| | LEVEL OF DESCRIPTION: | Fonds | | No.: | PR2851 | | TITLE: | Unitarian Church of Edmonton Fonds | | CREATOR: | Unitarian Church of Edmonton | | DATE RANGE: | 1912 - 1996 | | EXTENT: | 6.12 m of textual records and other material
The fonds also includes 826 photographs, 752 negatives, 60 slides, 10 audio reels, and 3 audio cassettes. | | ADMINISTRATIVE | | HISTORY/BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | The Unitarian Church of Edmonton (UCE) formed in 1954 to operate as self-financed and congregationally-directed church with the purpose to recognize freedom of belief and equality for all persons; to establish a reading room and reference centre; to provide social activities for members of the church; and to establish a community to discuss religion, spirituality and social justice. The UCE does not recognize a hierarchical church authority, but cooperates with other parts of denomination through membership in Canadian Unitarian Council. The UCE was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) until the Canadian Unitarian Council became the main association and service provider for Unitarians and Universalists in Canada. The UCE also maintains affinities with international bodies including the following: Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (North America), Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association (North America), Unitarian Universalist Association (USA), General Assembly of Unitarian & Free Christian Churches (UK), International Council of Unitarian Universalists (World Wide), and Church of the Larger Fellowship (World Wide). Seven Principles guide the Canadian Unitarian Council including recognizing "the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equity, and compassion in human relations; acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations; a free and responsible search for truth and meaning; the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large; the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; and respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part." Any individual over sixteen years of age may join the UCE that supports the purposes of the church. A board of trustees consisting of nine members and eleven appointed trustees govern the Church. However, congregational members also determine many of the Church's directives. The UCE uses pledges from members to pay for staff salaries, programs and operating expenses. Members also pay a fee to support the national and regional programs of the Canadian Unitarian Council.
| | SCOPE AND CONTENT: | The fonds consists of material used, maintained, and created by the Unitarian Church of Edmonton including minutes, correspondence, membership lists, photographs of church events, audio recordings of speakers for the church, orders in service, brochures for church events dating from 1912 to 1996. The fonds also includes the records of two clubs of the Unitarian Church of Edmonton: the Unitarian Single Adults Club and the Westwood Unitarian Association. | | ASSOCIATED MATERIAL: | For more material on the Unitarian Church in Alberta, please see the Unitarian Church of Calgary fonds at the Glenbow Archives and the Unitarian Fellowship of Red Deer fonds at the Red Deer and District Archives. | | RELATED RECORDS: | For more material on the Unitarian Church, please see the Robert Guest fonds and the Myrtle Guest fonds at the Provincial Archives of Alberta. | | GENERAL NOTE: | Information for the administrative history/biographical sketch sourced from:
The Unitarian Church of Edmonton, http://www.uce.ca/ (Accessed Jan. 22, 2008)
| | RELATED ITEMS: | A13949 (First Unitarian Church of Edmonton)
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