ARTICLE XIX.
THE CHURCH
§ 72. Unitarian Christians believe that their church is a union of those who
come together to help each other to live a Christian life. The essential
character of a church is stated by Jesus when he says, “Where two or three are
gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt.
18:19-20). To meet “in the name of Christ” is to meet in his spirit, to do
his work, and is an activity encouraged in Scripture (Heb. 10:24-25).
§ 73. Unitarians believe that the work of the Church is to help the ignorant to
educate themselves, to help the weak to strengthen themselves, to help the
vicious to reform themselves, and to cooperate in all attempts to elevate and
improve society. For this reason they look forward to the time when all people
of the earth shall unite together in the purpose of doing good, when at last
God's kingdom comes and his will is done on earth as it is in heaven. It has
been found that wherever Unitarian Christian churches are established, they
become centers of movements in behalf of education, philanthropy, and social
reforms.
§
74. Unitarians do not practice excommunication. Because we are all children of
God, we cannot expel those who behave poorly from the church, but we must
endeavor to recover them for the good way through brotherly love and exemplary
life, as Jesus did (Luke 5:30-32).
§
75. Unitarian Christians regard Jesus as the head of their Church (Col. 1:18).
Jesus leads the Church through his teachings. No human individual or body holds
sway over the Unitarian Church. Each congregation is independent of others and
governed independently, though ready to unite with other congregations in work
and sympathy. For these purposes they meet from time to time in regional
conferences and at an annual meeting.
§
76. Unitarian churches usually affiliate themselves with a national Unitarian
organization, through which they may cultivate relationships with other
Unitarian congregations around the country. There are two Unitarian associations
in the United States: the Unitarian-Universalist Association (UUA) and the
American Unitarian Conference (AUC). The two organizations are independent of
one another. The UUA is the larger of the two and has a small Christian
contingent, which is represented by the Unitarian-Universalist Christian
Fellowship. The American Unitarian Conference is a God-centered association
composed primarily of Christians, although non-Christian monotheists and deists
are represented as well.
§ 77. The AUC, with whom this fellowship is affiliated, is not a church itself, nor does it govern any churches. It is a publishing and missionary society and an association of like-minded churches and individuals designed to promote the Unitarian tradition in America. In all its endeavors, the AUC holds to the original meaning of the name Unitarian, rejecting humanist atheist, pagan, and polytheist conceptions of Unitarian-Universalism that have come to dominate the UUA.