online communities brought a far-flung CLF congregation together.  At General Assembly, CLF’ers could meet face to face, gather resources at the CLF booth, attend the Annual Meeting, and worship together.  The church became increasingly de-centralized in its governance with Board members from diverse geographical locations conducting business via teleconference, e-mail, and annual retreats.  It upgraded its technology and engaged a development director and a fundraising committee. The staff is fully specialized and professionalized, including three ministers and an Executive Director. It is a ‘teaching’ congregation, serving as a training ground for seminarians
 
The first color-printed periodical for Unitarian Universalist children, uu&me, was created by Betsy Hill Williams, the CLF’s Director of Religious Education for ten years.  First only available by subscription, it is now a regular 4-page feature of the UU World magazine, with a circulation of 120,000.  Other innovations developed by the Minister for Life Span Learning, the Rev. Lynn Ungar, available at the CLF’s On-Line Learning Center, include interactive, ‘distance’ adult courses in four categories: UU Identity, Theology and Faith Development, Spiritual Practice, and Ethics and Social Justice.  Opportunities for electronic community and group connections abound in the form of general and special interest list serves, moderated Community Forums, a Sunday morning sharing of ‘joys and sorrows’, topic-based spirituality Covenant Groups, and Shared Interest Groups.  Sunday School and worship resources for member families, small churches, and even mid-sized congregations, appreciate ‘Church on Loan’ and the theme-based, monthly “RE Express Plus,” available on the CLF website.  Sermons in Quest are now available in podcast.  

The ‘face’ of the CLF has shifted as it reaches out as a welcome wagon of radical hospitality and socially conscious liberal faith.  Of more than 3300 members, 500 are between the ages of 18 and 35 in the new and expanding Church of the Younger Fellowship.  With intentionality, the CLF is a church for the prisoner; more than 400 members are incarcerated.  Its letter-writing Prison Ministry, with the Rev. Patty Franz as Chaplain, harkens back to the original Post Office Mission days of ministry to the most isolated, as does the CLF’s continuing ministry to those in military service.  As a ‘Welcoming Congregation,’ the CLF provides an open door to members of the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender community.  In addition, the CLF’s membership is more international than ever, with 250 members living outside of the United States in 53 countries, including Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the South Pacific. 

The CLF of the 21st century is proud of its place as a refuge and a transitional community for isolated liberals wherever they are, and however they communicate – by mail, phone, or in cyberspace.  The CLF is there for people seeking the light of religious freedom in parts of the world unfriendly to the concept.  Hits on the website come from everywhere as religious seekers discover the CLF and learn about Unitarian Universalism.  Having embraced its place as the largest and most far-reaching congregation in the UU world, the CLF strives for excellence, relevance, and innovation across the still daunting frontiers of geographical, social, and spiritual separation.  It is, by its heritage and its vision, a ‘church without walls,’ a church in every sense of the word.

Last updated February 2, 2009