Insightful Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 I passed a church today on my way to a business meeting - and something totally caught my attention. The first thing I noticed was the brick building and the words Unitarian Universalist. Next thing I noticed- four or five black homeless people with their belongings hanging out in the front yard of the church. The church had set up a table and was handing out something to the homeless people I couldn't tell what. I went to my meeting. On my way back to the freeway I passed the same church. The table with handouts was gone but three of the homeless people were still resting on the benches on the church property. Then I noticed the sign hanging out in front of the church that I took a picture of and that I now share with you: This congregation believes: Love Is Love Black lives matter Climate change is real No human being is illegal Women's rights are human rights All genders are whole, holy, and good. Then I instantly understood why there were homeless people who felt welcomed there. And my eyes filled up with tears at the beauty of it all. 7 years ago I would have looked at that "statement of faith" and scoffed. Now I look at it and it resonates with me deeply. I can tell you this - my white Fundamentalist Suburban Church with a really long biblical and orthodox statement of faith never had homeless black people taking refuge on its property. In fact, the pastor of that church, a prominent Evangelical, was one of the key signers of the recent statement on social justice and the gospel - the document that warned Evangelical churches that an overemphasis on social justice would confuse and obscure the gospel message... Now I can see that social justice is a thing for the Evangelical Church to fear because the more we take up the cause of the hurting, the outcasts, and the marginalized, the more we realize that the only Justice that will come to this world will be at the result of our hands, our efforts, our toil. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevilsCabanaBoy Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Lets compare this with what the Bible says about caring for the homeless. https://www.openbible.info/topics/helping_the_homeless 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsathoggua9 Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 The Unitarian Universalists are a hell of lot better than the fundamentalists, fer sure! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wertbag Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 I get the positive message they are going for and respect the attempt at showing love and empathy but my first thought is they are speaking for a whole group of diverse people and in any large group complete agreement on all subjects is unlikely. I would think it should read "our preacher wishes all of our congregation held these values". The bigger the group the less likely there will be agreement on all subjects. The generalisation of the statement just doesn't sound right to me. Most of the values listed are human rights and empathy issues, but climate change is a unusual subject to include in that list. I would also have trouble with the "no one is illegal" message. Just purely from a definition point that can't be correct. If there are immigration laws in place that you have broken, then by definition you are an illegal immigrant. You can't choose to opt out of the law. You could say "all immigrants are due respect, love, compassion and aid" which fits the tone of the whole message. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insightful Posted February 8, 2019 Author Share Posted February 8, 2019 3 hours ago, Wertbag said: I get the positive message they are going for and respect the attempt at showing love and empathy but my first thought is they are speaking for a whole group of diverse people and in any large group complete agreement on all subjects is unlikely. I would think it should read "our preacher wishes all of our congregation held these values". The bigger the group the less likely there will be agreement on all subjects. The generalisation of the statement just doesn't sound right to me. Most of the values listed are human rights and empathy issues, but climate change is a unusual subject to include in that list. I would also have trouble with the "no one is illegal" message. Just purely from a definition point that can't be correct. If there are immigration laws in place that you have broken, then by definition you are an illegal immigrant. You can't choose to opt out of the law. You could say "all immigrants are due respect, love, compassion and aid" which fits the tone of the whole message. Fair points for sure. The climate change comment I took as a reminder of the role we all play in caring for our common home - a way of caring for each other. And I took the "no human is illegal" point less literally and more reminding us of the humanity of even unregistered immigrants - that they are people first... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerk Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 The “Universalist” part of UU means “everyone goes to Heaven.” Originally just the Unitarian Church, they were not Trinitarian... didn’t believe in the separate Father/Son/Holy Spirit. Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams were Unitarians, having been Quakers before switching. Today, they don’t really have a creed. Lots of pagans attend UU churches, and lots of atheists, too. They celebrate everyone’s holidays! Never been to one — it’s just something I’ve read up on. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lefty Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 Seems to me that they are also opportunists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
◊ Weezer ◊ Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 That was the last church I attended, which lasted about a year. The main reason I quit was due to "social" differences. As a dirt bike rider, and "off road jeeper", i didn't fit in with all the tree huggers. They are really into the social And environmental causes. On 2/24/2019 at 10:43 PM, Lerk said: Today, they don’t really have a creed. Lots of pagans attend UU churches, and lots of atheists, too. They celebrate everyone’s holidays! Lerk is correct. They were the most accepting group of people I ever met. There were also several Buddhist. If anyone still enjoys attending "church services", and group functions, give them a try. LOL, But if you are out of red neck "okie" country, like me, you may not be comfortable there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
◊ Weezer ◊ Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 9 hours ago, Lefty said: Seems to me that they are also opportunists. I did not get that impression. At least in Wichita, Kansas. Their facilities were very simple and functional, and there was not a push for more contributions. The minister at that time lived in a very modest house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lefty Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 6 hours ago, Weezer said: I did not get that impression. At least in Wichita, Kansas. Their facilities were very simple and functional, and there was not a push for more contributions. The minister at that time lived in a very modest house. That was a bit rhetorical, based on their sign. I actually have met a couple of them way back years ago as a believer. No real comment though, they weren't all strange freaky like some folks in strange cults. I just saw them from a Christian perspective as going to hell. Their welcome everybody attitude and low profile was like that then and I guess still are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
◊ Weezer ◊ Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 Like all churches, even under the same name, I would assume each takes on a different flavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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