howdy! i know you probably get inundated with "am i welcome" questions, so my apologies in advance for adding to the pile.

i'm a universalist christian (episcopal) and my partner is a humanist atheist. we'd like to attend services together and thought a UU church might be something affirming for both of us.

what i'm hesitant about is that, while i'm universalist, i'm not explicitly unitarian - by which i mean i do believe in trinitarian theology. i think i'm fairly liberal in my interpretation of it, and not at all to the exclusion of other religious paths, but my faith is pretty squarely centered on triune deity.

i know that UUs are able to welcome just about any religion, but on the website it actually explicitly emphasizes the unitarian-ness of UU christians, to the specific exclusion of trinitarians.

obviously i understand that "unitarian" is in the name, and i'm familiar with the history of the unitarian (pre-UU) church. i also understand that just about every mainline christian church in the usa is trinitarian, so i do feel a little silly asking about ~special accommodations~ or inclusivity when just about any christian church would affirm my trinitarian stance.

but i guess what i'm asking is: if i'm comfortable being in community with people of varying beliefs, and comfortable making broad & shared statements of faith, and in agreement with the 7 unitarian principles, will it matter to the congregation if i remain trinitarian, and if that remains core to my perception of god? or is that too disingenuous?

(should also clarify that in no way am i asking the UU church to change to accommodate me - i'm just throwing darts trying to figure out the best arrangement for my partner and i. UU seems to be pretty close, but i don't want to insert myself if i'm fundamentally at odds with a majority of the congregation. i don't want to be disrespectful.)

The UUA's website says, “Because of our strong respect for each person's beliefs and values, each wedding is custom-crafted with a couple to reflect their personalities and relationship.”
I have some genuine questions about this: Would a church conduct a group marriage for polyamorous members? If a man sincerely wanted to be married to more than one wife (polygamy), or if a woman wanted to marry another husband (polyandry), would this be viewed as something that could be done religiously, not legally, speaking. A person may legally be married to one other person, but they may feel like they are spiritually married to others. Have you ever attended a ceremony like this?

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Hello, I’m new here! I’m trying to find resources to teach my kids about or help them understand our beliefs. My MIL and my mother are very traditional Christian’s and are teaching my kids that their friends will go to hell if they aren’t a Christian. I just don’t know how to explain it. I personally do not really believe in hell, but this has come about in the last 5-7 years and I left a nondenominational church about 2 years ago. I just found UU and think it’s what we’ve been searching for.

I’d appreciate any resources, advice, or education that you have.

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https://www.uua.org/worship/words/time-all-ages/honoring-fallen-soldiers

By Erika A. Hewitt, Paul S Sawyer

Think of where you feel safe and at peace. What’s the signal that tells you it’s okay to be at peace?

For people in the United States military, there’s a special signal that says “you’re okay, and you’re at peace.” It's a melody called "Taps," and it's only 24 notes long. It was composed by a general in the Civil War and his bugler.

It’s hard to remember how important bugle calls were in the military once upon a time. In the days before radio, bugle calls were the only way military units could communicate to groups over a large area.

In the 1860s, the end of the day was important. If there was time and peace enough to play Taps, that was a signal that the camp was relatively safe. It meant that you were not under attack. It meant that there were no enemy soldiers to worry about.

To a camp of soldiers, the notes of Taps meant that, unless you were on duty, you could close your eyes and sleep in peace.

They say that the first time Taps was played at a service for fallen soldiers also took place during the Civil War. In those days, the traditional military salute was, as it still is, the firing of a three-round volley of rifles. But this one time, they say, was after a long battle, when finally a cease-fire had been called, and both sides had stopped to bury their dead.
In one camp, as the work ended and the memorial service began to take shape, the soldiers knew that sounding the artillery salute might be taken as a return to fighting, and not as a sacred memorial. Someone had the idea of sounding a bugle, and that sound would never be taken as an aggressive act of war.

Taps came to mean the same thing. It meant the safe and quiet end to the day, time to rest, time to turn the lights out, to let their eyes close, and as best they could, to be at peace.

That’s what Taps means: it's like a powerful prayer.

We try to make our congregations places where people can feel safe and at peace. We work outside of these walls to create a community like that, too: a world where everyone feels at peace in their neighborhoods and towns.

This week, many people in the U.S. are remembering and honoring all those who have died while serving in our military... so you might hear Taps again. If you do, maybe you can stop what you're doing and think of every soldier who might have been afraid, and then let Taps remind you that they're now at peace.

Jesus loves you, come chat with us! we are friendly, We have Bible Studies, and if you suffer from anything and need to talk or just wanna talk about Jesus or the word come say hi!

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Peace be upon you,

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I was raised Unitarian Universalist by my traumatized-by-Christianity mother, which I loved, because Sunday school consisted of learning about other cultures and religions, and I was NEVER told what to believe. It was SO COOL! No surprises that I ended up atheist for most of my life. 🤣 Respect to all UUs (I'm sure there are plenty of them here)... it always felt like a group to belong to rather than a religion. I'm CERTAIN several UUs would agree, but maybe just as many would also disagree. I would love to hear your thoughts on a few things. This stuff fascinates me, and I don't feel comfortable talking about it with people who are going to spout religious shit to me. This is such a gigantic community from people of all walks of life. I feel like it would be awesome to hear so many varied responses and ideas.

My brother died of a heroin overdose almost a decade ago. It fucking sucked. I miss him. That said, it didn't really change my beliefs. I know when people die, lots of their loved ones experience changes in beliefs, and often times I think it's due to WANTING SO BADLY to not have lost that person forever. Makes total logical sense. It's sad.

A year ago, my mom died. However, this time, it REALLY changed things for me. I feel her visiting me a LOT. I feel I get weird signs from her. I am 100% convinced I've had 3 or 4 visitation dreams from her, though I dream of her almost every night. You don't have to explain to me how all of this has completely non-religious, common sense explanations. That's pretty obvious to me. My mom and I were so fucking close. We had that weird telepathy thing going on that only very close people have. If you have a spouse, twin, or loved one you're close to, you know what I'm talking about! Finishing sentences, calling at the same time, knowing what the other will say when you've both been silent for a long time, etc. Of course even if there's absolutely nothing more than BOOM you're dead, I'd feel that way due to our closeness. She is always with me, regardless of what happens after death, because she was a foundational part of my life.

For my whole life, I've always been very sensitive, and I do feel I have a way with connecting to certain things, especially nature/animals. I think I'd be considered an empath maybe since I'm very tuned into people's feelings and my environment? I nurture lots of stuff and teach little kids. Like I said, I am sensitive. Lots of childhood trauma and bullying pretty much made me that way.

I don't believe in heaven and hell or anything like that, but I really wonder if it's possible something else happens when you die. Are we over? Yeah, maybe. But maybe not. I also wonder if there's a scientific explanation that would explain whatever else could happen. For lack of better language, I'd think there'd be evidence for "god" (and of course evolution but I don't feel I need to explicitly state that here 🤣. Also don't really know what else to call god... The universe? Energy? I dunno!). I've read about crazy physics studies where cells react weirdly when one is given stimulation somewhere and the other, that used to be with to the first cell, is miles and miles away. All of this stuff fascinates me and it is overwhelming to consider all the shit we just don't understand. Makes you really wonder about the things that aren't even on our radar or within our realm of understanding.

Do you guys ever think about this stuff? Ever wonder about wtf started the big bang? Most mediums and ghost sightings are COMPLETE bs, I'm sure... But what if a few are real?? Is it a weird glitch in time rather than a true "ghost?" Or let's say Astral projection... I am sad to say that I think most people who believe they can do that are likely mentally ill (or hopefully dreaming!), but the CIA did try to study that shit!

Do you guys think about this stuff a lot? Any cool wonderings you have or crazy facts you know/experiences you have? There's no where else I'd want to post this, because I just don't want to hear about God this and God that. If "god" exists, it's not like anyone living could understand it. This is the one place I'd feel safe discussing things. Please do let me know if there's a better place to post this. As I said, I have no interest in pushing belief systems on anyone, nor do I think that is OK. Plus, I don't even know what I would call myself. I do kind of feel like I'm atheist... AND agnostic.... AND curious AF. (Yes, I know that's a little bit oxymoronic.) I'm so scientifically minded, that if there's anything weird going on, I KNOW it would be able to be explained by science. Ultimately, I know we are a bunch of peons who don't know shit about the universe. 🤣 I like to remain open minded. There's always more to learn.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure my rambling has gotten my point across. I guess I'd just love to hear what keeps you guys up late at night when you're pondering. What are all your thoughts about this shit? Hope you're all well! 💜💜💜💜

Hi there! I grew up Protestant Christian, but fell away from the church nearly a decade ago for a variety of reasons. Now I’m looking to rejoin a spiritual community but am having trouble finding one that feels right. I attended a UU service last week and it was very close to what I was looking for, and really refreshing compared to my previous church experiences. But I feel that I personally might need a community that collectively believes in and worships God.

This isn’t to say anything wrong about those who don’t believe in God, so please don’t take it that way. I LOVE the acceptance UU has for everyone regardless of belief, and one of the reasons I stopped attending Protestant Christian churches is I felt they didn’t respect those of different beliefs enough. I basically believe that no human can really know the truth and that everyone should believe and do whatever is best for them.

If there is something that’s basically Christian UU, I think that’s what I’m looking for. I understand that there are many Christians who are part of UU, but I’m hoping to find a congregation that places more focus on prayer/worship of God, which is important to me personally.

Sorry to be long-winded. Thanks so much in advance for any guidance you can provide!