The Fellowship Movement: A Growth Strategy and Its Legacy

The 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. Ulbrich gives both the story of the movement and the stories of individual fellowships around the country. Coming forty years after the closing of the UUA Fellowship Office, The Fellowship Movement is perfectly timed to contribute to conversations about the future of Unitarian Universalism.