“Love is the doctrine of this church,
The quest of truth is its sacrament,
And service is its prayer.”

Those words were included in a volume of prayers and meditations for liberal religious communities edited by the Rev. L Griswold Williams in the 1930’s. They continue to have a place of honor in our hymnal and are used by many congregations each and every Sunday.

Williams served in our ministry during World War I. While his outspoken pacifism made him a conscientious objector, he was drafted into non-combat service building shelters for those displaced from their homes in France. While the bombs fell all around him, he built shelter for those with no place to go. For Rev. Williams, love was truly at the center. The covenant he crafted was made manifest in his daily life. Truly, service was his prayer.  

As Unitarian Universalists, we are a proudly non-creedal tradition. When it comes to the most important questions, the people in our congregations and communities generally do not believe one single thing. This pluralism brings richness to our lives. Holding differences with grace while offering continued care for one another is kind of our whole thing. Blessedly, this has been the case for a very long time, including in the course of the last several years of discernment related to Article II of our Association’s bylaws. 

After a democratic process involving thousands of Unitarian Universalists discussing the faith’s values and core theology, delegates at General Assembly 2024 voted to approve a new statement that articulates our historically grounded promises to one another in the form of Shared Values. Those values, as affirmed in that vote, are Equity, Generosity, Interdependence, Justice, Pluralism, and Transformation, centered around Love. 

Since that vote, your UUA staff have been working diligently with the support and guidance of UU leaders and colleagues, to realize the vision of the General Assembly delegates. Get a peek behind the scenes at the resource development process in this UU World interview with Mary Benard, Publishing Director of Skinner House Books and UUA Publications. This email brings you a variety of resources you can use in your own congregational and community life to engage our Shared Values together. 

In faith, 
Nancy 

Rev. Nancy McDonald Ladd is Director of Communications and Public Ministry at the UUA. Prior to her appointment to this role, she served as Senior Minister at River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation from 2012 – 2024. Nancy lives in Bethesda, MD with her spouse and two children, an elegant cat and an elderly dog.

In this video, UUA Co-Moderator Charles Du Mond and Rev. Nancy McDonald Ladd, UUA Director of Communications and Public Ministry, reflect on the significance of revising the language we use to describe Unitarian Universalist faith. We hope you will watch and share this video in your congregations and communities.

Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud’homme reflects on the interplay of our Unitarian Universalist theological heritage and the Shared Values expressed in the new articulation of Article II of UUA Bylaws. This resource is an offering of pieces, like those of a patchwork quilt, that don’t aim to be an end in themselves but a beginning of an ongoing conversation.