Richard Speck, President of UURMAPA — August, 2026
Happy Summer to each of you. I was fortunate to make a pilgrimage to Transylvania to visit the birthplace of Unitarianism in late June and early July. Here is the Monument to Freedom in Torda just outside the Catholic Church where the Edict of Torda was proclaimed in 1568.
Here is the Deva Fortress where Francis David was imprisoned and died. This space was created recently as a memorial for his martyrdom.
While there, I got to preach in the modern Dava church wearing a Transylvanian stole given to me by Carol Taylor when she visited the Main Line Unitarian Church many years ago.
This spiritual pilgrimage reinforced my sense of our faith having persevered over centuries and enduring harsh treatment by the rulers of that land whether it was the Holy Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, or the Soviet Empire. The Hungarian Unitarian Church is now thriving under the freedom of religious toleration within Romania. May you be fortunate to visit in the future.
Your UURMaPA Board has been meeting monthly and will be holding a retreat in early September. Among the items for discussion will be a common read for our membership on a subject that is important to all of us. We also will make plans for our goals for next year. One part of the retreat will be how to offer more programming of a stand alone nature now that we have decided to hold only one virtual conference a year in the fall.
I invite you to contact me at president@uurmapa.org with things you would like us to offer that meet your needs. While I can’t promise that we have the resources to do what you might suggest, we will earnestly discuss that possibility. We know that we will continue the tradition of offering odysseys from our members in the spring as well as our services of remembrance for those who have passed on to the great beyond. We will continue welcoming new members and providing financial webinars to help answer questions about living into retirement.
As the days start to cool down, I hope that you have had a relaxing summer and are looking forward to the fall. I look toward days where I can walk in a cooler temperature instead of staying indoors. I wish this for you as well.
I want to hear from you as to how we are doing. Let me know. We serve YOU!
Yours in the Faith, Richard