Jim at Peregrinato did a kind thing and made the Ministerial Fellowship Committee (MFC) of the UUA available as an Amazon.com “so you’re” list.
Thanks — that’s the kind of thing we ought to do, by which I mean, produce time-saving conveniences for the common good. Which is why I’m linking it.
The list doesn’t seem that much different than when I went through, except the “dreaded” two-volume set of Wilbur’s A History of Unitarianism is missing. I’m not sure it was there to teach so much as to instill a common ordeal in the emerging generation. Plus it is very hard to find, and I’m not about to give mine up!
Otherwise, the list scans a bit — well — frumpy to me. Would it kill anyone to add a work of mission, evangelism, generational studies, or something — make that anything — else written in the last few years.
So here’s your assignment:
What should be on any Unitarian Universalist ministerial student’s must-read list? Please add comments.
I have two suggestions…
(1) The Bible
(2) American Sermons: The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King, Jr. (online at — http://www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=132)
I’ve got a copy of American Sermons. It rocks. We UUs are disproportionately represented, and even more so if you include our direct Puritan and liberal Congo ancestors. And there’s even a sermon from about 1800 denouncing Universalism as Satan’s lies.
I’m currently working on a post updating the choices for the study of modern Paganism (Drawing Down the Moon is the current choice on that list), it should be up later tonight. But until that is up let me quickly plug:
Being a Pagan : Druids, Wiccans, and Witches Today
by Ellen Evert Hopman, Lawrence Bond
Modern Pagans: an Investigation of Contemporary Ritual
by John Sulak, Vale
Both books give a more updated look at modern “earth-centered” religions.
“The Bible”
You mean you don’t have to read that to get a M.Div. now?
1. Well, remember: the MFC reading list is *in addition to* the seminary degree, and most seminaries probably do still require the Bible. Even wacky Claremont does. (Okay, all bets are off with Harvard Divinity.)
2. American Sermons? Ooooh, I am excited. Never heard of that one, and now I’m eager to acquire it!
It would almost be worth constructing a supplementary list on Amazon, Scott. Good call! Seriously, I do hope that the guide I worked on has some value … not just to UU seminarians, but to regular people who think that anyone can become a UU minister. No, we’re *not* the Universal Life Church, thank you very much.