Universalist Farmers and Townspeople Continue to Fund UU Theological Education.

I have read that the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) gives 250 thousand each to Meadville Lombard and Starr King. When one hears the statement that UUA gives money to these schools one gets the impression that it people like you and me who are supporting these schools through our contributions to the UUA's annual program fund.

As I understand it a substantial portion of this money is income from the St. Lawrence Education Trust, the endowment of a Universalist theological school that the Unitarian dominated UUA closed in an effort to consolidate our students into the Unitarian schools Harvard, Meadville, and Starr King. I was a Crane Theological School when the decision was made to close the schools, and there were not that many students preparing for UU ministry in any of our schools (and hardly any in non UU schools.)

Now the people who gave money to endow Universalist education at St. Lawrence had a vision for what they giving money for, and I wonder what they would think of the present set up. The people who graduated from St. Lawrence were evangelical about sharing their Universalism, and they went out and started new churches in any village or town or city where they could get an audience.

The Universalists raised money for their theological school by asking local churches to raise funds. And it is that money that subsidizes our present schools. When one reads the recruiting propaganda from Meadville and Starr King does it say "come and learn how to share our liberating faith among all people?" When one attends a fundraising event is that what we hear? What I read from both of these schools are blurbs about how Meadville and Starr King students do better than some unnamed other school at the revolutionary task of serving our present congregations.