Centennial Vision - Souls Unitarian Church

Centennial Vision
2021
All Souls Unitarian Church
2952 South Peoria
Tulsa, Oklahoma

The Process
The Centennial Vision is the product of many
years of effort.
In 2005, congregational leaders, members and staff engaged in master planning
via a series of Town Hall meetings with Hastings and Chivetta Architects
arranged by the Master Planning Committee. While we approached it as a way
to plan for future building projects, Chris Chivetta and his team led participants
through a process of introspection and articulation that had us looking far
beyond bricks and mortar.
More than 700 congregants participated in a study with Triangle 2 consultants
identifying areas of strength and areas of potential development.
The joining of the former New Dimensions congregation engendered further
reflection on who we are and who we are called to be.
Holy Conversations held during the ensuing year heard many perspectives
voiced, and in response a Task Force was appointed by the Board of Trustees.
They conducted an online survey which was completed by more than 550
individuals. In consultation with an organizational development expert, a
process was developed in which everyone in the congregation was invited to
participate.
The input from those meetings identified the hopes and dreams for what our
congregation could become. That input was distilled by members of the Unity
and Diversity Task Force and recommended to the Board of Trustees, who
adopted it as the Centennial Vision for All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa,
Oklahoma on August 26, 2010. Two days later, more than 100 Board and
Committee members voted to affirm that vision.
2010-–2011 Trustees : Jim Rusher, Stacey Craig, Jim Perrault, Maurice Storm,
Laura Hailey-Butler, Ruth Ferguson, Bill Ainsworth, Brenda Alred, Roger Blais,
Steve Caldwell, Emily Duensing, John Greene, Nancy Harbaugh,
Nancy McDonald, Sharon McElroy, Jim Walker, Barry Wilder, Georgia Snoke,
Colin Bent.
Unity and Diversity Task Force : Brenda Alred, Herb Beattie, Donna Dutton,
Rev. Gerald Davis, Dallas Ferguson, Ruth Ferguson, Richard George, Vicky
love
George, Laura Hailey-Butler, David Kroll, Randy Lewis, Pat Newman, Ruth
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Richards, Stephen Sesso, Ted Sherwood, Maurice Storm, Danna Vitt, Randy
Wymore, Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, and Kathy Keith.
Master Planning Committee : Chip McElroy, Allison Greene, Greg Bledsoe,
Jim Beach, Leisa McNulty, Michael Birkes and Shirley Scott.

Our Vision
All Souls Unitarian Church
Centennial Vision 2021
All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa is dedicated to religion but not to a creed.
Neither upon itself nor upon its members does it impose a test of doctrinal
formulas. It regards love of God and humankind, and the perfecting of our
spiritual natures to be the unchanging substance of religion and the essential
gospel of Jesus. Consecrating itself to these principles it aims at cultivating
reverence for truth, moral character and insight, helpfulness to humanity, and
the spirit of communion with the infinite. It welcomes into its worship and
fellowship all who are in sympathy with a religion thus simple and free.
— Statement of Purpose (adopted in 1957)
Our church is an embodiment and celebration of the
world as we hope it will one day become. A climate of profound hospitality,
love and acceptance radiates from our campus and our members. Our sanctuary is
bursting with people from a diversity of theologies, philosophies, ethnicities, cultures,
colors, classes, abilities, generations, sexual orientations and political persuasions,
all dwelling together in peace, seeking the truth in love and helping one another. Our
compassion is reflected in our actions to care for one another, our neighbors and the
environment. Our religious education involves all ages and aims at connecting heads,
hearts and hands.
• Our relationships are nurtured through
intergenerational programs and events,
music and the arts, and large and small
groups that affirm the diversity of the
congregation.
• Our Religious Education is ageappropriate,
intellectually stimulating and
supports individual spiritual development
as well as an understanding of Unitarian
Universalism.
• Our building and grounds are places of
safety and sanctuary that reflect beauty,
We are organized so that:
The result is that:
accessibility and sustainability, and honor
nature as a source of inspiration and life.
• Our multiple sacred spaces support a
variety of worship styles and spiritual
practices.
• Our leadership development is
intentional, inclusive and ongoing, for
both congregants and staff.
• Our congregational governance is
democratic and transparent.
All Souls is a leader on issues of religious freedom, social justice and environmental
stewardship. Our classes and small groups are packed with people of all ages hungry
s the s
to learn more. The church is financially secure, the facility and programs are expanding
and are well maintained because each person gives fully what they are able to give and
legacy gifts from each member builds security for future generations. Each member
is contributing time and talent as well as treasure. The diversity of the congregation
is reflected in the diversity of the leadership. Music and the arts are central to how we
teach and express our values.
We have accomplished this without compromise in the freedom of individual belief
and conscience, while demonstrating respect for each person, using democratic
governance and affirming the responsibility of every person to make the world a better
place.

Our STory
The story of All Souls Unitarian Church is the story of a Church of the Free
Spirit, founded on the principles of freedom, reason, fellowship, service and
character.
It is a story of strong lay leadership.
The church was started by people who came to Tulsa to seize the
opportunities of a booming oil town. They could see that the presence
of a liberal religious voice was needed for the healthy development of
the community. They envisioned a congregation coming together for the
worship of God and the service of humankind. They built a Church of the
Free Spirit.
Today more than 1,800 adults claim All Souls as their spiritual home.
Our membership includes business, state and civic leaders, and people
from all walks of life, who hold a broad spectrum of personal and political
views. Our building often houses both sides of a controversy. We unite on
Sunday mornings in the spirit of love and in the search for beauty, truth and
good for all.
It is a story of strong ministry.
The congregation has sought and called young clergy who were unafraid to
exercise the power and freedom of the pulpit to comfort the afflicted and
afflict the comfortable; ministers who were unafraid to speak out in the
community about reproductive rights, civil rights and the rights of those
who had suffered past wrongs; ministers who were and are willing to act as
well as to speak prophetically.
It is a story of unity and diversity.
In a delicately and respectfully held balance, our congregation worships
together while individually holding a broad spectrum of beliefs and
unbeliefs. We are a congregation grounded in the notion that Love is the
Spirit and we are willing to engage in the personal struggles and collective
labors required to keep it so for future generations. Each day we learn better
how to celebrate what we have in common and to respect the ways in which
we differ.
spirit
After nearly ninety years, we can see the dream becoming reality.
Together, we now propose a vision of the beloved community our church
will be at age 100. The church envisioned by our founders in 1921. The
church of All Souls — a church of the free spirit.

Simple Gifts, Too
Nationally-renowned artist and long-time All Souls member, P.S. Gordon,
was commissioned to illustrate the history & tenets of Unitarian Universalism
as expressed at All Souls in Tulsa.
The Flowers represent the diversity of the people in the church.
The Water represents God or that which sustains and nourishes us.
The Early American Table represents Unitarian and Universalist roots in
the founding of the USA.
The Bible is our historical and theological foundation.
The Emerson Book represents a Unitarian minister’s historic theology
which opened our faith to a still larger vision.
The Untitled Book represents the ongoing development of our theology.
The Ballot Box represents our use of democracy to govern our church.
The Hearts remind us that Love is the Spirit of this Church.
The Statue of Liberty represents our commitment to religious freedom.
The Scale represents justice.
The Glass Vase represents the church as the place we come together.
The Blue and White Vase is from a village in Transylvania, where
Unitarianism began during the Protestant Reformation.
The Single Flower in that vase represents each person’s unique spiritual
journey.
The Dead Oak Leaf reminds us of those who have gone before us.
The Falling Oak Leaf reminds us of our own mortality, and our quest to
leave a legacy of love, freedom, justice and unity.