While attending a UU fellowship I got curious, are ministers given suggested topics for all sermons by UUA or do they come up with topics on their own?

I keep up with another fellowship that I used to attend and noticed they have very similar sermons and topics to the one I attend now, a month or so apart.

I assume it’s something like a topic outline UUA provides and the minster gets to embellish and build on it however they want but I could be wrong.

It’s just interesting how “on the same page” they are on some things and I’m just wondering why. I am always curious and interested in how things happen and how much is just coincidence.

I’m also curious because I love what the UU stands for and have considered getting my own ministerial degree at various points and am interested in what sermon writing looks like for UU Ministers. That would help me decide if I am cut out for it or not.

I’ve been attending a UU Fellowship for a month or so now and have made several friends and been able to discuss a lot with them but I have a question. I attend a Buddhist group there and was asked if I attended any other Buddhist Sittings in town. I said no and they talked about the other ones in the area.

I wanted to explain why I hadn’t but I didn’t know if it would be appropriate or not. I know UUs accept all backgrounds and approaches along their spiritual journey but I personally have done some research on the groups in my town and find at least a couple have some moral baggage with them. One is directly led by someone who abused their power to have some… undesirable relations with a client of theirs ( this is documented and not just alleged) and the other was led on a institutional level ( not a local one) by a repeat womanizer and abuser ( also documented not just a judgement call)

I feel like I should let them know this so they can make their own judgements if they weren’t already aware but at the same time I don’t want to sully someone else’s path or teacher.

What do I do?

I admittedly come from a background where I was raised Christian, explored religion in my youth, thought paganism was my path, went to college and gave Christianity Ala the episcopal church a try, then left it all behind and found a home of sorts in Tibetan Buddhism. The only downfall is there’s not a center near me so I’m still longing for a sort of connection with others who are motivated by a social concern for others but not necessarily bound by Christian Dogma.

This led me to explore UU. I found out there was a UU in my neighboring town and was elated. I attended a handful of services online just to see what the experience was like and was shocked and a little disappointed to find that it was run like a progressive Christian church service. There were Bible readings, prayers, and even some familiar Christian hymns from my youth. This has made me wonder, do UU services really run the range and vary that much congregation to congregation?

There’s a UU where I went to college that couldn’t be further from my local one, they have speakers from a variety of backgrounds, celebrate the non-Christian holidays, have advocacy for social causes and more.

Tl;dr, I guess what I’m asking here is this , what is the norm or is there even a norm for what UU looks like?

I’m looking for a network of people to support me on my journey even though it may not look like theirs. I know it’s odd to use a church as a supplement to my Buddhist learning but being remote leaves me longing to find engagement and community. Is UU the place I can find this or should I look elsewhere?