I am a practicing Muslim seeking a home faith community that aligns with my faith practice, my politics, and my perspective on the world... unfortunately as a woman who is vocal about those politics & perspectives I am not entirely welcome at any otherwise-accessible mosques, so I'm forced to get a little more creative in my search. Via many years of interfaith community organizing beside Unitarians I know that our politics & perspectives often align, and based on the tenets and UU lit I've examined so far it seems like at the very least I can hang out on Sundays without committing shirk... then when I was chatting with a colleague who is a Unitarian minister, she mentioned that there are indeed Unitarian Muslims out there. Is that true?

Any Unitarian Muslims out there who would be willing to chat about it?

Hello everyone. I moved to the Greater Boston area (North Shore) last year and am considering a UU church. I am a former Catholic turned evangelical turned agnostic/atheist (many, many moons ago). Since leaving church altogether I have missed having both a spiritual connection of some sort and the community connection which was found in my old church congregations. I’ve been considering UU since before moving to New England but there are far more choices here than back in my Midwestern hometown.

If you’re from the area, hello! There are probably 5 congregations that would be close enough to me to consider. I am 40s/F, single, childfree, and queer. My main objective is to find connection and while I know every congregation has something to offer, I know they can have varying demographics. I don’t really know what activities or groups are common but, as a former music major who has sadly not been in music for decades, I know I’m interested in possibly joining a choir or participating in music somehow.

I did a cursory glance at websites around me but events aren’t always posted. I also did a search of the sub and didn’t really see anything pertaining to this specific area and am wondering if anyone here is local and has insights? Thank you 😊

I'm curious what the data is on whether the UU has been growing, shrinking, or holding steady over the last few decades. I'm also curious what the people of this sub predict the future will be for Universal Unitarianism. Do you suspect it'll grow a little? A lot? Shrink? Collapse? Why?

In particular, I think it's useful to consider that it's not just that our present environment is different than the social/political/technological environment of say the 1990's, but that the environment we'll be in 5, 10, or 20 years down the road will also be different- it might even be easy to predict that it'll be radically different from today. How well do you think UU will hold up to that pressure?

Obviously there have been some dramatic (by UU standards) reforms in the last few years. Do you think these reforms will help the UU survive or even thrive? What do you think the passing of these reforms (and the difficulties associated with doing so) says about the UU institutionally, in terms of it's capacity to keep up with changing times?

If you think the future of UU is fairly different from where it is presently, where do you see yourself in that mix? Do you see yourself getting more involved in a stronger UU, or do you imagine that realistically your local congregation will have to shut its doors one day and that you'll need to find a new home? What do you think the consequences on the larger world will be of whatever you imagine the UU's future to be?

I'm curious to hear what people involved with Universal Unitarianism have to say on these topics! Thanks in advance for taking the time to read and respond thoughtfully!

I am considering joining and would like to know if there is any official stance on ethical nonmonogamy. Obviously I wouldn’t be trying to promote it while I’m at church, more curious about whether to keep conversations about my relationships limited to about my primary partner or if I can speak freely.

We have a lay-led congregation, and I am going to be the worship coordinator for the first time in about a month. I have been the worship associate (just reading the script provided to me) once before. It will be a blessing of the animals service, held outside. I have a basic script that we follow every week, but as WC, I'll be in charge of coordinating with our guest speaker and customizing the script for this particular type of service. I'm excited but nervous. Any resources you could point me to would be much appreciated!

Why should I be UU? What can you say to convince me, UU fascinates me.

Hello everybody, I am both a newcomer to this site and the Unitarian Universalist community. The fact that I am a transgender man has always been the deciding factor in my decision to not practice religion. I've dabbled in a lot of different faiths and spiritual practices, but nothing has ever truly resonated with me until last night, when I did what I always do, fall down a rabbit hole and discovered this religion. It appears foolish that I haven't found this sooner after reading and understanding more about it. For some reason, I can't help but worry about what other people will think of me and say about me behind my back whenever I attempt anything new or even just try to progress in my personal life. (for the background narrative, check CPTSD traumatic life events 😂).

Since I completely lost touch with who I am and what I stand for five years ago, I have been on a quest of self-discovery. I've been so focused on staying alive that I haven't been able to relax enough to meditate for fear of losing control of my body. I needed a defining feature before I could possibly go headfirst into that religion.

Could someone perhaps shed some light on this for a beginner, explain Unitarian a little more, and tell me what I should and should not do?

I am grateful. 🙏

I've been thinking of becoming a UU for a while now, and I understand it well enough (well enough to know that a question like this will garner many answers, because every congregation is different).

I'd like to hear more about what the purpose/point of being UU is, according to some of you kind folk.

Is the point of the UU tradition mostly an embodiment of humanism, liberal values and diversity? Is it more so about trying to make the world a better place, and fighting against oppression or cruelty? Does the tradition noticeably help you be a better person, and is that it? Is it just about wanting community? What keeps you going as an active Unitarian Universalist?

What does the UU tradition offer that keeps you involved (and hopefully passionate)?

Yes this is a broad question and I have effectively listed what are probably the main motives, but I thought I'd hear what people have to say.

Hi everyone. What are your daily practices for spiritual development? Do you have any specific resources that you use? For parents, do you follow any practices/rituals with your children? Thanks in advance.

What are some examples where God has given specific rules of how to/how not to get into the Kingdom of Heaven?

From what I understand, removing Jesus and the apostles from the equation, God sent down the Commandments and it was the only "real" example of when God said "do not do this...." and laid it out.

That means, at the very least, following God's commandments is a great way of getting through the Pearly Gates. And they're pretty easy to follow.

Am I interpreting something wrong? Thanks!

Edit: I’d like to write this one all over! Lol. I was meaning to say “from the Unitarian perspective.” Like empathizing with an individual who believes this, what is the discussion to have?

I have been poking around learning about UUs, and I'm very interested in RE and OWL classes for my children. The problem is the local UU dosen't have any children's programs, the second closest is over an hour away. I can't afford the gas or time commitment to attend the children's program, 2 hour round trip plus service(s) and the 2pm owl program. I would have to leave before 9 am and come home after 4pm. Those of you who have experience with OWL, do you feel it is a curriculum I can just purchase and teach my children, or do I really need a trained instructor for it to be properly taught? With the grade levels( K-1, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12) do you use the K-1 for 2nd grade and the 4-6 for 3rd grade? I'm sorry I have so many questions, but any insight would be helpful. Thank you!

I'm new to UU. Any kids picture books with UU philosophy?

I know many UU churches sing hymns, but I've never seen or heard of one using a pipe organ. I'm biased, as an (aspiring) organist myself, but I really think organs are the best at backing up congregational singing, as opposed to pianos or guitars. Digital organs these days sound extremely realistic and can be bought for less than a grand piano as well, so I don't imagine cost being an issue, at least if a church has the money for a piano. So why don't UUs use organs? Anyone have any clue?

Hello!

I've been interested in attending services at a local UU church for a little while now. I have a lot of hang-ups with churches in general. I grew up in a Southern Baptist family that went to church frequently. As I got older, I started to form my own identity and beliefs that did not align with the church. While not as explicitly political as some, the church did champion conservative causes especially in terms of anti-choice rhetoric and opposition to LGBTQ persons. I felt I had to hide my true beliefs for much of my teenage years and was largely agnostic by the time I moved out on my own at 18. I'm 34 now and have not gone attended a church on my own accord since then, and it is still somewhat frightening thinking of going back to one based on my past experiences.

I still struggle with a belief in a higher power but have opened up myself more to the idea of spirituality in general. Based on what I've read about the UU church, this in itself would not be an issue. However, in the past couple years, I've come out as a MTF transperson. I'm scared of how I will be received at a church because of this. In the past few months I've been in recovery for a drinking problem and I've attended a few LGBTQ centered AA meetings that have been held at the UU church. I noticed that they prominently display the LGTBQ pride flag and have signage indicating that they are welcoming to all. This has made me more comfortable with the idea of attending a service there, but I want to be sure this is something that is actually true in practice and not just in theory.

I know I'm probably way overthinking this, but as I said, I have a lot of trauma associated with churches in general and want to make absolute sure that I'll be entering into a welcoming environment, as I've been really struggling to find a community of people to connect with beyond AA. Any experience, advice, or reassurances would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

I grew up in India in a traditional Hindu family. I'm so glad to learn about Unitarian Universalist religion as it is accepting of all people no matter their sexual orientations or belief structures. The fact that you guys have managed to establish a progressive community of rational, sane and open minded people who support progressive social policies is so incredible to me.

I wanna learn more about this. Can anyone enlighten me on your religion. Please note I'm a person who has a very basic knowledge of Christianity growing up in this part of the world so I need to learn more and more things about this incredible religion, its beliefs and the practices it preaches. Can anyone enlighten me on this? Also do you guys have presence here in India or anywhere outside the US as of now?

Are there any UUA clergy here who could give insight into transferring denominational standing/ordination? I’ve read through various resources on becoming a UU minister; transfer seems like a different process with similar and different emphases.

Thanks!

I just moved to a new area and I don’t know anyone, but I really want to be a part of a community and it seems like the UU’s beliefs more or less match up with my own. I’m not really religious or anything but from what I can tell that’s not an issue at all. I’m thinking of just going on Sunday and showing up early so I can talk to people and get to know the space or maybe I will just sit in my car and hype myself up to go in (social anxiety lol, I’m working on it). I’m really not sure how it works, I’ve never signed up for church before. Anyway, as the title said, please say literally anything you feel the need/want to say to someone who has never gone to church before that’s going to start soon.

I've been a UU for about 20 years, but haven't been actively attending service for the last five or so because I work night shift and work weekends and am usually asleep during service hours. So I'm pretty out of the loop here. I've tried reading Article 2, but found the wording too formal to understand much of it. I've seen that some people are considering disassociating from the UUA over the changes, but I don't understand why.

Could someone explain in simple terms how Article 2 changes things? I'd also be interested to hear your opinions on the changes.

Is anyone else in a congregation that is thinking about severing their relationship with UUA over the changes to article 2? Our board hasn’t said so publicly yet, but I think they went to align with the North American Unitarian Association.

We're currently looking for a new RE director and I was wondering what the ranges were. Our fellowship is in a low cost of living area, and I am just wondering if $450, which boils down to ~10-22 / hour is reasonable. I know a lot of congregations have members that do it for free as their contribution.

I’m new to Unitarian universalism I found it on my search for a religion and was curious about it. I thought there is no better way to learn about a religion than to ask its members ( if you guys considered yourself as such). I know that it’s not necessarily focused on prayer and god, but focused on the search for self improvement on a spiritual level. Is there anything by I’m missing, something you’d like to add? Also what practices do you guys perform? I researched and found you guys do Yom Kippur dinners and Buddhist meditation groups but what else? And what is the purpose for doing things like Yom Kippur dinners?

It seems like there is no recourse for when a UU church has a "bad" minister. Our church minister recently became contracted. Just to add, this church seems to have a history of not so great ministers. The previous minister before this recently contracted one was asked to leave due to someone warning to take legal action against them.

This current minister is disorganized but worst of all, extremely rude. There was even been a whole committee created to manage complaints against the minister. This minister even went as far as firing one of the Church's staff after they asked about a raise. They have even spoken of breaking away from the UUA for being too "woke."

They are barely in office during the week. They've pushed to get lots of amenities for their office, even going as far as saying they want a bathroom and bed in their office... after being contracted they purchased a nice house and honestly... it just seems like they are in the ministry for all the ways the church takes care of them. Sermons aren't even organized until sometimes Friday, which is frustrating for everyone else involved with Sunday services... I just don't know. It's very discouraging to see how this minister can get away with so much... I suppose this congregation really is just desperate to keep a minister, even if they are border-line narcissistic.

Any insight regarding this situation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I practice witchcraft and would love to hear about UU perspectives on witchcraft and magic. I know that there's the CUUP, but I wanna know-- are there any witches at your UU congregation? I know there's lots of diversity among the beliefs of UUs, but can you speak to any general attitudes about witchcraft and magic?

I'm a witch and sorta a Pagan, but I often feel like the odd one out in neopagan spaces because my spiritual practice is more rooted in Judeochristian mysticism and animism than in Wicca. I've been interested in going to my local UU services for a while now, but I feel intimidated that I won't fit in there either-- even though UU congregations claim to be a place where anyone can belong. I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially if there's any Pagan or witchcraft-practicing UUs in this subreddit!

Edit 8/11: Thank you so much to everyone for your responses!! You really helped ease some of my fears. I'm gonna be attending my first service at my local UU congregation today and while I'm pretty nervous, I feel very encouraged by your responses. Thanks again <3

So I'll be heading up North for college and Michigan and Minnesota seem to be where most of my schools are. I'm very active in my local congregation but I don't know anything about the churches up there.

So what are they like? Do they have queer groups? Anything I should know ahead of time?

Does a devotional that fits with UU exist? I want to grow my spirituality but know that I can likely only handle small doses at a time making something like a devotional great but I cannot find anything that feels like it is within UU. I would prefer something tangible like a book vs visiting a website daily.

I left Christianity a year ago and never looked back. I've gone through so many different beliefs/disbeliefs since I've left my religion that its crazy. I basically just consider myself an agnostic now with a humanistic attitude regarding a lot of things. I sometimes have a slight leaning towards what I would kind of consider "lite Deism," in of the fact that I'm not a believer in any kind of personal god. My view is somewhat complicated, as some might call me an atheist, but I refute this claim on the basis that I don't necessarily believe that any god or higher power doesn't exist, I just simply don't believe it is possible to know for sure, but I highly believe most religions are made up, even if a god does exist in some form or capacity. That said, that is my own personal thought process and "belief." I guess you could kinda call me an agnostic, a humanist and sort of a deist all at the same time. I'm also highly interested in different forms of Pantheism, and Panentheism. I find them fascinating.

That said, I've found embracing different beliefs of Humanism has given me more purpose after leaving my religion. My family and I live our lives secular, but... That doesn't mean I think people of organized religion are stupid or delusional. I really only have a problem other people's beliefs when someone starts proselytizing. This includes other non-believers as well. Some people can be just as unpleasant with their unbelief as some people can be with their religious beliefs, and this I have certainly seen from some people I've seen claiming to be a "Humanist."

I agree that respecting others and showing others acceptance, compassion, kindness, love and respect, regardless of their race, sex, gender, sexuality or religion is something that I fundamentally believe. I am wondering if my attitude might be closer more towards a form of Unitarian Universalism though? Learning to respect and care about others, regardless of who they are or where they come from, and discovering your own truths for me is why I am thinking I may potentially align more with UU. For example, one truth I have discovered for myself is I don't worry about what happens after I die, since I really don't believe it can be known what happens after death, if anything even happens at all. So for me, why worry about it? This is my truth however. My truth may not be the same as your truth or someone else.

Any thoughts? Also, do you have to attend church services to be considered a UU?

I posted looking for advice on the atheism subreddit yesterday. I now want another perspective. You can see my post in my profile. The gist of it is that my conservative Catholic mother has been visiting for several days and she has been taking my 7 year old to church with her in the mornings. He has been very eager to go because she talked it up to him so much. I feel she manipulated him to want to go. I have allowed it because I worry about resisting too much and it creating an issue where he wants to go even more and begins to resent me. He really likes her and I think he wants her approval. She leaves tomorrow, thankfully. She only sees him a couple times a year usually. She has also been trying to coax my older son into going with her to church when I’m not around. He told me that she says it’s no different than trying a new food. She won’t let up. She knows I’m an atheist and that I’ve chosen to raise my children without religious beliefs. I feel she is undermining my place as their parent. Their father is also very upset by what she is doing. We are avoiding a confrontation until she leaves because she’s a highly reactive person and will paint herself as the victim in front of my children. After she leaves tomorrow, I am going to let her know that I do not want him going to the Catholic church anymore.

Now, to where I need the help of Unitarians…I live in very liberal Massachusetts and we have a lot of Unitarian Universalist churches around here. They all seem very welcoming and accepting. They are far more in line with what I teach my children than Catholicism. If my son wants to explore religion, I would feel more comfortable with him doing it around kind and tolerant people who believe in the rights and dignity of all persons. What do you guys think about my predicament? If I brought my son to a Unitarian church would he be pushed into believing in God? What do your church services look like? Is it something that could be compatible with my atheist parenting? I really need help with this because it took me years to get over the trauma of being brought up Catholic. I don’t want my child exposed to that. I also want to give him the freedom to explore other beliefs though. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi! So, I am an atheist (have been for 4 years now), and stumbled upon UU when researching Scouts BSA’s position on atheism. After a bit of research, I decided that a lot of the things in UU are things I support and that I might be interested in joining someday. Are there any good websites, documents, or books I can check out to learn more about UU? Especially history, wikipedia is very barebones on everything that happened after the merger between the AUA and UCA and it just seems like an interesting historical tale.

My partner and I joined a local UU recently. How much should we donate/month?

I have anxiety and depression issues like many. I feel so numb from all the negativity in the World. I really need a place of positivity and outreach. I know the best way for me to feel better would to be around like minded individuals. No judgement, just empathy and understanding. Do you believe U.U. would be that place for me?

I'm newly spiritual after being an atheist for most of my life, and I am trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. I want to do something that helps people. I want to be involved in community and I want to study and gain my own understanding of the divine. I'm at the time in my life where I have a well paying lay career, but it's not fulfilling for me. The only thing that worries me is if I could get burnt out in Ministerial just like I am in my current role. I suffer from mental illness but I am now well medicated and don't see why this couldn't be a fulfilling life for me, but I thought I should ask others what they think

I know they're not UU, but their spiritual pluralism makes them feel like a third U to me, historically Christian tradition but having a different understanding of the divine is met with "bruh that's sick I'll pray with you" not "bruh your soul's sick I'll pray for you". But Unity isn't very Googleable so I've had no luck finding any online communities for them and I haven't lived near a Unity Church in years.

Hello, I was wondering if there are any Filipinos, esp LGBTQIA+, here who can tell me about how the UU church is like in the Philippines. I'm gay and looking for some sort of spiritual community to seek a meaningful life with, and currently looking into UU. Is it a place where gays can truly be themselves while seeking spirtuality? I have this fear that since the Philippines is such a largely Catholic country that the environment even within Philippine UU churches might feel Catholic.

I was watching the last episode of Star Trek discovery season 4 and I got a bit emotional as beloved charachters were stepping up to sacrifice themselves to evacuate earth. And I realized that the UUA is my federation and my congregation which I joined in the late 90s is my ship and I am so greatful to be apart of their crew and I love them so much. Blessed Be everyone!

I’m thinking of leaving my UU church. I’ve been a member since 2012 and it’s been a huge part of my life. I’ve been a pastoral care volunteer, an RE teacher, I ran our preschool playgroup for some time, I’ve traveled to Haiti with my church. I expected to raise my kids in the church. I’m in my late 30’s and I first started going to UU churches since I was a sophomore in high school.

In 2022, after 11 years of marriage, my husband suddenly came out as a transgender woman. As a straight woman this really turned my world upside down. To be clear, I support her transition and do all the right things when it comes to affirming her gender. At the end of the day, though, I was not able to muster up attraction to another woman and my ex did not want a platonic marriage. We divorced and it wasn’t pretty. Our marriage was already struggling and my ex hates me. I think she really expected me to be excited about breasts and a vagina.

When my ex was a straight white man, they were a staunch Republican. I remember after the Dobbs decision crying and my ex defending the constitutional correctness of the decision. This was always a divide in our marriage as I was more liberal. She’s a great debater and could back me into a corner on any issue. She looked at my church with contempt and I always went alone. After coming out as a trans woman my ex has done a 180 politically and joined the UU church after it was “my thing” for our entire marriage. I’m still so salty about her hypocrisy.

Now when I go to my old church, I’m on pins and needles wondering if I’m going to run into my ex. The hate she has for me just radiates. I go to church to feel loved and accepted, not hated. I’m also fairly certain that there are a decent number of congregants who would see me as transphobic. Like “If you really loved her then her gender wouldn’t matter to you.” Additionally, when I was going through the divorce the minister personally reached out to check on me, but then ended by reminding me I hadn’t pledged for the year yet. Who hits up single moms for money?? I’m sitting here worried about making rent and my church is asking me for money!

How do I leave my church? Do I just ghost them? Do they scratch my name off the book? Should I sit down and talk to the minister about all this? Should I try to make it work?

Good evening, I was raised in a very strict evangelical catholic home. I have since discovered YouTube skepticism and finally freed myself from the Prison of Belief. During my thrice-weekly drives to the laundromat, my eyes happened upon a sign in front of a building which resembled a church! The sign had a quote from JFK. Although I do not agree with JFK’s Bay of Pigs Invasion, I was intrigued. Tell me, what is it UU’s believe? I occasionally miss the sense of community my former church provided. I am going to need sales pitches from several strangers on the internet before I go to the trouble of typing “www.uua.org” into my search bar. Bear in mind that when you describe what your church is like, I will be nitpicking what you say for trigger words and reasons not to go. So you’ll have to be ready with work-arounds for that. For example, if you mention the G word, no matter the context, I will tell you that’s a dealbreaker. Conversely, if you talk about how there is a large non-theist contingent at your fellowship, I will make a stink about how I want a greater connection to the unknown. There are a million reasons not to do something, and I will employ them all. And if I get so much as a suggestion that there might be singing or handholding or social contact of any kind, I will reject everything else you type. I don’t know any songs and never will, and I haven’t spoken to another real human in months, even to order food. The only human voice I’ve heard this week was Sam Harris on his podcast. Bottom line, I want to benefit from community without ever having to really be in community with anybody. So, give it your best shot, r/UnitarianUniversalist. Will you best me, and gain the reward of potentially spending time with me IRL, or will my quibbles and demands preserve my status as an angry shut-in?

To be brief, I hunger for communion with the divine. The mysterious Infinite, the Universe, God, etc. I also long to be someone who lives out a spirit of compassion and peace. I want a more holistic awakening, where I reduce the clinging to my ego that causes anguish.

I have been on a long path. I invested a lot of time and energy into Christianity, including its mystical side. Now I'm ex-Christian, and I have become more and more shaped by Buddhism.

I am thinking of checking out the Unitarian Universalists, but I have been reluctant. Why have reluctance? I get a sense that the UU community may not be particularly spiritual. I get a sense that it's just about social justice and intentional community centered on vague religiosity. That's fine, but I don't need that. If it's not about spirituality, it doesn't interest me.

What do people here think of all this? How much spirituality is there in Unitarian Universalism, and what does it look like?

Also, are there UU spaces that do spiritual retreats? I am thinking of having a week of silence, for example. Also, are there UU spaces that do spiritual direction/companionship?

Yes, I know congregations can vary widely but there are still general trends and patterns in the wider UU culture.

Anyway, it's been over a year that I first thought of attending a UU congregation...maybe I actually should.

First if the details don't matter to you I will just state I am hoping to find a working link to a discord community for Unitarian Universalism. If there is no active discord I am open to suggestions of other online groups, discord would just work the easiest for me

Hello I am new to all this. I have been having an extremely hard time with depression and anxiety, for now I will spare the details of how extreme its been in recent months because I don't know if anything might be too much. I've been agnostic for years after being raised Christian and finding many problems with relatives and later strangers who take their faith far more seriously. After one hospitalization I went to a Baptist church with my neighbors and while very thankful they agreed to bring me the conversion elements of the service kind of largely soiled the whole thing. After which my best friend told me of this to check it out.

I knew the healing and encouraging power of faith once and after a decade or at least close without it I'm desperate to have that coping tool to utilize again. I'm very scared of change and have severe social anxiety so this is something that is hard for me to reach out to possibly no one about, I hope my doubts about doing this prove to be unfounded.

Hi I Am An Eastern Orthodox Christian And I Am Wondering What Is Exactly Unitarian Universalism And What Do You Guys Believe

When people think of rock bands that are composed of family members, they think of the Partridge Family of the 1970s, but they were not even a real band, though they were inspired by a real family band called the Cowsills, considering of a mother and her children.

Using an animation app called Plotagon, I made a story about a band of UUs who were also members of a family: The Hudson Phamily. This is their story:

https://youtu.be/f2MjAhZxo5w

Hi all,

My father passed a few days ago and I’ve been having the hardest time connecting with his congregation (only voicemails).

Is there a rag-tag team of super chaplains that are available for these types of things? (Members passing during summer hours or holidays)

I’m also looking to arrange for a care visit for his sister in another congregation and a visit for my mother but I’m just not sure how to get in touch.

Do I reach out to UUA? Any help would be appreciated!

Update: We found someone! Family network to the rescue! Connected with a UU minister from another congregation who happened to be in a family members meetup.

So, I totally get (and agree with) why a congregant can't be friends with a minister. What about the minister's spouse and children? I recently moved and the spouse and their child are at most church events. When they move to another church (or I move) will they cut all ties the way a minister does? I'm doing a good job keeping an emotional distance from the minister, but I'm unsure how to interact with the spouse and child. Literally today the spouse said she'll be sad when I move to Japan ... and I said that at some point she'll move on from the church with her spouse.

I have been religious for a good part of my life.

I was brought up in a Presbyterian Christian school for 7 years and went to multiple Protestant and Catholic churches.

But as I grew older, I started to question many of the things I believed, and the cracks only grew wider. I think it's the sheer hypocrisy of the Christian Right and the near-fanatical worship of the Bible that ruined it for me.

I'm 30 years old now. I don't consider myself religious anymore, but I don’t necessarily believe I'm atheist either. I think being an agnostic theist is a good middle ground for me.

Part of me still believes in God. Not in a monotheistic sense, but rather in a sense that there is some higher force watching and guiding the universe. I want to believe that this "God" is not a judgemental dictator like in the Old Testament, but one that is loving and accepting towards all his children, no matter who they are or what they believe.

I've considered joining a Universalist church for a long time. Would this be a good place for someone like me?

I have always had really bad anxiety and mental health since I was a child. I was terrified to go out into crowds and would have weird little quirks like getting words stuck in my head that I would have to pronounce over and over. I was diagnosed with ocd at an early age and have struggled with it my whole life.

My life wasn't bad I had a great raising by my grandparents and I did struggle with the ocd a lot I pretty much kept it under control. I mean I had my quirks, but I was able to have friends all throughout school and function. My OCD kept getting worse though along with my anxiety the older I got. I am now in my 30's.

I was doing okay with my anxiety and OCD until about a year ago when my grandpa who raised me died. It sent me into a tailspin and I still haven't recovered and it honestly gets worse every day. I miss him so bad I can't stand it plus my awful mental health has made my life awful. I mean I have never been this low. Some days I don't even want to be here. but I know I have to keep pushing because that's what God would want me to do.

My mental health started declining and got so bad I almost went inpatient but I didn't because at my local hospital they honestly don't help much. I know God can heal me though, He is the great i am, the great healer, and has power above all. I love God and I need a touch from him in the worst way.

My mental health is daily crippling anxiety and nonstop and I mean nonstop intrusive thoughts. I do take medication but it honestly has not helped much at all in the last year. The thoughts just won't stop and it cripples me, it keeps my body in constant fight or flight mode and most days i cannot even get out of the bed. I applied for disability but that takes forever and I still have not heard anything.

Until about a year ago I had a great job at a call center but when I had my mental health break I got fired for missing so much. I cannot work because I stay in a constant state of terror and I did have some money saved up but I have blew through it in a year with bills. I am flat broke now and pretty much bedbound. I live in a rural area and I also lost my car so I am just in a bad situation.

The other night I took my bible out and read the book of Job and got down on my knees and prayed and I mean I screamed to Jesus and God asking them for healing from this awful condition. I have prayed and prayed, I just want God to heal me. I know he will in his time but I really hope it is soon because this is awful and a lot of days I just feel like giving up.

Can anyone give me some scripture from the bible that can help me through this horrible time. I am broke, no food, going to be evicted soon because I simply cannot pay rent and utilities anymore. I have no family I can turn to because I am gay and most of them will not have anything to do with me because of that. I know God still loves me though. Plus the family I do have is broke also and couldnt help.

I am down to no food no money and no hope and this is my last resort, if anyone could help me at all with anything to buy a meal or anything because like I said I am completely broke. I have went to food banks but I live in an impoverished area and most of them are empty. I have even went to churches with no avail. I applied for food stamps but that could take a while. I really do not know what I am going to do. My family has a curse of bad mental health and I have inherited it and it has crippled me physically, spiritually, and financially.

I hate to ask but if anyone could help me with anything at all I would pay it back when I get on my feet. But even if you cant please just pray for me. I really need that a lot.

I used to be such a proud person and I am so embarrased and scared to do this but I am down to no other options at all and I mean it. Like I said, I don't even have food anymore and feel like I am trapped in my own mind. I also miss my grandpa so bad. Last night I woke up crying because I had a bad dream about him. When I was 6 years old I remember him picking me up from school and not telling me where we were going and we pulled up to kmart and he told me to go look at the toys he had to pick some stuff up. Well I went and looked at the toys and when he came to the department to tell me we were ready to go, we went out to his truck and there sat a brand new Super Nintendo. He knew I had been wanting one and he surprised me with one. I am tearing up writing this.

The nightmare I had though, was that I was reliving that day and went to look at the toys and looked all over the store for him and couldn't find him. He was gone. Just like he is gone from me now. I woek up sobbing,

I am not trying to make anyone depressed and I know a lot of people have it worse off than me, but I need help in the worst way. If anyone could help me with anything at all I would be forever grateful.

My cashapp name is $tinysky1237 if anyone would like to help me, if you cant its fine just pray for me. I also have paypal my username is the same tinysky1237 just please I beg you dont dox me or anything because I am terrified of that but I am desperate and have no where or no one to turn to. I am so embarrased, I never thought I would have to do this as a grown man. Just please remember me in prayer.

Thanks for reading this and God Bless you. I will pray for you all also.

TW: Child Loss

The wife and I are going through a difficult time with losing our baby girl. My wife was 19 weeks pregnant and gave birth to our beautiful daughter, unfortunately she was too little for this world. This happened about a week ago and my wife talked about joining a church which she has never done in the past. We are going to grief counseling.

Onto the church we are from rural Indiana and both of us are very liberal in our views, we felt a traditional Christian church with how clique it is in our small town and how hateful it can be that it wouldn’t be for us. Instead I was googling and found out about UU, never heard of it and we are both interested. She needs some help spiritually and having a sense of community other than family during these difficult times. I have no idea what I’m looking for but I’m trying everything to make sure my wife will fine.

I guess my question is how is the community side of it. Since we moved to our small town my wife has struggled with finding a sense of community and like minded people, people who are liberal and caring, I just hope she can find some nice people who she can call friends. How are the sermons? The community of people is really my question. We will be attending our first one in two weeks. It’ll be in Muncie, IN if anyone has insight that would be great ❤️❤️

I'm in a State that is challenged with a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, like California, Oregon, New York, Massachusetts, Texas. I'm in Illinois and there is no incentive to get people back to work because there's hardly any jobs.

I was in CVS and the door sign said, NOW hiring and I asked the manager, are you? He said, "well, we're taking applications."

We can feel a sense of belonging in our jobs (I'm unemployed) and in spiritual houses of worship and fellowship.

I visited a UU church and I left a message for the Reverend and for anyone in the office. Do they have weekday office hours? Do they return calls or is it just a weekend only place?

I was raised Catholic. And I have evolved in my personal life that just doesn't fit the rigid, no smiles nor laughter family-centric (only) culture.

My value as a nonmarried, childfree, educated from Catholic schools and universities woman had no value in the churches I visited.

My entire identity was wiped out from the pandemic as well as my savings over a 4 year period. 4 years and no substantial gainful work. Gig work doesn't count.

I'm isolated.

Without the ability to tithe, I have no value. And due to the humanitarian crisis in Illinois, faith based centers are extremely cautious and view any new comer with suspicion (will they ask for a handout, are they a handout risk to us).

Temp agencies have no work assignments for me. They collect resumes and mostly have forklift drivers, warehouse and hard physical work which I can no longer do.

How can I rebuild and reactivate when places won't hire me, I feel like a perennial mendicant that has no monetary contributions to offer yet I want to work (and need housing) and a sense of community.

Does anybody have any information about the two congregations in Tucson for UU, and what the differences are?

For context, I'll be attending UofA in the Fall as a freshmen (18F) and I've become interested in exploring the spiritual side of me as well as finding a community. From what I've looked into, UU seems like a possible good fit for me. But I've never really attended church, or anything like it. I don't know how I would go about finding the one for me.

Who Gets to Tell the American Story? - Rev. Gerald Davis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGiWsf6huic

Hey. I'm new here, but I've been interested in a while. Here's my story, it's long but I hope you'll listen if you might have some advice for me.

I've been a universalist of sorts for years, believing that everything is true to an extent, with exceptions like cults created by people who just wanted to use others for power. I'm very into spirituality, and find great comfort in divination. But since my spouse left me, probably because of severe mental health issues, it's been really hard. I miss them, and I want love, and I feel afraid that when I do what the Universe/Divine/God wants me to do, which I think I have a good idea of but maybe not, I won't, in the words I gave my mom, get my teddy bear back (the teddy bear being a best friend, partner and lover I can be safe with, whether or not it's the same person, though I desperately miss and love her, I also don't feel very loved by her so... it's also been a couple of weeks so there's that).

My parents are conservative Christians and keep telling me that I have to get closer to God (their version, of course) and the Bible (also their version) before my life can become good again and I can find love. Despite everything I believe, I'm super paranoid and cannot consolidate the Bible with divination and all the things that have brought be such comfort. I don't want to give it up, I don't want to believe it was all a lie, and I don't even believe in their religion, but I'm so afraid that that's the only way I'll be safe and find love again. I have no one in my life I can really talk to about this anymore. Any advice?

Asking for a queer friend who is going through severe depression and hopelessness. He believes this depression stems from his upbringing in a conservative Christian background. He can't find joy in anything. He doesn't want to seek therapy.

Over ten years ago I was a member of a congregation. It was at a time in my life when things were pretty tough. I was in school and working 3 part time jobs. I had a toddler at home and was going to school on the weekends to get a masters degree. My then spouse worked too, but didn’t make much money. We were getting by but life wasn’t easy, and things often felt bleak and overwhelming. I started going to a local UU church because a friend invited me. It became this incredible bright spot in my week. On Sunday morning I could go to this place and just sit and listen and sing and feel so deeply nourished. My son was so happy in the nursery there, and it was the only time every week that I got that was kind of just for me. I loved talking with the other congregants and felt so at home. I joined enthusiastically and felt like, after being raised evangelical and hating every second of that, I’d finally found a safe and nurturing spiritual home.

Shortly after joining, I had a conversation with another congregant who was working on pledges. I was asked what I could give and I explained our financial situation. We were so broke. I said that we couldn’t pledge anything until I was out of school, but that I wanted to become more financially supportive then, when I had a good job. (We had maybe five bucks a week that wasn’t going to essentials like food, rent, gas, etc.) I was told that a zero pledge would exclude me from membership, even though I’d already become a member. They suggested I could remain a member if I volunteered my time, of which I also had none. I mentioned time was also at a premium, but that I did want to give back when the season of my life changed. They reminded me I often bring my son to the nursery, and that doing so was using resources, and that being in a community means not just taking. If I wanted to be part of the community, I couldn’t just give nothing. I felt ashamed, feeling like I was a burden on the community I had been so enjoying and loving, and heartbroken that I couldn’t afford to be a member. I assumed that because I couldn’t pledge or volunteer I was no longer considered a member and I stopped going.

All these years later, I’m divorced and end up dating a UU minister. I mentioned to him that I used to be a UU but had to leave when I couldn’t afford it anymore. He was very sorry to hear about my experience and said that it isn’t or at least shouldn’t (according to his values, I guess) be the case that someone loses membership due to hardship.

I’m struggling, now, with what to do with this. I’ve been to gatherings with him and his colleagues and they all seem very pleasant, but I feel this lingering sense of hurt and sadness. They often talk about UU values of being welcoming, and my experience was anything but. I feel like I got rejected from the group that ends up being the home to so many people who don’t always fit in elsewhere. I’ve asked him if I would be welcome back. He told me that the only person who knows if I’m a UU is me, in my heart. But I guess, for me, the question now is not about whether I believe the 7 principles. I just want to know if I’d be welcome in community, if that makes sense, even if, at one time, I was a drain on a congregation.

In 1991, this happened:

https://theterfs.com/2013/10/13/1991-michigan-womyns-music-festival/

In August, 1991 I attended my second Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival (MWMF) with Laura Ervin. Laura and I drove 1,050 miles nonstop in her vehicle… and arrived at the festival, car #33, at about 9:00 am Monday morning. We walked and talked with women waiting with us on the road, bought raffle tickets from a festival promoter, and joined women in joyous enthusiasm, camaraderie and expectation while we awaited the start of the festival at 2:00 pm. When we got onto the land Laura volunteered the use of her vehicle to help with shuttle service. Laura and I split the work shift. I worked the first two hours while Laura moved our gear to the campsite and set up her tent. She worked the next two hours while I set up my tent.

After going through an orientation run with a shuttle coordinator I began the process of loading women’s gear and driving them to their desired destinations. I felt a sense of pride in my work; welcoming the women, helping them with their gear, and answering their questions. At the completion of my shuttle shift I set up my [campsite], took a much welcomed shower and went for a long walk in the woods. I met Laura at our campsite and she invited me to walk with her to the main gate to meet a friend who was arriving on a chartered bus from Grand Rapids at 10:00 pm.

We arrived at the main gate at about 9:30 pm and sat down around the fire pit with several other women. We chatted with the women and enjoyed the warmth of the fire. At about 10:00 pm we received word that the bus was delayed and would arrive around 11:00. Laura and I decided to remain at the main gate until the bus arrived. We continued to socialize with the women who come and went from the area of the fire pit. The bus arrived at about 11:00 pm and Laura went over to the bus. A woman requested that I stay away from the bus to avoid congestion. I stopped at the edge of the road about 20 feet from the fire pit.

While I waited for Laura to return I was approached by two women, Chris Coyote and Del Kelleher. Chris said that she needed to speak with me regarding a serious and difficult matter. Sensing her urgency I suggested we move away from the women near the fire pit in order to talk privately. Chris said that the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival was a woman-only event and she wanted to know if I was a man. I replied that I was a woman and I showed her my NH picture ID driver’s license. Then she asked me if I was a transsexual. I asked her what was the point of her questioning and she replied that transsexuals were not permitted to attend the festival. She said that MWMF policy was that the festival was open to “natural, women-born-women” only. I replied that nowhere, in any festival literature or the program guide was that policy stated. I asked Chris to please verify that policy and she went to the office to contact the festival producers, Lisa Vogel and Boo Price. Sometime during this conversation I waved Laura to come over and she witnessed much of what transpired.

I continued speaking with Del. Del stated that the reason the policy was not in any literature was because the issue of transsexuals had never come up as a problem before. Del added that the policy was for the benefit of the transsexuals’ safety and the safety of the women attending the festival. When I pointed out that there were other transsexuals on the land she acknowledged that this was true. Then she added, ‘We haven’t caught them yet, but we did catch you.”

Then in 2024:

https://caroldansereau.substack.com/p/bowing-to-gender-identity-bullies

The Unitarians have kicked us out. My partner Bruce and I aren’t allowed to go to family camp at Seabeck, Washington, the first week of August anymore.

They say we made people “unsafe.” We supposedly “harmed” trans and nonbinary people, and then we refused to sign a document admitting guilt and agreeing to restrictions on our speech. So, we’re not allowed to attend any more. The Be Kind Brigade has meted out its abject cruelty yet again, and we’ve lost something precious as a result.

We have adored that week in August, eagerly anticipating each year the moment our car would rumble across the bridge over the lagoon and enter our annual Brigadoon. A week of singing, dancing, talking, swimming, playing games, and performing for the world’s most appreciative audience did our hearts good.

Bruce has been going to the August camp for 25 years, and I’ve been going with him since 2007. We’re referred to as “valued members of the community” and Bruce was even awarded the Golden Hand and Heart Award for his contributions.

But that’s all history now. We have been kicked to the curb.

Chris Coyote and Del Kelleher were transphobic, as were Bruce and Carol Danseraeu. The first incident is what happens when transphobes are in power and the second is when they are not.

Hi folks, I am wondering if anyone has any experiences with any of the UUs in the Twin Cities. I’ve been missing attending services.

I haven't encountered these problems anywhere else. I moved to a new city a few years ago and joined the local UU church. I also joined the subgroup of that church for secular humanists, headed up by an individual I shall call jerkface.

Three years ago Jerkface stated during a committee meeting that he didn't understand the new push for reaching out to the black community because "they are all Southern Baptist anyway and don't want any part of us."

The local UU congregation now has a non-binary minister who uses they pronouns. Jerkface does not use these pronouns, and I've called him out on it multiple times in person. Jerkface recently sent an email explaining why singular they is neither historically nor grammatically correct. I responded with my Linguistics BA that he was mistaken and got blowback from him. I forwarded that email chain to the admin office with commentary regarding my concerns re Jerkface being in leadership.

I'm officially out of UU for now and am extremely frustrated that it was just one bad congregation that pushed me here. I've been a member of four UU congregations over the years and can't imagine this happening anywhere else.

Tldr: I don't know how to pray because I grew up hearing it was delusional and pointless. Now, I want to, and I'm stuck.

I grew up in a family that was atheist. As far as my mom went, it could've been better described as antitheist. I grew up hearing that religious people were delusional and that religion and the concept of God were stupid, especially Christian, because my mom grew up in a Southern Baptist family. I apologize if this offends anyone reading it. It is genuinely offensive. I need to share it for background info though.

I went along with this for a long time and shared my mom's beliefs, but once I moved out, I had more of an open mind and was able to form my own ideas around religion and spirituality. I honestly was a bit jealous of Christians. Being able to believe that there is an all powerful being out there that loves you and has your back seems really awesome. I tried for a while, but I can't get on board with the Judeo-Christian God.

Over many years, I've reached a place where I do believe in God, but not a God that's defined by any religion. It's definitely not a "he", but a formless energy that encompasses everything. Somewhat sentient, I guess, since I attribute things like karma and other "coincidences" to it, or thank it when I get things that I need, seemingly by chance. I referred to it as "the power of the universe" for a long time, which I still believe. To be clear, everything in this paragraph is just what I believe. Of course I respect that other people have different beliefs.

Now, finally getting to my question. Recently I've been wanting to pray to God. To ask it for help with my struggles, express gratitude, and ask it to help me remember UU values as well as my own as I go about my daily life. The problem is, I have literally no idea how to pray.

I don't know where to look, and I feel uncomfortable closing my eyes any time other than to sleep. (It's a weird phobia type thing of mine.) I also feel stupid saying anything out loud because all I can hear is what I grew up hearing, that I'm delusional and talking to the air. That it won't do anything and I'm wasting my time. And that's likely true in that it's not magic. I can't pray for a bowl of ice cream and have it appear in front of me. But I can be mindful, express the things I want to express, and have some benefit from that.

Can anyone help me with this?

My wife and I are atheist agnostic. We have a 12 year old daughter that’s been mostly raised by her southern Baptist grandmother. My wife and I travel a lot for work so most of her upbringing has been tainted by, not only, severe southern Christian religion, but also right wing politics. We don’t want to tell her she’s not allowed to go to church with her grandma but we also want to prevent her from growing up being a close minded bigot.

Would I be correct in assuming you can provide her more of an open minded type of worship?

Can someone explain what this is to me? I am attending my first one on Sunday and want to be prepared.

Kindly, I wonder: Do you think the UUA should take stances on all issues? Do you think by doing so it alienates individuals who see otherwise?

For example: Abortion

Personally, I am pro-choice, but I think making this an official UUA stance can limit welcoming those who see otherwise.

Basically, should we allow liberty in non-essentials?

“In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” St. Augustine

I did not grow up in a church. I have attended the UU church near me for the past 8.5 years. I am very involved, volunteer a lot, and teach RE but I am not an official member. I am too shy to talk to anyone about it because I have very limited funds. I know there is a financial obligation, as that keeps the church going, but is $25/mo going to cut it??

Hey everyone, I’m wondering if there are any groups, events or other activities catered towards young adults. I’m 18F and I’m looking to branch out into UU and more of my local community as a whole, however some of the things I see online for UU have mostly older generations or those with children haha😅. I’m near the Los Angeles area for reference if any of you know some info!🤞

There's a movement among UUs (and I guess the liberal community in general) that any public speaker will begin by providing a self-description, for the benefit of any visually impaired people in their audience. My own congregation started doing this recently when a legally blind person started attending. (I'm unsure how involved she was personally in starting that practice with us, but I do know our minister started recommending it be done, and doing it herself, once this person started attending.)

Example, if I were introducing myself: "I am a middle-aged white man with greying brown hair and a bald spot, wearing a plaid shirt and blue jeans, and I use glasses."

It's always bugged me for some reason, and I think I've figured out why. A couple of reasons.

I'm not blind, but I do have a visual impairment in the form of reduced color vision (I hate the word "colorblind" because it implies black-and-white vision, which most of us don't have.) It's not something you would necessarily know about me unless I bring it up.

But for the people who do know this about me -- it hasn't happened much but it has happened, that people I meet decide I need a description of what they're wearing. I get they're trying to be inclusive, but when it happens to me as a non-blind person it feels really patronizing.

I also put the question into Google to see what other people are saying about it. I found several corporate DEI boards who are recommending it. I also found a thread over on /r/blind where they talked about this practice. It's a couple of years old, but it was the only place I found from within the Blind community -- the only place where their voices are centered. It was a small sample but it was mostly unanimous, they don't want this. They feel it's a distraction.

With one notable exception - if your physical appearance is relevant to what you're talking about, then go for it. They used the example of a presentation on wheelchair accessibility, it would be useful to know if the speaker themselves is actually a wheelchair user. Other than that, they recommend avoiding the practice.

Anybody else have any experience/thoughts on this question?

I am a woman in my late 20s, living in a small city and looking for a community. I’ve been thinking about joining a church for several years and recently came across the local Unitarian Universalist church. This feels like it could be a good fit.

I don’t have a great relationship with my family and don’t have any close friends. I’m really lonely and feel very disconnected from everyone. I have a strong faith that’s a mix of spiritualism and paganism with a foundation in Christianity and some Buddhist ideals. I know what my beliefs are, but the best way I can find to define myself is a truth-seeker.

I have a lot of social anxiety. Going alone to any event, let alone a church I will consider joining, is daunting. A big concern is that I won’t find people to click with because of my age group. The church seems to have a demographic starting at 30-somethings with children through older adults. Will I be out of place? I’m also worried I’ll be pressured to join the congregation or their groups/donate financially. I don’t have a ton of experience with church in general.

I’ve been going through a change in my life over the last few weeks and feel particularly sad. I’m trying to encourage myself to actually go tomorrow. Any words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated. TIA

I’m planning on having: -Coffee (obvs) -tea -bagels -fresh fruit -allergen free mini muffins

What else should I make sure I do/have?

I might be having a first world UU problem but there’s a few congregations within reasonable driving distance of me. I visited a couple and one is a much larger congregation with more traditional services and the other is a much smaller one with only like 20 or so people.

How does size impact a congregation? How big is yours? Any pros/cons? That’s the biggest notable difference but are there other factors to consider when deciding to be a member?

Hi, My congregation is looking to form a group targeting the demographic of 20-50 or 25-45 ish. Does anybody have groups like this at their congregation? If so what is it called?

The religious values test shows that im closer to universalist Christinity and im wondering

In the interest of fairness and tolerance, I have decided to unban all the users that were previously banned from this subreddit. Though in most cases I think the bans were deserved, I also think we need to give most of them one more chance to try to be productive members of this community. Forgiveness is a virtue that we UUs should appreciate.

Jitasama is a designed International Auxiliary Language meant to be a means of intercommunication between speakers of different languages.

Jitasama has:

18 letters ABDEFGIJKLMNOPRSTU

No verb tenses

No double consonants

No gramatical gender

No tones

No articles

No spelling irregularities

Makes clear distinction of nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs

Limited Affixes

SVO Word Order

Adjectives come after the noun while determiners come before the noun

Pronunciation is Syllable-timed

1200 Root Words

4,700 total words

By maximizing shared vocabulary between Jitasama's 15 primary source languages, Jitasama's 1200 Root Words are lexically similar to; Mandarin Chinese 15%, English 44%, Hindi 27%, Spanish 45%, Arabic 20%, Indonesian 22%, Russian 26%, Bengali 23%, Portuguese 44%, French 43%, German 32%, Japanese 15%, Persian 28%, Swahili 18%, and Filipino 20%. Creating a nearly even mix of European and Non-European derived vocabulary.

To prove the language can convey complex concepts I have translated the Tao Te Ching into Jitasama.

If you want access to more materials please go to the discord https://discord.gg/DyBJbYwn

Several separate people in our congregation have revealed to me that they don't go to church because they feel guilty for not donating money. They can't afford to pledge and they can't afford to drop money in the collection basket. They're very active, honest, and passionate people who make a huge difference with their presence, but they explain that they feel inadequate for pledging $0 or passing on the collection basket.

The reality is that the church depends on every dollar to keep the lights on: how do we encourage those who do have disposable income to donate while making it perfectly OK and respectable to not give money?

Maybe to request pledges of time and/or money, equating community service with monetary donations? Or requesting any kind of gifts in the collection basket: money, flowers, blessings, candies. So everyone can put something in the basket.

I feel like I'm overthinking it.

On anything U.U. related

So I’m going to residency soon, and chances are I won’t be able to attend church. I’ve been very involved in the ministry, and I’m sad to leave. I intend on returning in 5 years, but spending half a decade away from my congregation hurts. What do I do?

Jesus is the truth. He is the alpha and the omega the first and the last, tell me why your church is right, comment, sorry for the negative tone but i would like to debate some of you

Biden suggested that a reporter's question made it sound like he thought that the reporter could have a cognitive problem. Besides seemingly demeaning the reporter's search for an truthful answer as originating from some kind of diminished mental capacity, are not people with cognitive concerns being diminished? Ought their voices being disrespected?

For the sake of discussion, let us proceed to take a critical look at this UU critic who seems to hate everything the UUA stands for these days. Where does he go wrong? What points of his may actually be valid or consistent with UU Principles?

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnitarianUniversalist/comments/1ajbsmh/column_how_unitarian_universalism_became_a_church/

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnitarianUniversalist/comments/1atzxbw/tema_okun_decries_the_misuse_of_her_white/

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnitarianUniversalist/comments/1b1spkt/unitarian_universalisms_jewish_problems_continue/

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnitarianUniversalist/comments/1bgeg7q/article_what_unitarian_universalism_loses_as_it/

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnitarianUniversalist/comments/1d2tky2/interesting_article_by_a_uu_minister/

https://open.substack.com/pub/davidcycleback/p/when-liberal-congregations-are-liberal?r=183vb&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

Can anyone tell me in short what are the basics of your believes?

How are we feeling about article II?