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.

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