Unitarian Church

[JeffXL]

Unitarian: An atheist with children.

 

UU is derived from Xtianity, differing in their early days by saying that all will be saved no matter what. For me the atheist, it's just another waste of time. Spirituality is just another game of make-believe. Sleep in on Sunday morning!

 

Unitarians are involved in some pretty decent social issues, I must say.

 

Most important is doing whatever makes you happy. If you dig on the UU outlook and like the people &c., go!

[Open_Minded]

This is on the homepage of the Unity church in my area:

 

OUR VISION

 

We prayerfully co-create a heart-centered environment for spiritual inspiration, principle-centered education, loving service, and healthy community outreach as

we apply the Jesus Christ principles in positive, practical ways in our lives, our spiritual home, and our world

 

The structure is set up with words like "Prayer Ministry", "Youth Ministry", "Prayer Team", pastor, elders, etc. Sounds so much like my other church. I don't know, I'll write the pastor and let you all know what comes of it. Of course, as MadameM stated, be sort of a rebellion...LOL I can just picture now.

 

I attended a Unity church for awhile. My parents and some of my siblings currently attend Unity. You will find that individual churchs vary a great deal from one city to the next.

 

When you contact the pastor ask him/her how Jesus Christ is interpreted. This is very important - you will find that there is a different understanding of Christ than one is typically exposed to in a mainstream Christian church and very far removed from the understanding of Christ one finds in a fundamentalist church.

 

A good resource book is: Lessons in Truth by H. Emilie Cady.

 

I haven't attended Unity in several years so I can't speak to the environment of the church today. But when I did attend people were very open-minded. My siblings and parents who attend Unity are well versed in other world religions and the literary/contextual history of the Bible.

 

Hope this helps

[Taphophilia]

Unitarians are great, but it depends on the particular church. Some are more "spiritual" than others. The one where I used to live had mostly Athiest/Agnostic members, so there wasn't a lot of spirituality talk. There was a focus of community involvement, making the world a better place, learning about others beliefs in order to understand others, acceptance of others who are different from you, etc.

 

They did a lot of gay teen outreach, to help gay teens and their parents accept who they are. They also had gay teen night and gay teen support groups to not only give them a safe haven to socialize but to help them cope in a homophobic world and offer encouragement and acceptance. It was a great church!

 

I looked up the one here and they have Bible studies and many home groups for Christianity as a valid spiritual path. Ugh!

[queenie]

In following the first link someone offered, I found this as well.

 

http://www.uua.org/clf/index2.html

 

It's kind of an online church, if you will - available for those who can't find a congregation near them. There are outreach opportunities, ways to be involved in groups, and homilies from the pastors on a periodic basis.

 

I have to say, it's intriguing me.

[Guest GenVIUU]

First things first, there is no strictly Unitarian Church anymore. They are Unitarian Universalist. Some have maintained their historic names (both Unitarian and Universalist), but all are members of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA.org). You will find a great deal of variety in Unitarian Universalist congregations.

 

Unitarian Universalist congregations are not as some have posted an eclectic collection of different religious persons who gather together on Sundays. Our congregations, unlike many other religions, have continued to dynamically evolve over time. You will find our Seven Principles at the UUA website. These form the centering poing of our belief system. Individually, UU's are aloud a great deal of latitude in their spiritual growth. We are driven by congregational polity, rather than from the top down.

 

I myself am a seventh generation Universalist. We have amoung our congregation, people from various religious backgrounds. Often, because of our liberal religious principles, we find members come to us from interdenominational marriages. Here they find a community in which they are free to explore, develop and integrate their belief systems in harmony with our core principles.

 

Most UU's are slow to "evangelize." That fear of indoctrinating others (especially by those who have been indoctrinated before.) Unitarian Universalism is not an easy religion. You are charged to be constantly looking for the truth, whether it reinforces your current spiritual beliefs or challenges them. You are responsible for your own spiritual enlightenment in the company and with the help of fellow searchers. Unitarian Universalism is not the way for you if you can't deal well with ambivilance. Sometimes the questions are more important than the answers.

 

In answer to some of your specific questions: Community is a large part of our congregation. Music is very important and we sing and play together. Our particular congregation has a professional minister, but there are congregations which are lay led. Our congregation is lead by a board of trustees and a hoard of committees. If I were you, I would try out a few different UU congregations, if there are as many in your local area. Unlike other denominations, even if you've seen 100, you haven't seen 'em all.

 

 

I was just curious if anyone out there attends a Unitarian Church? The one thing I miss about my Christian life is the social aspects of the church. I have considered attending a Unitarian church and was just curious if someone could compare it to regular Christian churches. Is it set up the same way with preachers, elders, etc. Do you sing songs? I have no idea what its about which is why I’m posting this.

[Guest GenVIUU]

We have both conservatives and liberals in the political realm. But if your husband just can't stand having his positions on anything challenged, then this is definitely not the place for him. There are times when we have discussions of many topics where we have to agree to disagree, but some people can't handle even that. In our denomination, liberal means an open and responsible search for truth and meaning, even if that truth means you have to change your stance, definitely something not everyone is ready or willing to handle. It also means an ability to laugh at even ourselves, as you've found out.

 

LOL...I had to share this from the UU Church webpage in my area, from the link entitled "UU Humor" ( just a snippet)

 

You might be a UU if:

-You think the Holy Trinity is "reduce, reuse and recycle"

-You study the "ten suggestions" instead of the "Ten Commandments."

-The only time "Jesus" is mentioned at church is when someone trips or stubs a toe

-Your child says to you before eating dinner at a friend's house "I'll remember to say my 'pleases' and 'thank yous' but I'm not going to say that dinner 'pledge of allegiance'."

-You think a Holy day of Obligation is your turn to do coffee

 

-You know at least two people who are upset that trees had to die for your church to be built

 

No "Christmas" mentioned on the site either, but they are having a Winter Soltice Party. For that, there will be a Labyrinth walk that is a metaphor for showing ones walk through life...pretty cool. One of the studies in January is, Exploring Deep Ecology

 

Exploring Deep Ecology is about our relationship with the environment. In this course, we’ll discover how our personal values affect the way we view and treat the earth. Spirituality in its many forms is a very important part of this course. Session topics include: Deep Ecology, The Gaia Hypothesis, Spirituality and the Earth, A New Story from Science, Native American Wisdom, Ecopsychology, Simplicity, and Bioregionalism. This course will begin in early 2006 – check the January edition of The Light for details.

 

I'm sort of getting the picture that Christianity is not a focus at all. Other than many on this site not believing in any kind of "spirituality", are there any red flags in the Ecology description?

 

UPDATE This church is very liberal and when it comes to politics there is no way my husband will allow the kiddos into a church where there is a liberal "agenda". I love my kids and hubby too let politics cause divide. I'm going to be happy no matter what, I just need to find my place in society without having to join a group in order to do so.

[Taphophilia]

First things first, there is no strictly Unitarian Church anymore. They are Unitarian Universalist. Some have maintained their historic names (both Unitarian and Universalist), but all are members of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA.org). You will find a great deal of variety in Unitarian Universalist congregations.

 

Unitarian Universalist congregations are not as some have posted an eclectic collection of different religious persons who gather together on Sundays. Our congregations, unlike many other religions, have continued to dynamically evolve over time. You will find our Seven Principles at the UUA website. These form the centering poing of our belief system. Individually, UU's are aloud a great deal of latitude in their spiritual growth. We are driven by congregational polity, rather than from the top down.

 

I myself am a seventh generation Universalist. We have amoung our congregation, people from various religious backgrounds. Often, because of our liberal religious principles, we find members come to us from interdenominational marriages. Here they find a community in which they are free to explore, develop and integrate their belief systems in harmony with our core principles.

 

Most UU's are slow to "evangelize." That fear of indoctrinating others (especially by those who have been indoctrinated before.) Unitarian Universalism is not an easy religion. You are charged to be constantly looking for the truth, whether it reinforces your current spiritual beliefs or challenges them. You are responsible for your own spiritual enlightenment in the company and with the help of fellow searchers. Unitarian Universalism is not the way for you if you can't deal well with ambivilance. Sometimes the questions are more important than the answers.

 

In answer to some of your specific questions: Community is a large part of our congregation. Music is very important and we sing and play together. Our particular congregation has a professional minister, but there are congregations which are lay led. Our congregation is lead by a board of trustees and a hoard of committees. If I were you, I would try out a few different UU congregations, if there are as many in your local area. Unlike other denominations, even if you've seen 100, you haven't seen 'em all.

 

 

I was just curious if anyone out there attends a Unitarian Church? The one thing I miss about my Christian life is the social aspects of the church. I have considered attending a Unitarian church and was just curious if someone could compare it to regular Christian churches. Is it set up the same way with preachers, elders, etc. Do you sing songs? I have no idea what its about which is why I’m posting this.

 

Hi Gen,

 

7th generation Unitarian? Wow! Thanks for the info. Luckily for you, church has been a good experence. If you have always gone to UU's that is. We here have mostly been burned by the Fundy mindset, so pardon a few who want nothing to do with any church. As for me, I love UU churches.

 

Welcome here!

 

Taph

[Guest GenVIUU]

This is a point where I get a little sensitive... I am a sixth generation Universalist. Sometimes in our denomination, certain congregants forget the Universalists...

 

Thanks for the welcome!

 

First things first, there is no strictly Unitarian Church anymore. They are Unitarian Universalist. Some have maintained their historic names (both Unitarian and Universalist), but all are members of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA.org). You will find a great deal of variety in Unitarian Universalist congregations.

 

Unitarian Universalist congregations are not as some have posted an eclectic collection of different religious persons who gather together on Sundays. Our congregations, unlike many other religions, have continued to dynamically evolve over time. You will find our Seven Principles at the UUA website. These form the centering poing of our belief system. Individually, UU's are aloud a great deal of latitude in their spiritual growth. We are driven by congregational polity, rather than from the top down.

 

I myself am a seventh generation Universalist. We have amoung our congregation, people from various religious backgrounds. Often, because of our liberal religious principles, we find members come to us from interdenominational marriages. Here they find a community in which they are free to explore, develop and integrate their belief systems in harmony with our core principles.

 

Most UU's are slow to "evangelize." That fear of indoctrinating others (especially by those who have been indoctrinated before.) Unitarian Universalism is not an easy religion. You are charged to be constantly looking for the truth, whether it reinforces your current spiritual beliefs or challenges them. You are responsible for your own spiritual enlightenment in the company and with the help of fellow searchers. Unitarian Universalism is not the way for you if you can't deal well with ambivilance. Sometimes the questions are more important than the answers.

 

In answer to some of your specific questions: Community is a large part of our congregation. Music is very important and we sing and play together. Our particular congregation has a professional minister, but there are congregations which are lay led. Our congregation is lead by a board of trustees and a hoard of committees. If I were you, I would try out a few different UU congregations, if there are as many in your local area. Unlike other denominations, even if you've seen 100, you haven't seen 'em all.

 

 

I was just curious if anyone out there attends a Unitarian Church? The one thing I miss about my Christian life is the social aspects of the church. I have considered attending a Unitarian church and was just curious if someone could compare it to regular Christian churches. Is it set up the same way with preachers, elders, etc. Do you sing songs? I have no idea what its about which is why I’m posting this.

 

Hi Gen,

 

7th generation Unitarian? Wow! Thanks for the info. Luckily for you, church has been a good experence. If you have always gone to UU's that is. We here have mostly been burned by the Fundy mindset, so pardon a few who want nothing to do with any church. As for me, I love UU churches.

 

Welcome here!

 

Taph

 

 

Yeah, my mistake... It's my children who are the seventh generation...

 

 

This is a point where I get a little sensitive... I am a sixth generation Universalist. Sometimes in our denomination, certain congregants forget the Universalists...

 

Thanks for the welcome!

 

First things first, there is no strictly Unitarian Church anymore. They are Unitarian Universalist. Some have maintained their historic names (both Unitarian and Universalist), but all are members of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA.org). You will find a great deal of variety in Unitarian Universalist congregations.

 

Unitarian Universalist congregations are not as some have posted an eclectic collection of different religious persons who gather together on Sundays. Our congregations, unlike many other religions, have continued to dynamically evolve over time. You will find our Seven Principles at the UUA website. These form the centering poing of our belief system. Individually, UU's are aloud a great deal of latitude in their spiritual growth. We are driven by congregational polity, rather than from the top down.

 

I myself am a seventh generation Universalist. We have amoung our congregation, people from various religious backgrounds. Often, because of our liberal religious principles, we find members come to us from interdenominational marriages. Here they find a community in which they are free to explore, develop and integrate their belief systems in harmony with our core principles.

 

Most UU's are slow to "evangelize." That fear of indoctrinating others (especially by those who have been indoctrinated before.) Unitarian Universalism is not an easy religion. You are charged to be constantly looking for the truth, whether it reinforces your current spiritual beliefs or challenges them. You are responsible for your own spiritual enlightenment in the company and with the help of fellow searchers. Unitarian Universalism is not the way for you if you can't deal well with ambivilance. Sometimes the questions are more important than the answers.

 

In answer to some of your specific questions: Community is a large part of our congregation. Music is very important and we sing and play together. Our particular congregation has a professional minister, but there are congregations which are lay led. Our congregation is lead by a board of trustees and a hoard of committees. If I were you, I would try out a few different UU congregations, if there are as many in your local area. Unlike other denominations, even if you've seen 100, you haven't seen 'em all.

 

 

I was just curious if anyone out there attends a Unitarian Church? The one thing I miss about my Christian life is the social aspects of the church. I have considered attending a Unitarian church and was just curious if someone could compare it to regular Christian churches. Is it set up the same way with preachers, elders, etc. Do you sing songs? I have no idea what its about which is why I’m posting this.

 

Hi Gen,

 

7th generation Unitarian? Wow! Thanks for the info. Luckily for you, church has been a good experence. If you have always gone to UU's that is. We here have mostly been burned by the Fundy mindset, so pardon a few who want nothing to do with any church. As for me, I love UU churches.

 

Welcome here!

 

Taph

[Taphophilia]

This is a point where I get a little sensitive... I am a sixth generation Universalist. Sometimes in our denomination, certain congregants forget the Universalists...

 

Thanks for the welcome!

 

Sorry for the mistake. What's the difference between a Universalist and a Unitarian?

 

Taph

[BlueGiant]

I can't say that I understand wanting to expose yourself to a churcch-type environment again. Then again, I was surrounded by shysters back in the day, so you may have had a very different more positive experience.

 

The UU's have struck me as wishy-washy and people who do all they can to avoid offense, leading to the joke "First Unitarian Church, if that's okay with you."

 

I have almost as little use for them as I have for the rabid fundies that show in these parts.

 

Admittely, I have never been a UU, so my view is probably skewed, and if they wish to correct me, they are welcome to, and in doing so prove me wrong.

 

Still I have to ask why in the hell do you want to join a congregation, just another place for people to snipe at you.

[Guest Cactus Ed]

On paper it sounded to me like the Unitarians were the way to go - you get the Community of a church without the BS of church. And yet each time I ever went to a Unitarian service I couldn't believe how silly and lame it all was. It's as if their #1 priority is not to offend anybody, to be 100% politically and religiously correct. Like putting non-fat milk in decaffinated coffee. You end up coming away non-plussed, wondering why you dragged your ass outa bed and drove 15 miles so early on the only day of the week you don't have to get up early to be somewhere, and you don't come back. It's much more entertaining to visit a fundy church just for the theatrics and to see how fucking insane those people are, and then I come away feeling better about my own moderate insanity.

 

 

 

 

 

I assume you were responding to my post.

 

I stopped going to church long before I abandoned christianity. You must have had some nice "fuzzy" fellowship experiences......but then......if there is any indication looking at your avatar.....you are a guy.

 

Ummm... no "warm fuzzies," just a HUGE improvement over X-ian. "recently" for me is over 10 years ago... and I stopped the church thing long before ditching x-ianity as well, except for a few times in a 10-yr period I can count on one hand.

 

Guys experience something different from Church fellowship than women. First of all, the chicks are practically throwing themselves at you (could be good or bad depending how you feel about the girls in question).

 

LOL!!! I wish!!! Maybe I would have gone more than twice had that been the case! I met my wife 9 years ago online (in the internet dark ages), and have always kinda kept to myself. I have a small circle of friends, and am very happy with that. A big social thing holds no appeal to me, I grew up with that crap and have no need of it in adulthood.

 

Until I lose my marbles as do something silly like that, I will enjoy the comradeship I find here just fine.

 

100% agreement here. My wife thinks I spent TOO much time on the computer...

[Taphophilia]

I love them because they do a lot for the gay community. They are rabid pro diversity, gay rights, womens rights, and human rights. I don't think that's wishy washy. As far as beleifs, it's basically believe whatever you want.

 

Taph

[BlueGiant]

Easy to say that you are for something, but its a lot harder to risk action for it. I'm from Missouri. Show Me.

 

At least, though, we know that they are not jerks for the most part.

[Taphophilia]

Easy to say that you are for something, but its a lot harder to risk action for it. I'm from Missouri. Show Me.

 

At least, though, we know that they are not jerks for the most part.

 

They do a lot. The larger churches have gay teen rec nights, where gay teens can go to have fun in a safe environment. They have lots of gay support groups, I Broke Free goes to one with his partner at a Unitarian church. I have never been to one that wasn't a "welcoming church" where gay, lesbians, and transgendered were not only accepted with open arms but embraced. I think that they try too hard to be respectful of all faiths so it may seem wishy, washy. Though, the majority of people I know who go to them are athiests.

 

There was an up roar where I was from. The Unitarian minister saw a prayer in a public park that the public school kids said for a field trip. He petitioned the park district and the school board about it and made them take it down and not say the prayer anymore.

 

Taph

[BlueGiant]

Exactly what I was looking for.

 

I'll have to personally check 'em out at some point. Though I am still pretty certain that the two belief systems (the UU's and my own) are still mutually incompatable, an ally would be nice.

[Thackerie]

I love them because they do a lot for the gay community. They are rabid pro diversity, gay rights, womens rights, and human rights. I don't think that's wishy washy. As far as beleifs, it's basically believe whatever you want.

 

Taph

 

You are absolutely right. Those who assume that UUs are just another brand of xianity have obviously never been to a Unitarian church or even read anything about it.

 

I am a Unitarian AND an agnostic. I have never ever met a Unitarian who claimed to be a christian, but I guess it's possible because if you have 50 UUs in a room, you could have 50 different philosophies. I also have never met any who have the slightest interest in evangelizing.

 

Not all Unitarian churches are the same, of course. I'm disappointed by the ones that try to mimic mainline churches by having a minister who dresses up in robes or a choir that sings what sounds like xian hymns (i.e., whiny anoying dirges). In my church, the minister dresses like real people -- and that includes shorts and t-shirts in the summer, there's a lot of emphasis on music but it's uplifting, pretty music ("Morning has Broken" by Cat Stevens, for example), and we often have guest speakers who represent a wide variety of religious and spiritual thought -- hindus, moslems, jewish, atheist, whatever (but not fundies because they are too scared to accept our invitations to "share their wisdom").

 

So, I advise all freethinkers to check out their local UU church (and if you don't like it, check out another one or two or three.) I love the UUA bumper sticker that I have which proclaims "Know is the Answer," and I hope you'll find out that UUs are good people to associate with.

[Ex-COG]

I go to a Unitarian church which has a variety of people attending. We light the chalice, sing hymns (I could do without that, even though the words have been rewritten and some songs are totally modern), light candles while sharing joys and concerns (the equivalent of prayer requests w/o the prayer), and have a brief moment of meditation, followed by a sermon. Don't let that word throw you off, as it's not a "preachy" type message; it can be on anything from the life of Buddha to the current holiday season to Deism. Once a month, plus during the summer (when the minister takes a sabbatical) the services are lead by guest speakers and members of the congregation. I've considered volunteering speaking on my background in the evangelical church. When I went yesterday to the Saturday afternoon service, the guy speaking talked on how the Unitarian church had changed. It was very enlightening to me, as he revealed that the Unitarians attempt to try to be "everything to everybody", and not offend anyone. He seems to think that this is moving to an extreme, so that questioning is downplayed. Apparently, my local congregation (and the movement in general) used to be more focused on humanism; after the sermon, they would even have a Q&A session for people to challenge and rebut what was just said! Our present minister didn't care for that method, plus the church itself has become more diversified, especially with earth-centered pagan members. So the humanists and atheist/agnostics feel a little out of sorts. I find that the services gives me something to think about, whether I agree with them or not. I look at it as a place to stretch my mind, and to explore what I think and believe, and how that may change. It may not be for everybody; as some have said, they feel no need for such an organization. But others might find something to their liking, whether it's the opportunity for social service, a political discussion group, or just a chance to meet people who like to think for themselves.

[Guest GenVIUU]

To use a bit of humor and to look at our historical roots, Universalists believe that God is to good to damn them, and Unitarians believe that they are too good to be damned.

 

The original basis for Universalism was universal salvation, that all would be reconciled with God. This took several forms in the early church, some believe in the immediate reconcilation of souls and others believed that there was a sort of way station where souls spent a period of time before being reconciled. Universalism was a grass roots developed religion.

 

Unitarianism, on the other hand, has the Ivory Tower background, having developed mainly in Massachusetts amoung the more educated and elite.

 

As both Unitarianism and Universalism continued to evolve, they found more and more points of commonly, until in 1963 they merged to form the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.

 

 

This is a point where I get a little sensitive... I am a sixth generation Universalist. Sometimes in our denomination, certain congregants forget the Universalists...

 

Thanks for the welcome!

 

Sorry for the mistake. What's the difference between a Universalist and a Unitarian?

 

Taph