Hi, I've been curious about UUA for a long time, and I'm looking specifically for ways to join a virtual community, at least until churches can fully reopen. There are two UU congregations near me, but even before the pandemic, I felt very shy about trying to join. Part of that may be due to why I don't feel comfortable with traditional organized religion, and part may be due to fears about how family members might react. So, since most things are virtual anyway, I'm wondering if there are specifically active groups to sort of give me a feel for what it would be like to join a real UUA congregation later. What kinds of activities do your congregations offer? What goes on at a typical service?

I'm also curious about UU congregations that aren't official members of the UUA, because one of the groups near me calls itself UU but is not actually in the UUA, as far as I can tell. Is that a red flag? Or is it just a paperwork sort of thing? It's an extremely small, new church, so perhaps is there a benefit to staying outside the system at that stage?

A little bit more about me: I was raised ELCA Lutheran, went to a Marianist Catholic undergrad, another Catholic grad school, and due to the sheer level of...I don't want to say "zealotry," but the level to which my parents really, really lean into their faith and have used it as a means of excluding and judging others, I got very, very turned off from all mainstream, organized religion. I am a political progressive, extremely invested in social justice, and support the rights of all marginalized people. Spiritually, I do retain some respect for Jesus (my joke is that I like Jesus but not his fan club), but I don't know about his divinity or if divinity is even a thing. I am a yoga practitioner and find myself drawn to some elements of Hinduism and Buddhism, although I don't know as much about either as I would like, and I am also drawn to some elements of Wicca and Paganism. I practice chakra meditation. I have a sense of an afterlife, the interconnectedness of all living things, and believe that the best way to channel spirituality is through empathetic actions and behaviors, including being truly kind and emotionally generous with others.

Given that, and what research I have done, I feel like UU might be a good fit for me, especially because I do have fond memories of church as a kid and being essentially "neutral good" in my spiritual alignment, I really miss the sense of community and connection that church offers, but I also don't want to be preached at or aligned with people who are judgmental or closed-minded.

Any help or advice anyone can provide would be great. Thank you so much! :)