The Fellowship Movement
A Growth Strategy and Its Legacy
Holley UlbrichThe lay-led fellowship movement was a twenty-year experiment in do-it-yourself religion that began as a growth strategy of the American Unitarian Association in 1948. The movement gave birth to small, lay-led fellowships from Cape Cod to Honolulu. Today these comprise a third of our Unitarian Universalist congregations. The fellowship movement officially ended in 1967, but its influence lives on today—in a freer and more participatory style of worship, increased focus on shared and small group ministry and the way we found and nurture new congregations. The Fellowship Movement offers both the story of the movement and the stories of individual fellowships around the country. Coming forty years after the closing of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Fellowship Office, this book is perfectly timed to contribute to conversations about the future of Unitarian Universalism (UU).
Holley Ulbrich is a professor emerita of economics at Clemson University. She holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Connecticut and a master of theological studies degree from Emory University. She is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Clemson, SC, teaches adult religious education and does circuit preaching in small nearby congregations.
Praise for The Fellowship Movement
"This well-written, well-researched and balanced book shows how the fellowship movement not only placed 'our flag' in several hundred cities
and towns where our presence was previously unknown but also greatly influenced
what Unitarian Universalism is today. The movement helped to move many of our
congregations toward greater diversity, empowerment and lay leadership. Ulbrich
has brought us a clear, up-to-date account of a chapter in our history of which we can all be proud."
—Charles A. Gaines, director, Department of Extension, UUA, 1990-1995
"Why, when thirty-two percent of current membership is from congregations started during the
fellowship movement, do we still question this growth strategy? But also, how
can this type of historical growth lead to congregational cultures that block
growth today? Ulbrich's thorough and comprehensive history offers answers and
insights pertinent to today's growth efforts."
—Patti Lawrence,
Professor of Congregational Studies, Starr King School for the Ministry
"Fellowships have been both beneficial and detrimental to
Unitarian Universalism, and Ulbrich documents the assets as well as the warts.
Among the benefits: strong lay leadership; experimental worship; renewed vigor.
Among the detriments: strong lay leadership—let us remember that strong lay
leadership drove Emerson out of the active ministry; experimental
worship—sometimes mere intellectual lectures at best, shallow side shows at
worst; ah, but the renewed vigor!"
—Ralph Stutzman, retired, first minister to a lay-led fellowship in the 1960s
"As an interim minister who has been a long-time member of
and served fellowship-founded congregations, I find The Fellowship Movement to be an
accurate account. If you are a member of a fellowship-founded congregation, this book will answer your questions about the attitudes and actions of your
fellowship. And if you, like me, are a UU history buff, you'll want to add this
to your collection."
—Fran Dew, accredited interim minister
For more information contact skinnerhouse @ uua.org.
Last updated on Monday, December 3, 2007.
