My visit to a Unitarian Universalist church

[Anonymous]

Yesterday I skipped church and went with my nonmember bf to a Unitarian Universalist church. We had taken the Beliefnet test mentioned on this board (what religion fits your beliefs?) and both scored very high for Unitarian Universalism (me 100%, him 98%), and there just happens to be a congregation ten minutes walking distance from my house. So we decided to check it out for the heck of it.

We enjoyed it very much. It was so different from any other church we’ve visited. The service began with a Bon Jovi song. By chance, we visited during their annual Youth service, so there were eight “talks” given by teen members on the topic of endurance. These kids were so open and honest about their personal experiences and what endurance meant to them. After the talks there was an informal question and answer forum where the adult members posed questions to the kids at the podium. Again, the youth were incredibly honest and forthright. It took me aback when one adult asked the graduating seniors if they planned on returning to the church after college and one young man said, quite bluntly, “no.” The congregation laughed; no one was upset or passed judgment on him or asked him why not. It was surreal. The whole hour-long service (yes, only 1 hour! ) was focused on positive morals and understanding & caring for one another through the trials in life. Not a single scripture was quoted. Not a single deity was named. No doctrine was advocated. It was about the people.

I’m not planning on joining this church (at least not yet), for several reasons. I don’t know that it’s any better than my own (LDS) as far as fallibility of people. I don’t know that it would make me a better person. The struggle to stay in the LDS church is forcing me to grow in ways that are painful, but will ultimately help me become a better person. I don’t know how long that will last though And there’s the little problem of keeping the peace with my mostly-TBM family :problem: At least as long as I live at home. But attending the UU church was insightful and healing, and I’m glad I was able to go, and that my bf was so supportive. The experience gave us a lot to talk about!

Here are the Unitarian Universalist Principles and Purposes from the back of my program:

We 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

What do you think of these principles? Have any of you had experiences with Unitarian Universalism?

[Anonymous]

UU was my second slot, after Buddhism.

I like the backbone of the UU church. It’s not an option for me though because of my location.

macalla wrote:

Here are the Unitarian Universalist Principles and Purposes from the back of my program:

We 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

What do you think of these principles? Have any of you had experiences with Unitarian Universalism?

I think they are true. 🙂

[Anonymous]

macalla wrote:

Here are the Unitarian Universalist Principles and Purposes from the back of my program:

We 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

What do you think of these principles? Have any of you had experiences with Unitarian Universalism?

I think these are great “articles of faith”. They seem to promote goodness without organizational borders. I also relate to your concern about feeling forced to grow in ways that are painful…it’s painful for me to repeatedly say “no” to service that is expected, such as moving, for example. And there are times when I feel that service is mandated through programs rather than individual passion….thanks for the view into a different world….I appreciate it very much and might check out one of their services as a mind-expansion exercise — without a view to leaving the LDS Church, of course.

[Anonymous]

VERY interesting. Thanks for sharing. UU was very hign on my list also (along with M Buddhism) and I’ve been wondering about what they’re all about, besides being good fodder for Garrison Keillor’s jokes.

[Anonymous]

I attended the Unitarian church for a while. Wonderful group of people. My gay son attended one of their gay proms, Very opened minded but it was a bit too liberal for us. Plus, we were to Christ oriented and that seemed to make them uncomfortable and we could not be oursleves. then.

[Anonymous]

Macalla,

Thanks for sharing your experience. I had UU as my second choice when I took the test. Liberal Quaker was first and I have no idea if there is a congregation close to me. I’ll look around. I like their principles. I wonder how the practical part is played out. I feel the same as you. I’m not likely to join another church because people are people and I imagine there are difficulties everywhere.

I attended a United Church on Sunday. I’ll do a separate post and tell you all about it.

CG

[Anonymous]

macalla wrote:

Yesterday I skipped church

You didn’t skip. Going UU “counts”. :shh:

macalla wrote:

What do you think of these principles? Have any of you had experiences with Unitarian Universalism?

:thumbup: Great principles. I am even more impressed by their Six Sources.

Quote:

[Anonymous]

Tom Haws wrote:

:thumbup: Great principles. I am even more impressed by their Six Sources.

Quote:

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 neighbors 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-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

.

I love it.

[Anonymous]

I’ve no time for it at all really.

It’s like a country club where no one believes in sport.

[Anonymous]

SamBee wrote:

It’s like a country club where no one believes in sport.

Says you. I’m just saying. One man’s belief is another man’s heresy.

[Anonymous]

No, that’s not my point. It’s so wishy washy to be meaningless. If I get to that stage I won’t attend ANY church, I’d be a hypocrite to do so. Better join the humanist society (man forbid) or something completely secular. Unitarianism is church for folk who like hymns but don’t believe in anything at all.

Some wishy-washyness is sometimes good, but a church completely based around it?

Could think of plenty of other metaphors…

No thanks, and double no thanks… the world has moved on since Unitarianism was founded. Back in the 18th century you could at least pretend to go to church, now we don’t even need the pretense.

There are times when one needs solid principles and to stand firm. I don’t see that church providing that.

[Anonymous]

I recall a statement by Joseph Smith saying something like a religion that requires no sacrifice has no power to save.

[Anonymous]

My, my! I am feeling fiercely loyal about my UU peeps here. 😳

It’s totally cool if you don’t get the UU thing. That’s what we are all about here. We acknowledge that nothing works for everybody. So just ignore the following fervor if it doesn’t click for you. What I’m going to do is probably sort of like bearing my UU testimony. I’m going to explain what about the local UU congregation works for me.

My UU Testimony

My local UU congregation isn’t even a church. It’s Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation. I go there because I am drawn as with a magnet. I miss the hymns. I miss the cool people. I miss the enthusiasm about social issues. I miss the ex Mormons. And I miss the hawaiian shirts and sandals.

For me, the UU is about one thing: nurturing. When I return home I am nurtured. If I go with a tear in my eye, that tear is released at the UU. If I go after 3 months away, everybody remembers me, but nobody says they missed me. They accept and love me with no strings.

When I join the early Sunday Dalai Lama group on sofas in a classroom, I am inspired and nurtured. After the chat, I have nice chats with the other participants.

When I am there, I feel I share a common faith in the deepest truths along with a mutual commitment to strip away the hidden lies.

Empty, meaningless? That’s not the UU I know.

[Anonymous]

Tom Haws wrote:

My, my! I am feeling fiercely loyal about my UU peeps here. 😳

It’s totally cool if you don’t get the UU thing. That’s what we are all about here. We acknowledge that nothing works for everybody. So just ignore the following fervor if it doesn’t click for you. What I’m going to do is probably sort of like bearing my UU testimony. I’m going to explain what about the local UU congregation works for me.

My UU Testimony

My local UU congregation isn’t even a church. It’s Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation. I go there because I am drawn as with a magnet. I miss the hymns. I miss the cool people. I miss the enthusiasm about social issues. I miss the ex Mormons. And I miss the hawaiian shirts and sandals.

For me, the UU is about one thing: nurturing. When I return home I am nurtured. If I go with a tear in my eye, that tear is released at the UU. If I go after 3 months away, everybody remembers me, but nobody says they missed me. They accept and love me with no strings.

When I join the early Sunday Dalai Lama group on sofas in a classroom, I am inspired and nurtured. After the chat, I have nice chats with the other participants.

When I am there, I feel I share a common faith in the deepest truths along with a mutual commitment to strip away the hidden lies.

Empty, meaningless? That’s not the UU I know.

Tom – I believe you. I would love to have an UU as an option. To each his own I say. “I claim the privileged of worshiping god to the dictates of my own conscience, and allow all men the same privileged (even and especially LDS men). Let all men worship who, where and what they may.”

[Anonymous]

It just sounds to me like a bunch of middle class folk offering cosy platitudes to one another. I’d like my church to be a rock, or at least rocky in parts, than a mudman. In my encounters with such folk in the past, they tend to say nice things about everything, but have no serious solutions to gritty social problems, bereavement and the hard knocks of life.

Unitarianism dates back to a time when everyone went to church, and it was the done thing. So people who were pretty much atheists and agnostics such as Thomas Jefferson, rather than Christians, went to it. Now we live in a different age. There is probably more stigma in being a Christian than either of these. (Except maybe in the USA which has a slightly different take on this to most of the western world).

There are plenty of clubs which are probably as much fun, if not more, and don’t have the word “church” slapped on them. During my period of agnosticism, I did look at one or two churches, but I really felt that my unbelief made it pointless, perhaps hypocritical to attend them. I did other things and enjoyed them more. If you want a sing-song, there are choirs. For the social side, there’s the Rotary Club, Lions, or even the funny handshake crowd.

[Author]

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