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February 2003 Print Edition
Sightings:
Unitarian
President Seeks to Revolutionize
the Church; Urges a Belief in God
The President of
the Unitarian Church, Rev. William Sinford, is seeking
to revolutionize the group by urging a belief in God.
"These are troubled times, and we need to reclaim
our goals and values," he told the Fort Worth
Star-Telegram. The former atheist said, "We need
to be able to say Unitarian Universalists believe
there is one God, and that God is a loving God who
would condemn no one out of hand."
He plans to ask the trustees to reassess the church's
statement of principles at its annual meeting in June.
The Boston Globe has not reported this important statement.
Although the Unitarians considered themselves a "liberal"
church, they decided to ban God around 1933 when many
of their ministers were instrumental in drafting the
Humanist Manifesto. It stated the beliefs of humanists,
which they defined as, "A value system which
emphasized the personal worth of each individual but
that does not include a belief in God."
According to a survey which they conducted of their
members in 1997, less than 10% of their members are
"Christians," most of whom would respond
that Jesus Christ was a wonderful man, but not the
Son of God. Twice as many are "Earth/Nature centered
(19%). The vast majority are humanists (46%).
Sinkford said that the absence of God reduces their
effectiveness in comforting people and places the
church on the fringes of American church life. His
statement causes many to wonder if his is a sincere
statement or a soundbite to improve their public relations.
Ron
Crews Becomes
Top Chaplain in Mass. National Guard
Ron Crews, President of the Mass. Family Institute,
has been promoted as the State Area Command Chaplain
for the Massachusetts Army National Guard. That makes
him the senior chaplain in the state.
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