Skinner Sermon Award
Presented annually to the preacher of the sermon best expressing Unitarian Universalism's social principles.
The Skinner Sermon Award honors the late dean of the Tufts College School of Religion in Medford, MA. Born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1881, Clarence Skinner was a major voice of prophetic religious liberalism. As Professor of Applied Christianity at Tufts College (now Tufts University) from 1914 to 1945, he introduced generations of Tufts students to the social, economic, and political realities which shape religion and are in turn shaped by it. His manifesto, The Social Implications of Universalism (1915), gave American Universalism an ethical platform by stating the religious underpinnings of such reforms as anti-slavery, women's liberation, and the humane treatment of prisoners.
In 1920, in cooperation with Mrs. Skinner, Mrs. Gertrude Winslow, and the Rev. John Haynes Holmes of New York, Professor Skinner established the Community Church of Boston. He served as its spiritual leader for sixteen years. Along with the Community Church of New York, the Boston congregation symbolized the congruence of religion and democracy by welcoming many points of view to its pulpit.
In 1933, Professor Skinner was appointed Dean of the School of Religion. During his twelve-year incumbency, he produced a number of substantial works, including Liberalism Faces the Future and A Religion for Greatness. His book-length essay, "Worship and the Well-Ordered Life," appeared in 1955, six years after his death at the age of 68.
Open to any Unitarian Universalist layperson, religious educator, or minister, the award was established to stimulate preaching concerned with the social implications of religion—particularly needed in this period of history. Criteria employed in judging the sermons include: grasp of the subject, religious depth, originality, conviction, and understanding of other perspectives. These qualities are also considered: prophecy and timeliness, courage, personal involvement, strong argument, orientation to action, and inspiration.
Requirements for Submission
One submission per person. Send five copies (double-sided printing with a 12 pt font preferred). These entries will not be returned. A single cover page must be submitted with author's name, address, church affiliation, phone number, email address, and indication of when and where the sermon was delivered. It is important to keep authorship of each entry anonymous. Be sure there is no identification on or within the text of the sermon. Submissions are due in the office on March 1.
The award carries an honorarium of $500. The winning sermon will be widely distributed and promoted through a variety of Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) communications channels. The Skinner Sermon winner does not need to attend GA to present this sermon; however the winner will be announced publicly there.
Persons who have heard a meritorious sermon are invited to submit the sermon—with the permission of the author—to the Award Committee. Such submissions must also meet all requirements.
Nominations due: March 1
Send entries to:
Skinner Sermon Award Committee
c/o UUA Washington Office
1100 G Street NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20005
For more information contact socialjustice @ uua.org.
Social Witness Sermon Contest
Sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Commission on Social Witness (CSW) & Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association (UUMA)
Topics: Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice OR Immigration as A Moral Issue
This is your opportunity to speak out on any dimension of these current Congregational Study/Action Issues, adopted by the delegates of General Assemblies 2008 and 2010 respectively. Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice is now moving into consideration as a draft Statement of Conscience, to be debated, amended, and voted upon at General Assembly 2011. Many of you are already involved. Let your views from the pulpit on either of these important topics reach a wider audience! You will have a chance to receive a prize of $500 (USD) and deliver your sermon at General Assembly 2011 in Charlotte.
We must receive your sermon no later than March 1, 2011, 5 p.m. Pacific Time by mail or email (electronic version preferred). You must have delivered the sermon to a congregation before this deadline. Laypeople are also invited to submit entries, as long as they have delivered the text as a sermon by the same deadline.
Mail to: Audra Friend
Office of Congregational Advocacy & Witness
Unitarian Universalist Association
25 Beacon St.
Boston, MA 02108
Submit in: MS Word, WordPerfect, Rich Text Format, or Plain Text to Audra Friend, Program Coordinator for the Office of Congregational Advocacy & Witness at socialjustice @ uua.org.
Include: a cover page, separate from the sermon text, and include your name, address, phone number, congregation, and title of this sermon contest (Social Witness).
For more information contact socialwitness @ uua.org.
For more information contact socialwitness @ uua.org.
Stewardship Sermon Award
The Stewardship Sermon Award was established in 1984 and is given annually for the sermon judged most effective in exploring and promoting financial support of our Unitarian Universalist (UU) faith. It is sponsored jointly by the Annual Program Fund (APF), the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association (UUMA) and the Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA).
Eligibility (2011)
The sermon must have been delivered before a Unitarian Universalist congregation between January 1, 2010, and February 13, 2011. The sermon should explore and promote financial support of Unitarian Universalism and should directly address money as it relates to affirming our Unitarian Universalist faith, vision and future.
All Unitarian Universalist professional religious leaders, as well as those studying for professional leadership (in at least their second year), are eligible to be considered for this award.
Sermons are judged through a blind process by a panel of UU professional religious and lay leaders.
The recipient will receive a $1,000 cash award and will see the sermon on the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), the UUMA and the LREDA websites.
Submission Format
Sermon text must be received by the Annual Program Fund Office no later than Tuesday, February 15, 2011, in order to be considered.
Please format the sermon using Times New Roman font, size 12, single-spaced, with one line separating each paragraph, and align all text to the left. Only the sermon title should be included at the top of the first page of the sermon. A cover page should include the sermon title, author's name, congregational affiliation, mailing address, telephone number, email address and where and when the sermon was delivered. Please omit any page headers and footers.
As much identifying information as possible should be removed from the body of the sermon. Please substitute congregation names with "this congregation" or "our congregation" or some other un-identifying text. Likewise, do the same for state, region, town or geographical landmark names. Where possible, substitute people's names with their roles in the congregation. For instance, instead of "Susan Smith called me," write "the Chair of the Canvass Committee called me."
Entries may be submitted electronically as a Word attachment to apf @ uua.org, or a hard copy may be mailed to:
Annual Program Fund
c/o Scott Robbins, Assistant Director
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
25 Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02108
Submission Terms and Conditions
By submitting your sermon for consideration, you are (a) agreeing to grant to the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association (UUMA) and the Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA), a non-exclusive, three year, royalty-free license, to publish your sermon in any and all publications and websites of the UUA, UUMA and LREDA, and their affiliate organizations; (b) representing and warranting to UUA, UUMA and the LREDA that your submission is an original work of yours and to the best of your knowledge, does not copy or otherwise infringe anyone else's work. The license referred to above includes the right to edit your work for space saving considerations. Attribution will be made each time your work is published. As the copyright owner, you have the right to use the sermon as you see fit at any time.
For more information contact apf @ uua.org.
