Our UU is Lay-led, and I absolutely love it. The variety of services, the way everyone chips in to do things, the way that that no one is in charge or seen as the leader. We have our board and we have elders and respected community members, but those folks are seen as beloved resources, and folks doing helpful work, rather than people “over” the rest of everyone.

What do y’all like about being lay-led? Are there any things you miss about having a minister? What do you prefer about not having a minister?

I’ve heard good things about quarter time ministers, which seems balanced. And have even thought about going to seminary myself. But the dynamic at our fellowship is so perfect, and I think a minister would disrupt that too much. Still, it would be nice to have someone trained in grief chaplaincy, and designing wedding services, and generally just be a resource for the community who’s trained in many things.

Is there a way to get the best of both worlds? How does your congregation do it?

I’ve heard this statement a lot in UUA messaging, and occasionally in my fellowship. But personally, as someone who has spent many years as a committed anarchist and in leftist circles, to me liberalism sounds more like an endorsement of capitalism and colonialism than an endorsement of the wellbeing of all people and a respect for the inter dependent web in which we are all a part.

I love the UU, and in my local fellowship our conversations about this have been fruitful. But still, it pulls on my heart in a way that I find difficult.

I am curious if anyone else feels similarly, or has throughly about this much