{"id":717,"date":"2024-07-20T22:41:18","date_gmt":"2024-07-20T21:41:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rebelrebel.org.uk\/?p=717"},"modified":"2024-07-20T22:41:18","modified_gmt":"2024-07-20T21:41:18","slug":"250th-anniversary-of-essex-church-the-next-250-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rebelrebel.org.uk\/?p=717","title":{"rendered":"250th Anniversary of Essex Church: The Next 250 Years?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Reflection #85 (14th April 2024 at Essex Church \/ Kensington Unitarians)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some years ago I read a paper written by my ministry colleague Stephen Lingwood, on Unitarian theology, and its opening premise has really stuck with me. It\u2019s pertinent to the anniversary we\u2019re celebrating today so I want to share a little excerpt from it with you now. Stephen Lingwood writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018I am a Unitarian. That label, \u201cUnitarian\u201d was also used by Theophilus Lindsey when he started the first explicitly Unitarian church in Britain in 1774. What does it mean to make the claim that both he and I are Unitarians? What relationship do I have to Lindsey and to this thing called \u201cUnitarian\u201d? What is the relationship any Unitarian has with Unitarians of the past?\u2026 The language, practices, and beliefs of Lindsey seem to be radically different to mine\u2026 The Unitarian tradition has changed, sometimes quite rapidly. And its self-understanding is that it does change, and that it should do. But this does make the question seem even more pressing: in what sense do we claim religious continuity in a non-creedal tradition that allows the freedom of religious evolution? In what sense is the Unitarianism of the past the same thing as the Unitarianism of the present?\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

A very interesting question posed there by Stephen Lingwood. What have <\/em>we got in common with Lindsey, who founded this church, and indeed Unitarianism in Britain, 250 years ago? What have we got in common with the 200-or-so people who gathered there in Essex Street? Let\u2019s imagine what it would have been like to attend one of Theophilus Lindsey\u2019s services. What do you <\/em>reckon it would have been like? I wasn\u2019t confident that I could provide an accurate picture of these early services myself, so I asked a few colleagues this week, and I\u2019m grateful to Daniel Costley for telling me about the work of historian Professor Grayson Ditchfield, who\u2019s researched the early history of the Essex Street Chapel. In 1774 Lindsey had just left the Church of England so his early services were very similar to what he\u2019d left behind \u2013 apparently he more-or-less followed the Book of Common Prayer \u2013 he just took all the specifically Trinitarian bits out. Early Unitarianism, as practiced by Lindsey, was like a reformed Church of England. The sermons were, as I understand it, very very long. In the early days, the singing of hymns was unaccompanied and, apparently, terrible (that\u2019s the polite way to put it). It would have been much more formal than we\u2019re used to nowadays. If I suddenly decided I was going \u2018back to basics\u2019 and preached a Theophilus Lindsey style service next week\u2026 I suspect you wouldn\u2019t like it very much. What Unitarianism looks like on a Sunday morning has changed quite a bit (in some ways, at least).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But still, this early Unitarianism was very radical in spirit \u2013 as Sarah said, it was still illegal at that time to preach Unitarian beliefs \u2013 even if the shape and feel of the gathering was still pretty traditional. It really mattered <\/em>to the people who gathered at the old Essex Street Chapel \u2013 they were spiritually serious <\/em>\u2013 serious enough to break away from the mainstream to pursue what they thought was right and true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, these days, you hear Unitarians dismissed as people who can \u2018believe what they like\u2019.<\/em> But it\u2019s more accurate to say that we \u2018believe what we must\u2019. <\/em>And Theophilus Lindsey, and those early Unitarians who gathered at the Essex Street Chapel, must <\/em>have been driven by something deep in order to pursue this new way of doing religion when it was counter-cultural, against the grain, illegal<\/em>. They weren\u2019t prepared to sign up to the required dogmas of the mainstream church \u2013 they were compelled by their conscience to think for themselves \u2013 to seek truth was a moral imperative. For each and every person to be free and unconstrained in their search for meaning \u2013 that really meant <\/em>something to them \u2013 perhaps to a degree that we slightly take for granted nowadays, 250 years on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To come back to Stephen Lingwood\u2019s question \u2013 what is our relationship with Lindsey, his Essex Street congregation, and those early Unitarians? \u2013 in the conclusion to his paper, Lingwood writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018What is my relationship to Theophilus Lindsey? The answer is we are both part of the same tradition\u2026 We are both involved in the same process of religious discovery, we are both part of a continuous virtuous tradition seeking justice, and we share a collection of meaning-making stories. In fact his <\/strong>story is one of the stories that gives me<\/strong> meaning. He is part of my <\/strong>tradition.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This take from Stephen Lingwood seems about right to me. What we have in common is not the shape of our worship, especially, and not even specific beliefs \u2013 I suspect that most of us gathered here today are not nearly as worried about the differences between Unitarian and Trinitarian theology in the way that our forebears were (or at least it\u2019s not such a prominent and burning question in our minds) \u2013 it\u2019s more about the approach we have to life\u2019s big questions, and our commitment to an ongoing, ever-unfolding, process of religious discovery \u2013 an honest search for truth and meaning \u2013 and a sincere quest to live good and virtuous lives \u2013 to help bring about justice, peace, and a better world for all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The continuity of this congregation over the last 250 years rests on this shared process and purpose \u2013 our mission \u2013 the outward forms have changed quite a bit but this is the constant heart of our faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I\u2019ve witnessed this unfolding in front of my own eyes: As well as celebrating our big anniversary this week \u2013 the actual 250th anniversary of the first service is on the 17th, next Wednesday, if you want to raise a toast, or have a celebratory slice of cake, in honour of this anniversary on the day itself \u2013 but I\u2019m also going to be celebrating a small anniversary the day after, on the 18th, which is 25 years since I first set foot in Essex Church (I was quite pleased that the numbers lined up like that).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even over 25 years I\u2019ve seen quite a bit of change, in this congregation, and the wider denomination. But our change and evolution should always be in service of our shared purpose \u2013 our mission \u2013 and in line with the process that\u2019s so characteristic of our tradition \u2013 this non-dogmatic pursuit of truth. That\u2019s why I chose this morning\u2019s opening words on \u2018The Purpose of Religion\u2019 by Cliff Reed \u2013 as a reminder of what it is we\u2019re here for \u2013 and the nature of the Unitarian tradition we are upholding. It seems important that we should keep coming back to this, reminding ourselves of this guiding vision (and we\u2019ll be thinking about our congregational vision again in two weeks\u2019 time \u2013 on AGM day \u2013 always a very good moment to reflect on what we\u2019re doing in the light of our religious purpose).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lingwood\u2019s reflection on what connects contemporary Unitarians with Lindsey and his congregation of 250 years ago suggests another question to me: How will future generations of Unitarians look back on us in 250 years from now? 250 years is quite a long time, isn\u2019t it? Will we make it that far? Will humanity make it that far? Let\u2019s scale it back: What about in another 25 years, in 2049? I hope there are enough people of \u2018spiritual seriousness\u2019 \u2013 people to whom this way of doing religion really means something \u2013 who will step up to keep the doors of Essex Church open, and take the tradition onwards, so our chalice flame will keep on burning for the next generation, and centuries to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in 25 or 250 years: It probably won\u2019t look like exactly like church-as-we-know-it. We know how many changes we\u2019ve made here at Essex Church even over the last four years \u2013 our way of doing church has evolved \u2013 and for very good reason. In order to fulfil our purpose, and uphold our values, we\u2019ve made the move to hybrid services and taken a lot of activities online \u2013 It has not been an entirely easy ride \u2013 change is often challenging \u2013 and it was hard work to make it happen. It isn\u2019t a change that was remotely on our radar five years ago but \u2013 I hope you\u2019ll agree \u2013 it\u2019s congruent with our Unitarian principles, we did it for the sake of justice and inclusion, and it\u2019s something we can be proud of doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope future leaders of Essex Church \u2013 our spiritual descendants \u2013 will also ask themselves the same sort of questions when they\u2019re making plans and discerning the way forward, for this congregation and for the Unitarian movement as a whole, in the years to come. I hope they ask: \u2018Is this in line with our Unitarian values?\u2019 \u2018Does this serve our religious purpose?\u2019 \u2018How does this fit the mission of this church?\u2019 and perhaps even \u2018What is God calling us to do now, in this time, and in this place?\u2019 I hope they won\u2019t be too attached to church looking a particular way, or to doing things the way they\u2019ve always been done, and that they\u2019ll continue to evolve in order to better serve the mission. But, even as the world changes, and our church changes, there will be this thread of continuity \u2013 as each new generations steps up to be stewards of this tradition \u2013 our shared process and purpose will go on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in that spirit I invite you now to join in the responsive reading that is in your order of service \u2013 the words will be up on screen shortly \u2013 these piece adapted from words by Scott Alexander is titled \u2018We Need a Religion\u2019 and it affirms something of our shared purpose, process, and values as Unitarians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I invite you to join in, if you wish, with the responses printed in italics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a world with so much hatred and violence,
We need a religion that proclaims
the inherent worth and dignity of every person.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a world with so much brutality and fear,
We need a religion that seeks justice,
equity, and compassion in human relations.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a world with so many persons abused and neglected,
We need a religion that calls us to accept one another
and encourage one another to spiritual growth.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a world with so much tyranny and oppression,
We need a religion that affirms the right to freedom
of thought and conscience, and the proper use of the democratic process.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a world with so much inequity and strife,
We need a religion that strives toward the goal
of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a world with so much environmental degradation,
We need a religion that advocates awareness and respect
for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a world with so much uncertainty and despair,
We need a religion that teaches our hearts to hope, and our hands to care.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a world where so many people yearn for connection, yearn for love,
We need religious communities like ours to welcome all people of goodwill,
offering a place to call home, to belong, where each can be who we truly are. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflection by Jane Blackall<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An audio recording of this sermon is available:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\nhttps:\/\/www.kensington-unitarians.org.uk\/pod2011\/KU_janeB.sarahT_hybrid_sermon_14.04.24.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n