ICUU | Welcome to the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists

ICUU Home Subnavigation

ICUU Home

Special Note on Bolivian Hunger Strike

Dear friends and U*U family around the world,

Some of you will have already heard of the hunger strike now ended in Bolivia by three relatives of "disappeared" people -- those who were arrested or just taken from their homes, the street, places of work during the period of the military junta. One of these women is Olga Flores, known to many of us by her participation in the last two ICUU Council Meetings and in the International Convocation of UU Women (ICUUW).
The Executive of the ICUU added its voice. Read it here.

Click for a transcript of a June 11 conversation with Olga Flores on the success of the strike.

Site Introduction

The International Council of Unitarians and Universalists is a network of Unitarian, Universalist and Unitarian Universalist organizations. 22 national full member groups comprise the voting members of the Council. Provisional and emerging groups represent Unitarians from more than a dozen more countries.

This site has been designed to serve those new to Unitarianism, Universalism and Unitarian Universalism, those who are new to the international aspects of our faith and finally, member groups and their delegates. There is a mix of educational and institutional information as well as news of programs and upcoming events.

We'd love to make this site more useful. Click here to ask questions, suggest potential new links or send us feedback and updates to current content.

ICUU Council Meeting coming to historic Kolozsvár, Transylvania, September 1-5, 2009 Registration is now open! Click here to be directed to the registraton pages.

Pre-Conference Pilgrimage to Deva August 30- September 1, site of the imprisonment and death of Bishop David Ferenc (Francis David) with a stop to visit the tombs of King John Sigismund and his mother Queen Isabella. For details, click here.

church

To ICUU Member Groups via Council Members and staff,

The ICUU Executive unanimously agreed to accept the invitation from the Transylvanian Unitarian Church to hold the next Council Meeting and associated International Gathering in Kolozsvár, the city of their Headquarters and College. On many western maps, the city is identified as Cluj, Romania.

The Council Meeting will run from Tuesday 1 September, 2009 (arrivals) to Sunday, September 6. Council meeting schedule

A full day pilgrimage to Deva, site of the prison where Dávid Ferenc (Francis David) died, is being planned -- this might be just before, just after, or during the Council Meeting (the dates of the CM might be adjusted slightly if the Deva trip is during the meetings).

All Member Groups are entitled to send one voting delegate to the Council; Groups with more than 3000 individual adult members are entitled to a second voting delegate. There will be a sponsorship fund to assist travel and accommodation for delegates from developing economies. Additionally, individual Unitarians, Universalists, and Unitarian Universalists may attend the International Gathering at their own expense; these individuals may observe the Council Meeting but not speak or vote at business sessions although they may participate in the other aspects of the programme.

We hope that all Member Groups will arrange to be represented at this Council, being held in an exceptionally historic part of our liberal heritage.

John Clifford, Executive Secretary, ICUU

In the News
ICUU has a new logo! Details Canadians appoint New Executive Director The CUC Board of Trsutees recently named Jennifer Dickson as their new Executive Director. Details Annual Report of the UU Church of the Philippines President, May, 2009 UU Esperanto Network becomes Associate Group Recently the Executive Committee was pleased to welcome the UU Esperanto Network as an Associate Organization of the ICUU. The UUEN has been a willing supporter for several years often translating materials into this global language. The UUEN will be offering a workshop at the Koloszvar Council Meeting this September. To learn more about the UUEN, please visit http://www.grupoamikema.org/UUEN.html or join the Yahoo Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UUEsperanto/join All Heretics Day in New Zealand - April 5 For the seventh year The Christchurch congregation will be celebrating All Heretics Day with a special lecture. Click here for details and a history of the event. Chennai, India church rededicated Unitarians have been worshiping in Chennai in the same church since 1813. Their building, already in disrepair, was severly damaged by monsoons in 2005. After a long rebuilding campaign aided by their Edinburgh partner church, the church was redicated earlier this year. Story and photos. Transylvanian Elections The Transylvanian church in Romania recently held elections. The new Bishop is Rev. Ferenc Balint-Benczedi, minister of First Unitarian Church of Kolozsvar. The Vice Bishopis Rev. Laszlo Nagy, Dean of Marosvasarhely. The Provost is former ICUU Executive Committee member Rev. Istvan Kovacs, minister of Sepsiszentgyorgy. Italian ordination Roberto Rosso of Italy was ordained to the Unitarian ministry on November 16, 2008 in the Danish Unitarian Church in Copenhagen. Roberto is the first Italian Unitarian minister. Full Story For photos and video clips, visit Ordination Philippines 2009 Spring Pilgrimage March 20-April 1, 2009 The UU Partner Church Council is sponsoring a marvellous opportunity to get to know our faith as practiced in the Philippines. Click here for Pilgrimage information, and here for a supporting Story. UUA President makes pilgrimage to Africa Reverend William G. Sinkford, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), made a19-day pilgrimage to visit six African countries: South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria. The four general goals of this journey are: To meet with old and new colleagues among the Unitarians and Unitarian Universalists of Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and South Africa, To learn from the experience and wisdom of leaders in Truth and Reconciliation work in South Africa, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, To learn from leaders of social justice and human rights organizations involved in diverse struggles, including: LGBT Rights, Fair Wages, HIV/AIDS, Women's Rights, and Socially Responsible Investing, To visit the UNESCO World Heritage site and witness to the Atlantic Slave Trade: Île de Gorée. For detailed reports visit: http://www.uua.org/news/sinkfordafrica/index.shtml UUMA CONVO, 2009 The Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association will be holding a Convocation of ministers in Ottawa, Canada, November 11-16, 2009. The theme is : Tell a Tale...Touch a life... Transform the world. Unitarian and UU ministers from around the globe are welcome. For details visit http://www.uuma.org/convocation Around the Globe Click to see a digest of recent news and highlights from member and emerging groups. In the News Archives		Global Chalice Lighting for June, 2009 The International Council ofUnitarians and Universalists announces the 70th in its monthly series of global chalice lighting readings. Congregations worldwide are invited to participate. All ICUU-affiliated groups have been asked to submit brief chalice lightings for the project. Every month, a reading will be distributed to Unitarian and Universalist congregations around the world. We ask each congregation to use the reading for at least one worship service in the designated month, identifying it as the “Global Chalice Lighting” for that month and naming the group which submitted it. Readings will be circulated in English and, where different, in their original language. It is hoped that the ICUU Global Chalice Lighting Project will enhance the worship experience in our congregations and raise awareness of the international dimensions of our religious movement. Past Chalice Lightings This Global Chalice Lighting is to be used during June, 2009. English: We light our chalice, recognizing that our bodies and our beings, our insights, actions, and hopes all come from the essential elements of existence. In our worship today, we honor the elements of earth, air, fire, and water. -Carol Huston Deutsch: Wir entzünden diesen Kelch in dem Wissen, dass unsere Körper und unser Sein, unsere Erkenntnisse, Handlungen und Hoffnungen alle aus den wesentlichen Bestandteilen des Daseins entspringen. In unserer heutigen Andacht ehren wir die Elemente Erde, Luft, Feuer und Wasser. Esperanto Ni lumigas nian kalikon, agnoskante ke niaj korpoj kaj niaj estajxoj, nia perceptivo, niaj faroj kaj esperoj fontas el la esencaj ekzist-elementoj. Dum nia hodiauxa kulto, ni honoras la elementojn tero, aero, fajro, kaj akvo. Hungarian: Meggyújtjuk a kelyhet, és érezzük, hogy testünk, létünk, ösztönös megérzéseink, cselekvéseink és reményeink létezésünk alkotóelemei. A mai áhítaton a föld, a levegő, a tűz és a víz elemét tiszteljük. - Zsofi Sztranyiczki Spanish: Iluminemos nuestro cáliz, reconociendo que nuestro cuerpo y nuestro ser, nuestra perspicacia, acciones y esperanzas provienen de los elementos esenciales de la existencia. En este día de adoración, honoremos los elementos tierra, aire, fuego, y agua. - Maria Romero y Angeles Swahili: Tunamlika wema wetu, tukifahamu kuwa miili yetu na ubidamu wetu, undani wetu, matendo yetu na matumani yote hutokana na mambo muhimu ya maisha. Katika maombi yetu leo tunaheshimu ulimwengu, mazingira, moto na maji. - Alice Kemunto Tagalog (Filipino): Ating iniilawan ang chalice na ito bilang simbulo sa pagkilala na ang ating katawan, pagkatao, pananaw, kilos at pag-asa ay galing sa mga payak na elementong bumubuo sa ating pagkatao. Sa ating pagsamba sa araw na ito, ating binibigyang pugay ang elementong lupa, hangin, apoy at tubig. - Lenna D Japanese: Watashi tachino karada to jitsuzon, satori, koudou, to kibous subeteno sonzaiga juuyouna youso toshite ninnshiki shinagara, kono chalice ni tomoshibi o ataeru. Kyouno reihai dewa dewa tsuchi, kuuki, hi, to mizu no yousoni keiiwo. 未来の地球的チャリスのともし火：四つの要素をすべて含む私たちの体と実存、悟り、行動、と希望全ての存在が重要な要素として認識しながら、このチャリスにともし火を与える。今日の礼拝では土、空気、火、と水の要素に敬意を。 - Kathy Matsui
Languages ICUU wants to be responsive to the need for material about the Unitarian and Universalist religion in many languages. To begin, we can direct you to these existing sites: Brazilian, Portuguese \| Czech \| Chinese \| Danish \| Spanish \| Finnish \| French \| German \| Hungarian \| Italian: www.unitariani.splinder.com , uua.it \| Polish \| Russian \| Swedish Please email us with other sites that you know about. French translation of the ICUU Preamble now available The French Christian Unitarians (AFCU) are promoting a new website on Unitarianism and Unitarian biographies in French. The URL is: unitariens.new.fr
Great Links to Check Out UUPCC.org CLFUU.org UUA.org UUuno.org Unitarius.hu More under Resources > Useful Links.

March, 2009 Global Chalice Newsletter

You are invited to copy and circulate this newsletter.

Newsletter Archive

ICUU Blog
Care to read more ICUU news and views? Click here for personal accounts of ICUU events, news from around the world and occasional opinion articles and worshipful reflections.

Are you on Facebook?
There is now an ICUU Group on this fast growing social networking site. Facebook is free to join. Simply go to facebook.com and sign up. Once there, visit 'groups' and search for International Council of Unitarians and Universalists. The group has over 70 members already. You can find out who else is interested, get news of upcoming events and carry on chats and post messages.

Friends of ICUU - Get involved!
ICUU is a council of organizations, not individual members. Individual friends of ICUU help with the work of the Council and are very important. You can be a friend and there are many projects and events like Study Tours and the Symposiums, which welcome your participation. See our New Friends Brochure in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat.