Canadian Unitarian Council

The Canadian Unitarian Council (Conseil unitarien du Canada) (CUC) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian, Universalist, and Unitarian Universalist congregations in Canada. It was formed on May 14, 1961, initially to be the national organization for Canadians belonging to the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) which formed a day later on May 15, 1961. Between 1961 and 2002, almost all member congregations of the CUC were also members of the UUA and most services to congregations in Canada were provided by the UUA. However, in 2002, the CUC formally became a separate entity from the UUA, although the UUA continues to provide ministerial settlement services and remains the primary source for education and theological resources. Some Canadian congregations have continued to be members of both the CUC and the UUA, while most congregations are only members of the CUC.

The Canadian Unitarian Council is the only national body for Unitarian, Universalist, and Unitarian Universalist congregations in Canada and was one of the seventeen members of the now defunct International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (1995–2021).

Organization


The CUC is made up of 43 member congregations and emerging groups, who are the legal owners of the organization, and who are, for governance and service delivery, divided into four regions: "BC" (British Columbia), "Western" (Alberta to Thunder Bay), "Central" (between Thunder Bay and Kingston), and "Eastern" (Kingston, Ottawa and everything east of that). However, for youth ministry, the "Central" and "Eastern" regions are combined to form a youth region known as "QuOM" (Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes), giving the youth only three regions for their activities. The organization as a whole is governed by the CUC Board of Trustees (Board), whose mandate it is to govern in the best interests of the CUC's owners. The Board is made up of eight members who are elected by congregational delegates at the CUC's Annual General Meeting. This consists of two Trustees from each region, who are eligible to serve a maximum of two three-year terms. Board meetings also include Official Observers to the Board, who participate without a vote and represent UU Youth and Ministers.

Service delivery
As members of the CUC, congregations and emerging groups are served by volunteer Service Consultants, Congregational Networks, and a series of other committees. There are two directors of regional services, one for the Western two regions, and one for the Eastern two regions. Youth and young adults are served by a Youth and Young Adult Ministry Development staff of two.

Annual conference and meeting
Policies and business of the CUC are determined at the Annual Conference and Meeting (ACM), consisting of the Bi-Annual Conference, in which workshops are held, and the Annual General Meeting, in which business matters and plenary meetings are performed. The ACM features two addresses, a Keynote and a Confluence Lecture. The Confluence Lecture is comparable to the UUA's Ware Lecture in prestige. In early days this event simply consisted of the Annual General Meeting component as the Annual Conference component was not added to much later. And starting in 2017 the conference portion will only take place every second year. Past ACMs have been held in the following locations:
 * ^Not an ACM, but an "Annual General Meeting" and "Symposium", and unlike ACMs it was organized by the CUC and the Unitarian Universalist Ministers of Canada instead of a local congregation. #Not a keynote presenter or lecturer, rather a symposium "provocateur".  *Upcoming locations

Principles and sources
The CUC does not have a central creed in which members are required to believe, but they have found it useful to articulate their common values in what has become known as The Principles and Sources of our Religious Faith, which are currently based on the UUA's Principles and Sources with the addition of an 8th principle adopted by CUC members at a special meeting on November 27, 2021. The CUC had a task force whose mandate was to consider revising them.

The principles and sources as published in church literature and on the CUC website:

"The Principles and Sources of our Religious Faith

Principles

We, the member congregations of the Canadian Unitarian Council, covenant to affirm and promote:


 * 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;
 * Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part;
 * Individual and communal action that accountably dismantles racism and systemic barriers to full inclusion in ourselves and our institutions.

Sources

The living tradition which we share draws from many sources:


 * Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
 * Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
 * Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
 * Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbours as ourselves;
 * Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;
 * Spiritual teachings of Earth-centred traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

Grateful for the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision. As free congregations we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support."

Formation and relationship to the Unitarian Universalist Association
The CUC formed on May 14, 1961, to be the national organization for Canadians within the about-to-form UUA (it formed a day later on May 15, 1961). And until 2002, almost all member congregations of the CUC were also members of the UUA and most services to CUC member congregations were provided by the UUA. However, after an agreement between the UUA and the CUC, since 2002 most services have been provided by the CUC to its own member congregations, with the UUA continuing to provide ministerial settlement services. And also since 2002, some Canadian congregations have continued to be members of both the UUA and CUC while others are members of only the CUC.

The Canadian Unitarian Universalist youth of the day disapproved of the 2002 change in relationship between the CUC and UUA. It is quite evident in the words of this statement, which was adopted by the attendees of the 2001 youth conference held at the Unitarian Church of Montreal:

"We the youth of Canada are deeply concerned about the direction the CUC seems to be taking. As stewards of our faith, adults have a responsibility to take into consideration the concerns of youth. We are opposed to making this massive jump in our evolutionary progress."

Canadian Unitarian Universalist Women's Association
The Canadian Unitarian Universalist Women's Association (CUUWA), established in May 2011, is a women's rights organization associated with the CUC. The CUUWA gained initial support from Prairie Women's Gathering and the Vancouver Island Women's retreat, and has since become a nationally-recognized organization.

Mission
Originally called the Canadian Unitarian Universalist Women's Federation, the organization aims to raise awareness for women's education, rights, and equality of income. The association also aims to change societal attitudes about women and inform society of the issues women have faced locally and internationally. As a part of their mission, the CUUWA circulates educational materials that highlight women's contributions to society. The organization hosts an annual general meeting during the Canadian Unitarian Council Annual Conference.

Name of CUC and playful abbreviation of Unitarian Universalist
While the name of the organization is the Canadian Unitarian Council, the CUC includes congregations with Unitarian, Universalist, Unitarian Universalist, and Universalist Unitarian in their names. Changing the name of the CUC has occasionally been debated, but there have been no successful motions. To recognize this diversity, some members of the CUC abbreviate Unitarian Universalist as U*U (and playfully read it as "You star, you"). Note, not all CUC members like this playful reading and so when these people write the abbreviation they leave out the star (*), just writing UU instead.