is there any kind like prosses you have to do to become a uu or is it more just showing up to a local group

I'm considering UU since you can believe in any god you want or none at all, but I did some googling and found the gadfly controversy. I know UU is progressive, if I'm center-left (resoundingly for a lot more police accountability but not ACAB or for public option health care but skeptical of a government monopoly on it especially post-Roe, but strongly against Republicans (even sane ones if post-2016 they're still choosing to associate with the GOP)) is that gadfly? Would those politics welcome? Am I worrying too much?

Every other month, we have a Family Fellowship Sunday where we host lunch for the congregation. Today we'll be doing Stone Soup, an appropriate way to wrap up our pledge drive.

We're quite a small congregation and I would love ideas to facilitate more of these events, but during evenings and weekends.

What Family-focused activities does your Fellowship offer?

So I think we could have another UU Holiday based around May 15th called UUnification Day/Ceremony. As the Unitarians and the Universalists Came together and merged, and we brought together our different understandings into the new Association of Faith.

I believe this new Holiday would be a day to celebrate our Pluralism and our Religion/Faith. Not only are we celebrating our shared traditions but also those we bring into the faith with us from outside and from our own understandings.

I hope this makes sense and I just want to see what other Unitarians thought about it and spread my ideas and you can add up on it too or give suggestions/opinions.

I am a worship tech and occasional worship leader at my congregation. I often feel disconnected when I'm being the tech and even sometimes while leading worship.

Does anyone have techniques for being more present and having a spiritual experience while working the service? (I'm an apatheist humanist, so spontaneous prayer to divinity is unlikely to be helpful, but mantras are something I can try, regardless if they reference deity.)

Hi all - I am a millenial woman looking for my community within UU. As background, I was raised Catholic and was heavily involved in my church’s youth group and I’m no longer part of the Catholic Church but really missed the community. I found that UU really aligns with my values and was hoping it would fill that want for community.

The folks at the congregation are extremely welcoming but a majority of them are 60+ and retired and many of the events they hold are during the week during normal working hours. For example, they started a craft group to make things to sell at fundraisers - they meet at 1:30 on the first Tuesday of the month. Their “ladies lunch” is held at noon on the first Thursday of the month. I do not have the ability to attend these, or any other group, meetings.

There is a group within the congregation that consists of folks under the age of 40. But there isn’t presently any specific thing bringing us together with any regularity, beyond coffee hour after services - which not everyone can always stay for.

I’ve been considering reaching out to our minister about starting a group for younger members of this UU congregation. Before I propose this group I was hoping to see if anyone else’s congregation had a group like this and if so, do people actually come? And if they do, what topics do you discuss?

Tl;dr I’m considering if anyone else’s congregation has a group for younger congregants (gen x/millennial/gen z) that they could provide some insight into how that group functions and what topics it explores.

I (30F) feel like the youngest person in my congregation while everyone is 55+. I joined because I want to explore my spirituality while taking climate and social justice action. It’s a great place but I feel like I may not be able to really relate to people on because the age difference. Anyone else going through this?

I am going to project this into the universe and see what comes of it. I've done this twice in the past year, and been amply rewarded, so it certainly can't hurt. This is an earnest and humble request, and I welcome your feedback and input, even those not on this path. Background: After working with my home congregation for a number of weeks, I think I know what I want - I want to be a member of an intensely spiritually-oriented and committed chalice circle that honors, appreciates and validates an authentic pursuit of spirituality which utilizes the tools of psychedelics to engage the divine.

While all members of my congregation that I've interacted with are supportive of whatever path any member chooses, I find that something is lost in terms of understanding between myself and my path and other church members who aren't pursuing a spiritual path in quite such a similar fashion. This leads to hesitancy on my part in sharing and a sense of marginalization or having to hide some part of who I am from them, and that starts to feel very yucky. However, I need to honor their beliefs and experiences just the same.

I feel like there must be other members of the church in the same boat - and if you could point me in the right direction, I sure would appreciate it. Perhaps this has been thought about before, and there's a sub-group of the church that goes around quietly practicing in a super intense way with psychadelics, divining the messages between things, maybe called the children of Emerson or Thoreau's siblings... The type of people who would have been at the scene when the events of the electric kool-aid acid test were playing out. Again, this is me raising my hand and saying that I'm ready and wanting to connect with my church and my church community on this topic, validate this as a path within the church (perhaps bringing the matter to the general assembly) but less interested in the politics than in connecting with like-minded folks who are using every tool in the toolbox for their spiritual pursuits, especially this, what I would consider the most obvious one and certainly one of the most reliable.

What my hope is: To connect, bounce ideas off of one another and likely have an at least year-long chalice group (nationwide, probably) to discuss issues which face those of us at the intersection of these two important parts of our lives as practicing UU's and psychedelic seekers.

Thanks in advance.

UPDATE: I just want to say thank you to all of your beautiful people who engaged me on this topic even though I realize its kind of edgey; it was a true honest inquiry as I seek to understand my own spiritual journey and my place within my own congregation and the larger UU organization - thank you for your patience and grace, I really appreciate your support! Be well!

This is a prayer I wrote to help me out of vicious cycles and into virtuous cycles. It is read as an address towards myself, with responding guidance, in a dual first-person voice. If you like it, feel free to personalize it or steal some verses to aid you in your journey as well.

Remember who I really am; what I can do to help others, what I can give.

Surrender my addictions to express love in temperance. Move me through the pain of separation to reconnect with your true will.

Give me your compassion, your strength, your kindness, and sight of your true will: That I may yield the serenity of devotion to you. Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Learn how to love the world whole; without exception, without need.

The moment is your most vital tool. You must wield it properly to return to the Kingdom, lest it wield you a distracted disciple. I wouldn't trade this moment for the world.

May the ritual of love embody you and I in fullness. Power shall be restored in me, loving, everlastingly. As above, so below.

Blessed be.

I am an Episcopalian who is attending a Unitarian Universalist service tomorrow for a seminary project (namely, observing the practices of another religious tradition). I've done some research, and while I have found some useful information, much of it is with the caveat that experiences may vary.

Bearing this in mind, I was curious as to whether or not there was anything that would be helpful to know about a Unitarian Universalist service. Again, I am aware that this can vary, but I figured it would be best to turn to those who practice it.

Thank you truly for any help you may provide!

I'm frustrated with Faithful America, to be fair I also have the same problem with the UUSJ. Both of them keep e-mailing petitions to me to sign; which I will, and asking for donations; which I won't. Neither of them ever asks for mass prayer. In Faithful America's latest e-mail they talk about Easter and Trans Day of Visibility falling on the same day. I think asking people to pray the following throughout the month of April would have been more impactful:

{God takes his stand in the court of heaven to deliver judgement among the gods themselves. Psalm 82:1

So God created man is his own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

There is no such thing as Jew and Greek, slave and freeman, male and female; for you are all one person in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

Heavenly Father, god of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and Holy Spirit teach us through dreams and signs what are the rights, roles and responsibilities of transgender, intersex and non-binary people in American society down through the generations. Help us too affirm and apply your son’s teaching to “Love your neighbor as yourself” Mathew 22:39 and to “Treat others as you would like them to treat you” Luke 6:31 to the intersex people in our midst. We ask in Jesus' name, Amen!}

​

What do the rest of you think?

I recently started going to my local UU and love it, I left Catholicism 20 years or so because of many disagreements with the church, the UU is a breath of fresh air! Anyway I love the UU but I can't help but notice that our average age is probably pushing high 60s. I don't know how sustainable it is to have such a up there in the years congregation, don't get me wrong I love older people and have always had respect for my elders I just wish we had some younger peoples energy. Does anyone here have any ideas that they have tried to bring new people in? I talked to my pastor and they said that it's been a conversation for a long time but nothing has really been tried. I feel like if more people knew that there was a church that was so accepting as ours we'd be packed and I think it could help with the loneliness epidemic in this country.

What kind of swag/giveaway items would be good to have at our table at a Pride event to promote our Welcoming Congregation? Anyone have good results with any items in bringing in new members to visit?

​

Earlier references to this issue:

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnitarianUniversalist/comments/1bfyqk8/community_conversation/

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnitarianUniversalist/comments/1blmbqa/rules_follow_up/

I have now decided to formally update the rules. The first one has been replaced completely to make the issues clearer to members and visitors alike.

1. Bigotry will not be tolerated

Intentional expressions of bigotry of any kind, including racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, classism, or anti-atheist slurs, will result in a warning for the first offense and a permanent ban for a repeat offender.

The second rule is the same as before.

Folks:

Some conversations I hear in my fellowship is the problem of absentee investors buying up lots of our housing stock.

I am asking this question here considering that we are mostly like minded and I am a bit afraid of going onto r/investing, which has over 1 million people and that I would be flamed to a crisp.

I wonder if it's okay for us to consider that absentee investors buying up local housing and preventing local ownership is unethical.

Would you agree?

Thank you

Mark Allyn

Bellingham, Washington

I’m new to the faith still and would love book recommendations! I am aware that there’s a wide variety of topics but if any of you have read something that really resonated and helped you along this journey I’d love to give it a try :)

I’m from the UK. Now to cut a long story down. I have always believed in a higher power. And never truly understood “Jesus and God are one” spiel. And I believe he was a messenger, prophet, teacher (or rabbi in Hebrew) of god but not god himself. My faith is personal to me and I sort of follow a mixture of religious styles of god, thought wise. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. And I’ve been criticised on here be being baptised in the past and then realised after that I still didn’t believe it (I got baptised thinking that it would come into fruition but never did and sort of came back to old realisation). Islam and Judaism teach in a nutshell that god is one. Not three in one. And that’s the way I think and follow. It’s not a bad thing is it?

I’m new to the UU faith and don’t have a community or congregation anywhere near me.

I’m just wanting to see if there’s anyone who would want to be friends :)

A little about me

• 24 y/o F
• practices Celtic and pagan spirituality paths
• from BC Canada !!
• 🍃🍃friendly

I’m new to the UU faith and don’t have a community or congregation anywhere near me.

I’m just wanting to see if there’s anyone who would want to be friends :)

A little about me

• 24 y/o F
• practices Celtic and pagan spirituality paths
• from BC Canada !!
• 🍃🍃friendly

I'm Brazilian and got out of religion (ex-christian). Nothing against the minister of the church I were member but I became oversaturated with religion. Born and raised in a Christian family sometimes make it a one choice and others.... You know the rest.

My mom is a member of a Assembly of God church but when I was young I preferred the baptists because I considered (and kinda consider them in some ways as Moderates).

But as various protestants and neo-pentecostals churches do the thing like: The other religion follow the devil and yadda yadda. They will go to hell if they don't convert. I think you all know the rest. And when I begun to think more outside of the box even if I was on a slow pace or thinking outside but not much I still get annoyed because of some hypocrite behaviors and like: "We are good and the other religion is bad and worship the devil" but when you look the "devil worshiping people" you see them doing more to help people than "us".

In resume, got out and I feel better. Taking care of my mental and physical health. And I want to join something with the same ideals like mine so I chose UU. How can I learn more and how can I join?

Tl;dr: Ex-christian (Baptist / Brazilian Baptist Convention) who got oversaturated by religion because of being raised in a Christian family who wants to know more and thinks joining UU.

Sorry for the long text. And also, my English sometimes get broken. Also, writing this question inside a bus.

My church (close to Boston hint) has a problem with social media.

An instagram account never used and a facebook that posts the live transmission each Sunday. Need some advices friends of this fellowship of Reddit.

I have been thinking church is this two way street that getting to know each other makes people to know us as a church community. I need ideas but it feels the congregation faces melancholy of a past splendor or a past minister... I think getting to know each other is the first step of any outreach idea. An ongoing to know each other that keeps the theology of fellowship and unity alive. But, in my case, many of the church members say hi the first weeks and then go back to their groups of friends... I wish I could have more tools to sort dialogue and conversation with Congregations where most of its members are old beyond the age of Jesus Christ.

So, the youth group at my church is doing a sermon based on stress and procrastinating. They asked me to help them with the chalice lighting because they couldn't think of anything, and as it turns out, neither can I.

Collectively, we came up with this:

"Be mindful that with life comes stress and anxiety, We light this chalice in hopes of warding off all the negativity, if only for this day"

We're unsure what we think of it. Is there anything better or is this good enough?

How many people in your congregation have political or other personal opinions that aren't in line with the congregational majority and might be controversial? How openly do they express and discuss those opinions? Are more-conservative-than-average positions treated differently than more-progressive-than-average?

I ask after a longtime UU friend confided that they were a registered Republican and supported some conservative policy positions as well as a some liberal ones, but generally chose to keep quiet on those topics while in UU spaces, since they were here for other reasons.

Good timezone, r/UnitarianUniversalist!

I'm sorry for the slight delay from my previous post. I had a few irl things that I was focused on.

This is by no means a complete list, but, I wanted to submit what I have put together so far, in order to get any feedback and suggestions, both for the proposed rules listed here, and for any that should be added.

1. Any expression of intentional bigotry — whether in the form of sexism, homophobia, transphobia, racism, xenophobia, or ableism — shall result in a permanent ban.

2. Users and moderators both shall interact with others in the sub in a spirit of mutual respect.

3. The moderating team and the user base of the subreddit shall work together to make any necessary changes to the rules of the subreddit.

I have a few other ideas, but it is late and I am unable to put those ideas to words right now.

Edit: I have received multiple suggestions for rule 1 to be changed from "shall" to "may". I have noted in one response that I would like to include, if possible, a clause about instructing kindly those who express bigoted views, with the hope that informing them will help them reform their behavior.

Also, classism and ageism will be added to rule 1 in the final draft.

Look at this:

https://weru.org/

https://weru.org/about/mission/

Mission & Values

Mission:

WERU Community Radio is an independent, listener-supported and volunteer-powered media organization, whose mission is to provide diverse programming to lift spirits, raise awareness and make connections.

Guiding Values:

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Civility and Respect

Social Justice

Environmental Stewardship

Community Service

Celebration of Local Communities

Diversity Statement:

All forms of diversity (and the absence of discrimination) are important to and sought by WERU, including but not limited to gender, sexual orientation, generation, geographic location, disability, race, religion, educational background and field of employment, with regards to membership on the Board of Directors, Community Advisory Board, volunteer staff and paid staff.

More About WERU’s Philosophy:

Our motto is to be a “voice of many voices” by providing a wide variety of music, information, and voices over the airwaves and Internet. Our vision is that WERU will entertain, inform, and inspire people, and will support healthy, informed and vibrant communities.

We celebrate listener support as an essential element of our financial sustainability. We likewise celebrate volunteerism as an essential element of the organization’s operations, both broadcast and behind the scenes. Hence “listener supported and volunteer powered.”

We present news and public affairs programming that meets high journalistic standards.

The bylaws of Salt Pond Community Broadcast/WERU are available upon request. Email Matt Murphy, General Manager, at [matt@weru.org](mailto:matt@weru.org).

___________

They clearly want UUs among their listeners:

https://weru.org/locations/unitarian-universalist-church/

Unitarian Universalist Church

Address
120 Park St
Bangor
ME
04401
United States

​

I've gone back and forth over the course of the past 25 years as to whether I'd want to pursue a M.Div. as a UU. I'd specifically be interested in chaplaincy and not Congregational ministry. I have come back to it MULTIPLE times and even went as far as withdrawing applications already submitted in the past. I just am worried about the cost.

I, admittedly, have a fulfilling career already and considerable autonomy but feel drawn to the coursework and think chaplaincy would be a helpful adjunct to my current career. I have two master's degrees and a Ph.D. in somewhat relevant and adjacent fields.

What are folks' experiences? Is it worth it? I'd have to do an online or hybrid program. Looking for others' lived experience in a M.Div program. Preference is for folks to hold snarkiness, if possible.

Good afternoon everyone! My congregation is unfortunately saying goodbye to our current DRE and asked if I would be interested in being the interim whilst they look for a new one to hire, I initially started as just an RE volunteer and will be taking my OWL certs in the summer, I do not have any other credentials,aside from going to seminary in the fall for my M.DIV in UU studies, where are some good places to start getting ready to hopefully move from interim to permanent? I’ll be speaking more with my church’s board and our DRE this Sunday to receive more info, but what certifications do I need/where to obtain them/ any and all advice on how to be a good DRE will be much appreciated!!!

Hello everyone.

I’m here because I’m a student in a World Religions course looking to fulfill one of my assignments by interviewing someone who is a Unitarian Universalist. I’ll admit that this is pushing me out of my comfort zone because I’d prefer to just read / watch videos to learn the information I’m required to research. However this is the assigned task and I know Reddit can be a helpful place to find someone willing to dialouge. This isn’t a request for a debate OR anything that is to be disrespectful to anyone in the UU Church. I just have a list of questions I’m supposed to ask. If anyone here is interested I’d be so grateful for your kindness.

Thanks

https://uutheconversation.org/

The topic is the upcoming GA vote to replace the Seven Principles with the Six Values (+ Love). The first planned town hall web meeting is March 27.

https://uutheconversation.org/index.php/town-hall-meetings/

(Note that there was a Fifth Principle Project announcement about this. I am unsure of how coordinated this effort is with the "Save the Seven Principles" website and Facebook group.)

What Unitarian Universalism loses as it becomes politically narrow

Two quotes from the online piece:

"The narrowing of political perspectives within the Unitarian Universalist community poses significant harm to the church and its members. This trend towards ideological homogeneity often transforms UU spaces into monoliths, fostering echo chambers characterized by groupthink and intellectual laziness. Such insular environments exacerbate extremism and 'us versus them' tribalism, not just within UU but in greater society."

"In many respects, the national church has transformed into a partisan political organization rather than a religion. Even many UU laity who are politically left and social justice activists have expressed discomfort with the idea of the church functioning as a political platform. They come to a church for spiritual growth and an oasis from the toxicity they get from the news and social media in their daily life."

Hi. Through the religious and spiritual exploration that I’ve went through these past few years I’ve recently realized that I think I identify most with being a Universalist. But now I see there is Christian Universalism vs Unitarian Universalism and I was wondering what the main differences are to see which resonates most with me? Thank you so much in advance.

Im from the Caribbean, ive try to make contact with the local unitarian universalist church i had called them but apparently they havent been there for 5 years, i try to go to the church physically but it was close i even try to contact them in their facebook and no one answer, i dont know what else to do, can i join a online community with zoom videos or something?

My husband and I have recently moved to a new town, and the people at our local UU are really un -welcoming. It’s not a bad church, we’re just introverts and have felt pretty awkward and not welcome at the church. There also isn’t a coffee hour, or any kind of mingling time, which there was at our old UU, and that allowed us to get to know people. Also, we’re probably 20-40 years younger than her than most congregants.

We are wondering if there are any similar churches that anyone knows of that we can try. It’s a mid-size town, about 40,000 people, so there won’t be a ton of options. Does anyone have any ideas?

My husband and I joined our local UU church in 2020 after attending for about a year. We had an interim minister at the time. We’ve had a full time minister now for 2.5 years, a full time music director and full time religious education leader. They each get a 3 month sabbatical. During her regular working months, the minister is responsible for church service 3/4 Sundays per month. This flabbergasts me. I’ve never know a church where the spiritual leader(s) are off so much. Is this common in UU or it is OUR church. I asked in the church discussion group we attend and the unofficial elder of the group was offended as “that’s the same the previous minister (of >30 years) got!”

What Unitarian Universalism loses as it becomes politically narrow

Two quotes from the online piece:

"The narrowing of political perspectives within the Unitarian Universalist community poses significant harm to the church and its members. This trend towards ideological homogeneity often transforms UU spaces into monoliths, fostering echo chambers characterized by groupthink and intellectual laziness. Such insular environments exacerbate extremism and 'us versus them' tribalism, not just within UU but in greater society."

"In many respects, the national church has transformed into a partisan political organization rather than a religion. Even many UU laity who are politically left and social justice activists have expressed discomfort with the idea of the church functioning as a political platform. They come to a church for spiritual growth and an oasis from the toxicity they get from the news and social media in their daily life."

​

My fiancé and I have attended a few UU sermons and enjoyed them. Both of us have long since left organized religion and are largely agnostic. UU seems like a great community of like-minded folk and we’re looking forward to digging further in to what UU has to offer.

We’ve both felt like the sermons we’ve attended have been stimulating and engaging. This has led us talking more about spirituality in our lives. We had an interesting conversation this morning about what spirituality looks like for those of us that don’t have religious beliefs or affiliations.

Can you be spiritual without being religious or believing in a higher power(s)? If so, what does that look like for you?

Hello everyone!

I wanted to have a conversation with the community of r/UnitarianUniversalist so that we could figure out together what kind of community we want to be.

I believe this is a better approach than mods making changes unilaterally.

This is a space for you to offer suggestions for things like rules, subreddit activities, flairs, etc., that you would like to see enacted.

Below are a few ideas I had. I offer them to start this conversation:

• Overhaul of the rules, and use the Seven Principles as guides for our new rules. These rules should be specific.

• A rule that will absolutely be in the final draft is an anti-bigotry rule: No racism, no xenophobia, no ableism, no homophobia, no transphobia, no sexism, etc.

• Either humorous flairs or flairs noting one's general theological bent and affiliation.

• Institute a quarterly or bi-annual review of rules, activities, and other aspects of the sub.

So those are some basic ideas to get things started.

I would like to finish this conversation by Thursday, March 25. At which point, we will have hopefully a lot of great feedback and be able to get out rough drafts of the changes to be voted on.

Thank you!

A thing my minister said in a sermon recently that made me happy. This is a foundational belief that I can get behind. Very simple, very useful.

I asked another church member in a theology chat what's the "ask" of UU. The answer was just show up! Respect people. That's a totally reasonable ask.

I, personally have some eclectic spiritual beliefs that I don't feel the need to necessarily share with anyone. I find it helpful to put some space holders for the unknown and to direct my life through a certain poetic narrative, and it is important to me. My personal relationship to a devine. Believing in the inherent dignity of every human, showing up to service and respecting the congregation in no way gets in the way of my faith.

Mostly posting as a question to see if I'm missing anything. Can one really be accepted as a unitarian regardless of their metaphysical beliefs? It almost seems too good to be true.

Hello Unitarian Brothers and Sisters,

The Scripture reads,

"Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee"

• Is Jesus omniscient in this passage?

• By what means is he discerning this about Nathanael?

Thank you.

I am posing this here before I take it to our DRE or minister. Are there resources for families that can be accessed between OWL sessions? My 7th grader got shafted by lockdown and has never been to OWL. They just finished a 4-6th grade session, and the unit for his cohort starts this fall. I need guidance now on burgeoning sexuality, particularly around pornography use. Due to the way he communicates with me, I think our relationship and trust level would suffer if I was the one leading this conversation, and six months is a long time to wait for help.

I am posing this here before I take it to our DRE or minister. Are there resources for families that can be accessed between OWL sessions? My 7th grader got shafted by lockdown and has never been to OWL. They just finished a 4-6th grade session, and the unit for his cohort starts this fall. I need guidance now on burgeoning sexuality, particularly around pornography use. Due to the way he communicates with me, I think our relationship and trust level would suffer if I was the one leading this conversation, and six months is a long time to wait for help.

I was raised Catholic and my mom would always say that the community aspect of church was so important. However, we never stayed for coffee and donuts in the parish hall! I wonder how much of my love for my UU church is because I want that sweet sweet coffee and treats.

I consider myself to be agnostic-pagan and I’m wondering if unitarian Universalism might be a good fit for me but I’m not fond of Christianity all too much because of my past growing up around it and the negativity it has spread. I know that UU started in the Christian faith but I’ve seen conflicting messages about if it still is a denomination or anything like that. The church aspect of it makes it seem like it is but I really don’t know. I feel kind of lost and community-less because my beliefs are so different the the rest of my town and community and I was just wondering if I should look into this. Thanks :)

Hi friends,

I go to a church in the greater Boston area and have an observation about the committees that I am part of. It seems as though every committee has a pretty heavy lift and does many activities with a fairly large time commitment involved. This is fine, and I am glad to help, but I wish people would chill a little. Has anyone else had similar experiences with committees and committee work at their church?

Also, just an observation in general: I wish that there was more time devoted to getting to know each other at said church. I understand the point of outreach and getting new members, but I wish the faith as a whole worked at cultivating its current members more. (Maybe that's a generalization.)

Thoughts? Thanks for reading.

Im asking it because im really into the unitarian universalist ideas, whoever, there is no church on the denomination itself (at least from what i know) except from one church, which, in terms of societal issues seems to be allign with the UU churches. Can i be a unitarian universalist myself at any church who allign with our societal principles?

Hello 👋 I'm a young Millennial guy and I'm kind of nervous joining a church 😅 I was raised catholic and am now agnostic looking for a community to belong to. Mostly leaning into becoming a better person. I was just curious if there are any other Millennials around in your church? I'm nervous of being the youngest there and building the courage to go and check it out

Do any of you have any policies in place at your congregations for both staff and members regarding social media policies and online codes of conduct? Curious about what that would look like.

Hi there. 🙌 I’m a long time lurker of this page, attempting to grasp anything that may help me understand deeper.

I became a member of my local UU last year quite spontaneously. I say that because I’ve never been religious/spiritual, but something drew me to walk through the door. I have been lost in life for quite some time and just needed something. I will say I have enjoyed listening to what is said on Sundays, but I don’t truly understand UU.

Is there anyone here that can talk me through the meaning of it all?

So as not to draw out this post too much, I’ll stick to my main points, but just acknowledge here that there is a lot of thought and emotion behind what I’ll say.

Today I will go to the office of the UU church of which I’m a member and hand in my resignation letter. I have found that my church – and organized Unitarian Universalism – no longer offers me enough of spiritual sustenance for me to continue with it.

This is a disappointment. I joined twenty years ago when my wife and I found it a good fit for our beliefs as well as a good religious community to raise our young children in. And it was very most often good!

For me, the purpose of religion (both organized and personal) is to foster spiritual well-being. I think spirituality is seeing what the situation in life is, and figuring: “What do I make of that?” The topics are endless, for some examples:

• Sometimes you’ll do things that are morally wrong. What do you do about that?

• You’ll always interact with other people. Some will be indifferent to you, some will support and help you, some will screw you over. What to you make of that, in each case?

• You have a body. How do you best deal with that material existence?

• Guaranteed, someday you’re going to die. How do you live knowing that?

• You’ve got to deal with possessions and resources – everyone needs stuff to survive, and even to live a creative life. How best to deal with that?

And so on. My main point is that these (and so many more) are UNIVERSAL concerns, things that EVERY person alive ever has to face. So, a religion that’s pertinent to everybody will address these concerns.

I have religious beliefs and practices to help me deal with life.

I was finding participation in my UU church community very conductive for that. Almost every Sunday morning service offered something to think over and meditate on - ideas I had not thought about and that were germane to my spiritual process. Other activities at the church (religious education, small-group rituals) were very helpful too.

About a year ago my church hired a new full-time settled minister, and the tenor of the doings changed markedly. I’m not putting it all on the minister – that hiring was just in line with the general changes I was seeing. Overall, the focus of the church’s activities went to being political and social, and not spiritual. The Sunday morning services were a striking example of this: consistently, whole sermons (even entire worship services) were exclusively about how society needs to change to benefit some segments of the population – offering no helpful spiritual ideas. None at least that would help me get through the week, let alone life.

Organized Unitarian Universalism got away from me, I can only feel. When I come away from a UU doing feeling no spiritual fulfillment – or even boost – I can only wonder what the point of that religious exercise is. For me, there is none.

My membership in that church was a good twenty-year run, and I have no regrets. Sometimes, things just change unexpectedly. What do I make of that? (That itself is yet another common spiritual concern!)

[I do have to say that I am not leaving because of the people in my church – they’re all folks I was glad to be around.]

So I’m leaving my local church and UUism in general. I need to break away, for my own spiritual well-being. This is nothing I would have wished for, but I see it as necessary. I can no longer be a member of a religion I don’t believe in.

What’s next for me religiously, I don’t know. For sure I will no longer call myself a Unitarian Universalist, but that was always secondary anyway. I may look for other organized religious groups, but I’ll probably be solitary for a while. I won’t say I just experienced religious trauma from my latter experience in organized Unitarian Universalism, more like extreme religious stress. I need to let it out of my life for a while.

Honestly, I have nothing against UUism or its people. Let them be happy. I’m just seeing that community is no longer for me.

Whenever sex education is brought up in a reddit discussion, there is mention of the OWL program. I have kids and I'm looking for a supplementary sex education program for them. Are these programs just for UU members? Or can non church goers attend? How do I find a program? We are in Oregon, near Portland.

I am in the process of becoming the adult forum coordinator at my Unitarian Universalist congregation. I have been working with the minister and members of congregation on ideas for programming, but also would like to have programs that draw in young and new people. Does anyone have any ideas for what works in adult programming to draw people in from outside our community?

For example one thing I am proposing is a “Banned Book Book Club.” Our church has a banned book library (I live in a red state passing all sorts of crazy laws) and I think this would be a great program to go along with this.

Two example from the below post:

The large majority of blacks and Latinos polled said that they did not find offensive so-called microaggressions such as, "America is a land of opportunity," "Where are you from?," "I don't notice people's race," and "Everyone can succeed in this society if they work hard enough." Commenting on the poll, Columbia University sociologist Musa Al-Gharbi wrote, "(M)any whites, in their eagerness to present themselves as advocates for people of color and the cause of antiracism, neglect to actually listen to ordinary black or brown folk about what they find offensive, or what their racial priorities are.

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In 2020, Minneapolis activists vigorously pushed for defunding the police, leading to the city council to endorse the idea. However, when they later surveyed the black community, a large majority did not support this cause. As a result, a ballot proposal to defund the police was overwhelmingly rejected, with 75% of black voters opposing it. National polls consistently indicate that the majority of black Americans want an equal or increased police presence in their neighborhoods.

The Consequences of Ignorance and False Assumptions in Activism

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Would it be normal to have small “Jewish” groups for anyone interested at a UU church? Would that be a weird thing to propose? I am Jewish but our local synagogues are brutal with social stuff and not overly welcoming. I love the local UU church and I love the general approaches (religious Ed, atmosphere of welcoming) but I want a little more spirituality than it offers. I’m wondering if any UU groups ever experiment with Shabbat dinners or Rosh Chodesh (Jewish women’s celebration focused on the moon).

Greetings friends. I run a blog where I primarily engage in what I call "secular theology:" reappropriating theological and philosophical narratives for use in postmodern 21st century discourse.

I'd be curious to hear y'all's thoughts on my recent blog posted titled "Secular Prayer." In it, I try to investigate some of the psychological and philosophical principles underlying prayer in its sociological and individual contexts.

Please know, that my intent is not to piss off or ruffle any feathers when it comes to those who identify as Atheists or have any religious trauma. I like to mold and shape religious symbolism in a Jungian way; and so you'll have to read between the lines whenever I make a blog post in a way that seems least offensive to your personal convictions.

Anyways, below is my blog post, and here is the link to my blog: https://unorthodoxreflections.blogspot.com/2024/03/secular-prayer.html

Here we go!

"As a secular theologian, my goal is to bring the insights of various religious traditions to bear fruit within a postmodern context. To make the awkward and sometimes backward religious teachings of Franciscan and Eastern Orthodox theology relevant to our 21st century context.

What is secular prayer? How might an Atheist pray? Obviously a contradiction in terms; but the image of an Atheist praying is what I have in mind here.

First let’s define prayer within it’s sociological context. Prayer helps a religious community find meaning in a meaningless world. Through praying to God or Krishna or Buddha, we socially construct meaning to explain the absurdities of reality.

But we do live in an absurd and meaningless universe.

In our postmodern context, I think the real “prayer of an Atheist” is to be found in Eastern Orthodox apophatic theology.

Apophatic theology more or less states that we can not know reality through positive claims; only through negative claims: metaphors, contradictions, paradoxes, etc.

Thus, science tells us absolutely nothing about the world. It’s just a mere means of increasing our power over nature, while at the same time not increasing our knowledge of it.

Apophatic theology “bridges the gap” and saves us from pure absurdity, so to speak.

So we can’t know anything about the world? Sure, no problem. Socrates’ dictum that “all that I know is that I know nothing” comes into its strongest rhetorical implications.

Thus, through extreme skepticism and “divine absurdity,” we can create intense symbolic and subjective meaning within our void of a universe.

Here apophatic theology can help.

Through working through the biblical and Orthodox symbolism found in such works such as the Philokalia, we can learn to process our lives in meaningless yet universally human archetypes.

Belonging to some sort of moral or religious institution is thus absolutely essential. I think, in a perfect world, we’d all be Unitarian Universalists. Tolerant of all religious and spiritual beliefs as long as they don’t harm others.

In apophatic theology, we thus can experience theological rest within the symbolism appropriated to our postmodern context.

We don’t have to feel alone; we can connect existentially to our ancestors who also lived in a meaningless universe, and rejoice in the universal peace of death.

Setting our eyes on Heaven or Hell isn’t going to change shit. We need to live as Atheists indifferent to the reality of an afterlife.

Thus, peace ought to be found in the crumbling away of our body and mind into atomic particles of nothing. Our consciousness goes extinct.

And yet that is the most peaceful thought.

So what is secular prayer? It is essentially using symbolic theological and philosophical works–such as the Bible, the Bhagavad Gita, the various sutras of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, etc.--to develop subjective meaning that helps us cope in a meaningless universe.

To Albert Camus, there is attributed the famous quote: “Should I kill myself, or have a cup of coffee?”

In the face of the void, choose to have a cup of coffee. Or in my case, a cup of tea."

Anyone here observing Lent?

As a former Catholic, I have to say I always enjoyed Lent. Forty days of “giving up” something and starting with Ash Wednesday, which is a reminder of our mortality. I always felt Lent was the only mystical or deeply meditative aspect of Catholicism (obviously people may disagree).

Even now as a UU I observe. Anyone else feel similar?

What are some mantras that y'all use both psychologically and spiritually?

I'm a huge fan of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and incorporating and secularizing some of the Eastern psychological insights into my daily life.

Thus, I often use a mantra to keep me going. But mantras can and should be subjective; they are dependent on the psychological symbolism that's important for each individual.

Thus, I'd be curious to hear if y'all do any mantra work yourselves. Whether it's to Buddha, Christ, Krishna, or simply a secular mantra emphasizing positive thinking in one's self, let's hear it!

Jake

It seems that this is just Atheism but religious, so I'm wondering how it's a religion and not an idealogy as unlike Satanism it doesn't have a God.

I don't know much about UU or the Religion of Humanity, but I noticed some similarities between both religions when I visited a positivist temple in Brazil recently. However, they seem to have a completely different vibe...

(I've never been to a UU temple.)

I recently joined my local UU church and I also happen to be a member of the Audubon Society for my state. Is anyone else a part of any other organizations or does the commitment to a UU church make it difficult to join other organizations?

I grew up in a "Christian" household. We weren't made to go to church and we weren't made to practice a religion but my mom is very conservative and my dad's family is very Christian but he is not. My parents are divorced and both remarried to separate people who have the same values. I'm still working out my beliefs, I am Agnostic but I'm spiritual. I believe in spirituality. I believe in witchcraft and spirits. I also am on the edge of looking at Greek religions. I find myself lacking a place that I belong. That I can go and talk to people. I watched one of the churches sermons on YouTube, and it was very interesting. I am looking at 2 of them.

Unitarian Universalism's Jewish Problems Continue