UNITARIANS: Help Me Join Your Ranks

[XNASA]

No mere copycat thread, this one.

Actually, when Mrs. XNASA and I renewed our wedding vows on the occasion of our 20th anniversary last September, we asked a Unitarian minister to do the honors. We made a donation to the local Unitarian Church and consequently receive their newsletter bi-weekly.

This Sunday, they are having a "Get Acquainted" lunch and we are pondering whether or not we should go.

So....give us a push, we're on the fence.

[loudestchick]

1. go. I've thought about it as well. I understand the appeal of like minds

[davidinalameda]

2. GO!

I started attending Unitarian services back in December and I'm amazed at what I found

I have found a spiritual home. The Unitarians preach acceptance and the services I've attended just rock. I grew up Catholic so I'm used to the standard songs that we're sung year in and year out but that's not the Unitarian style. They'll use whatever music fits the theme of the service.

I just get an energy from the service that sustains me. These are people who want to be there. Some 90% of all Unitarians come from other denominations. It is a denomination of choice.

[LynneSin]

3. The only church more liberal than unitarians are the Quakers

We need more liberal Christians out there getting the message across that our religion has been hijacked by the Christian Mafia

[yardwork]

4. Every Unitarian I know is a wonderful person

[Lisa0825]

5. I've also been thinking about attending.

Probably will sometime soon.

[XNASA]

6. Here ya go.

http://www.bauuc.org/

[Lisa0825]

8. thanks:-)

:hi:

[Squeech]

7. What do you want in a church?

My feeling is, Unitarians are for people who want the churchgoing experience and disagree with every other church's belief systems.

Unitarians are so called because they reject the Trinity doctrine, that God is at one and the same time the Father up in heaven, the Son on the cross, and the Holy Spirit that makes things happen on earth (such as the impregnation of the Virgin Mary). The original idea was that God was One, unique and indivisible, and that this mystery of trinitarianism was too weird to believe. There were public debates about it in Europe during the Renaissance, and the Unitarians believe they won. That's the doctrinal part.

In practice, Unitarians (at least the ones I'm familiar with) have a creed that starts, "There is at most one God." Note that this formulation allows for no God at all, and accounts for the standing joke that Unitarians address their prayers "To Whom it may concern." I also know that the full name of the denomination, at least in America, is the Unitarian Universalist Church (a/k/a the UU's, not to be confused with the very excellent prog-rock band called the 5UU's). I don't know which doctrines come from which ancestor. The deliberate non-insistence on a set dogma suits me, an agnostic, right down to the ground.

And the UU's that I know are very welcoming. I got married in a UU church, and we also helped conduct a Passover seder for the congregation, and the various ministers we've known have been some of our favorite people in Boston.

My advice, worth what you pay for it. UU's are nice people. Maybe too nice; I prefer my friends to have some rough edges...

[XNASA]

11. Here's what I'm looking for.....

Or rather 'we', my wife and I, are looking for a place to tether our spirituallity. My wife still believes in Christianity, but I myself am a pagan.

The UU Church is a match made in Heaven for us. On the other hand, I don't really believe in Heaven, but then, neither do most UU's.

Re: Nice people. I've got enough friends who are rough around the edges....and most of those relationships are now on the downslope. I don't mind meeting some nice people for a change. Especially, free thinking nice people.

:shrug:

[Spacemom]

17. I think UU would be a good match for both of you

Most UU churches also have a CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) association within the church.

I immediately felt at home when I went. You get the feeling of Community that is so important to a spiritual life, without someone telling you exactly what it is you have to believe.

If your wife wouldn't mind some sermons being read from other books of faith, I think you would both like it.

[rug]

9. A Unitarian went to Mississippi

to proselytize in 1961. The KKK burned a question mark on his lawn.

[davidinalameda]

12. actually there was a Unitarian minister killed in Alabama

On the evening of March 9th, James Reeb, a Unitarian minister from Boston and civil rights activist, was attacked by four whites after eating dinner in a black restaurant in Selma. Reeb was struck in the back of the head with a club and died from the injuries the next day. His attackers were later acquitted in a jury trial.

[The Magistrate]

15. With Respect, Mr. Rug

The original joke is better: a gent named U. Utah Phillips once described how he came to leave Seattle, saying "I knew it was time to get out of town when them damn Unitarians came round and burnt a question mark on my front lawn...."

"Damn! That's moose-turd pie! It's good though...."

[goodhue]

10. Principles and Purposes

Unitarian Universalist Association Principles and Purposes


We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, 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.


The living tradition which we share draws from many sources:

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.


Grateful for the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision. As free congregations we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support.

http://www.uua.org/aboutuua/principles.html

[fudge stripe cookays]

13. Do it!

Even reprehensor and I (who have both been fed up at the thought of religion lately) have been considering attending. We were both raised Catholic in our childhoods, (my family switched to Episcopalian and I quit going, and just just quit going.)

The closest one to us that is similar to our beliefs in down in Oak Cliff, though, and a bit of a drive. The closest one is a bit too close to the whole Wiccan thing, which I'm not comfortable with.

Every Unitarian I've met seems remarkably grounded and incredibly wonderful as a person.

FSC

[rogerashton]

14. Married in a UU church in '65,

my darlin' companion and I finally joined a UU church in '90. We are still members, if not very good ones.

Most UU churches do not consider themselves Christian, though there are some exceptions. Some have a large component of humanists and may not be very tolerant of Christian views. (They are intolerant of little else, if anything. As always, intolerance, when it occurs, arises from fear. Many UU's feel that Christianity has damaged them). There is a tendency to be "too nice," white-bread, a bit bureaucratic. The story is that UU's cannot sing, but ours make some wonderful music. Sometimes they even use the original theist words in the hymns. But not very often.

Political conservative freethinkers are sometimes uncomfortable in UU congregations, feeling that the line between political and religious liberalism is often blurred. As a radical, I think they are overreacting to what really is moderatism, but that's just me.

Unitarianism historically meant rejection of the doctrine of the trinity, as noted -- but it was meant as an insult, however true. The real split was that early UU's rejected the doctrine of original sin, seeing humans as morally improveable without supernatural help.

Universalism rejected the idea that anyone would be eternally damned. Early Universalists were great at quoting scripture to support this point.

The joke was that Unitarians thought humans were too good to be damned and Universalists thought God was too good to damn anybody.

After about 60 years of discussing it, the two denominations merged in the early 60's; but some churches retain a historic connection to one denomination or the other. Historically Universalist churches are probably more Christian-friendly.

[johnnie]

16. I would go

You really have nothing to lose. If they ask you to wear Nike shoes and start talking about comets, then I would probably split.
I had a friend get married in a Unitarian ceremony and it was interesting. She was Jewish and he was a Catholic at one time. He read some Buddhist passage and they broke the glass thing. It was cool.
You might meet some good people there and it could be a good experience on looking at life a little differently.
Personally I haven't gotten to a point in my life where I would feel comfortable in any "group" belief situation, but maybe one day I will. I am still on my ever-lasting search and I rather enjoy that way for the time being.
Go.