My son is 3y3m old and has been going to UU church since infancy. I was raised UU and my husband (he refers to himself as a “recovering catholic” lol) teaches Youth Group.

We have done our best to raise him in congruence with UU principles. We want him to have a strong moral foundation and community of acceptance, as well as feeling secure in his worth. Recently, my husband and I have had a lot of marital strain which has inevitably affected our kiddo. It’s not ideal, but we’re working on it together. Still, it’s hard not to analyze every normal toddler/child behavior as somehow Your Fault, and I think I’ve projected these fears a lot on to him recently. He’s just where he should be and doing great, but the parent guilt is real.

He moved from the nursery to RE last week. Today, his RE teacher let me know that he shared a joy and sorrow. His joy was that Monster (our very old and diabetic cat) died, but she’s always in his heart because he loves her so much. I believe that because he is confident in his place with the fellowship, he was comfortable in sharing something that is complex and emotionally conflicting. When he goes to church he knows he matters there. (This was particularly surprising because he has recently been less interested in sharing his emotions with me, which caused me some anxiety for the reason I previously mentioned.)

Hearing this beautiful perspective made me so, so happy that this community exists. There’s a lot of beauty, community, and worth here. We are so grateful for his church family (micro and macro) that love and support him in growing into an incredible human. I know what the church did for me but to see it manifest for my child just fills my heart to the brim.

Hello I'm a fairly new UU ( about 6 months ) Ann's I've been going to my church's build your own theology classes. We've discussed many topics but the one I've found most intrestibg is the way we title ourselves as UUs ranging from christian to athiest to pagan to taoist and ao on... I've come to learn I'm an Agnostic Athiest Unitarian Universalist who practices Chaos Magic. What a mouthfull haha , using this same system how would you describe your standing in the universe? ( :

Peace & ♡ from Lubbock Tx

Hi everyone c:

I'm sorry to show up to this sub with a question as a non-believer but my nephew has become interested in Christianity and I want to support his beliefs/interests because the rest of the fam doesn't. My schedule doesn't permit me to bring him to church but he has a birthday coming up and I'd like to get him a book.

He doesn't seem to subscribe to any particular denomination but I think he likes the general Christian messages. His mom (and me too I guess) is a little worried about him falling down an Internet rabbit hole that leads to bigotry. I've had to talk to him about his comments on women a couple times. He's not a bad kid, he just needs support and a direction for his curiosity.

Can anyone recommend any good books for a teenager who is dabbling in Christianity? I really appreciate any guidance, thank you.

I recently joined the UU near me and borrowed a book from their library section titled Fourteen Journeys to Unitarianism but couldn't get past the first ten pages without the casual 1950s racism. I love the idea of reading the stories of how people came to be in the UU, either raised or chosen later in life, but that book was not it for me.

So what's your story? How did you come to be a part of UU?

(And is there an updated collection of essays about how people came to UU?)

I’m curious about what other UUs prefer as the name or term for what we call religious and/or spiritual education, exploration, growth etc. and the broad array of learning opportunities and community building activities in our communities— these often constitute classes, curricula, small group study and discussions, and arts programs for all ages beginning of course with children and youth but extending through the “lifespan” for adults and usually open to members and visitors alike.

In my congregation the term has long been “RE” for Religious Exploration (or Education). Other congregations may use “Lifespan Faith Development” or other descriptors. Lately I’ve noticed a tendency for the UUA to refer to “Faith Formation,” a term which has a more distinctly Christian origin and (IMO) connotation. Lately, my congregation’s team has been shifting to “Lifelong Learning” as a more broad and inclusive umbrella for all of what we do.

I’m interested to know what terms you prefer and which terms are most effective at connecting with UUs and prospective newcomers alike — and why!

View Poll

I had never heard of UU until 2 months ago.

I was raised Catholic. Never wanted to go to church, had to be forced to do the rites/activities, and ultimately never went to church again after teenage years. As an adult, I would have called myself anti-religion, I don't really believe in God, at least not the way I had grown up hearing about.

The last few years I have felt like something was missing in my life. A yearning, or discontentment of sorts, in the social/familial/community sense. So, I tried making new friends. Fail. I tried some community volunteer work. Epic fail. (* with that specific program, I will continue volunteering in the future, but this program was a huge let down).

Then, two ish months ago I am searching my neighborhood on maps for something unrelated and for whatever reason the UU church pops up. I look at the website and am intrigued. I had never heard of Uu nor did I know I had a church so close to my house.

I decided to go, and wow!! I love it. I have been looking forward to Sunday mornings ever since. I look at their calendar for other events and ways to get involved. My first Sunday I was moved almost to tears by the music and by what was said. WHY is this place not more known about???

The only awkward thing is now I feel hesitant to mention to people (coworkers/friends/family) that I go to church. I was so critical of it before! But I get it now. Now that I've found the right place. And also I still don't really believe in God so that seems like it could be awkward to explain too...

Anyway, thanks for reading my happy rant. :)

Hi everyone!

I wanted to share my spiritual path and belief system/framework, which I call “Pan-Egalithic Paganism.” It’s an eclectic and syncretic framework that blends storytelling, spirituality, philosophy, science, and politics. At its heart is the Great Spirit Mother (the Mother Goddess, the Great Mother archetype) — the true universal supreme source and deity.

I see all goddesses, feminine deities, and divine female spirits across history (even dating back to pre-civilization Mother Goddess reverence) as Her manifestations and emanations. But I also honor pluralism: people can worship or honor other deities freely, and diversity of spiritual expression is essential.

Core Principles of Pan-Egalithic Paganism: • Henotheistic focus on the Mother: She is supreme (both form and formless) and the ‘Ground of Being,’ but all other deities (male, female, and beyond gender) can be honored. The Mother can also be understood metaphorically/symbolically for those who don’t believe in a literal deity. In addition, The Mother can even be identified not only as the “One” but as the “Whole” or the “Absolute” and we are all part of and within this absolute Whole itself. The Mother/the One and the absolute “Whole” are one and the same. • Syncretic inclusiveness: My path incorporates elements from: • Religions & spiritualities: Hinduism, Buddhism, Semitic (Neo)Paganism, Wicca, Shaktism, Taoism, Shinto, Đạo Mẫu, Tengrism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Christo-Paganism, Celtic Paganism, Kemeticism, Hellenism, Hermeticism, Neoplatonism, Indigenous religions, (Unitarian) Universalist Paganism, Discordianism, and others. • Philosophical & metaphysical systems/concepts: Monism, pantheism, panentheism, panpsychism, cosmopsychism, panprotopsychism, animism, animatism, panspiritism, emergentism, deism, pandeism, panendeism, physicalism, aseity, immutability, and aspects of Gnosticism (including Gnostic alchemy). • Cosmos-based elements: Astronism/astrolatry, heliolatry, reverence for the earth and natural cycles, multiverse/alternate reality concepts, and science (Big Bang theory, Stardust theory, and evolution).

Mythos/Gospel Perspective: I believe we live in a form of spiritual warfare, but not as most people frame it (not “God vs. Satan”). Instead, it is the True Source (the Mother) vs. the False God — the archetype of hierarchy, domination, and oppression. • The False God is the biblical Judeo-Christian/Abrahamic deity (Yahweh/Jehovah/Allah), whom I interpret as Yaldabaoth — a malevolent spirit from outside the natural cosmos. I portray him as a chimera-like monster, a composite being who rose from desert tribal religion and became a global system of domination through empire and organized religion. • The Mother, by contrast, is the true source of life, spirit, and liberation, calling us to return, remember, and align with Her and with nature/the planet and the cosmos.

Ethical & Political Alignment: • My path emphasizes redemption, not abandonment — healing fractures, remembering who we are, recognizing our own spiritual “divinity,” and realigning with nature and the Mother. • I oppose hierarchy, coercion, dogma, false/flawed dualities and binaries, separatism, and false moral frameworks (such as rigid moral absolutism) that justify oppression. • This framework aligns with post-left anarchism/post-anarchism: egalitarian, anti-authoritarian, non-hierarchical, and matrifocal in orientation (but not matriarchal). And I see women — especially women of color and indigenous women — as central to building liberation-focused communities. • It also centers unity-in-diversity, solidarity, and co-existence, especially for all marginalized and oppressed peoples.

Chaos (theory) & Spiritual Perspective: • Chaos as Creative Mother: Chaos is fertile, primal energy — the living womb of possibility from which the cosmos emerges. It is not destruction or “badness.” • Distortion = Where Tyranny Emerges: Humans, in fear of uncertainty, tried to control chaos with law, hierarchy, and dogma, corrupting its sacred expression. This gave rise to Yaldabaoth — a false, tyrannical deity archetype. • Yaldabaoth as Perverted Chaos: He is not chaos itself but chaos twisted into possession, devouring, and rigid binary thinking (good vs evil, chosen vs damned). • Destruction in the Mother vs. Yaldabaoth: • Mother’s destruction is cyclical, womb-like, transformative — clears the old so new life can emerge. • Yaldabaoth’s destruction is authoritarian, coercive, and devouring — severed from renewal, used to instill fear and obedience.

Summary: The Mother embodies chaos + cosmos + creation + destruction, inseparable and restorative. Yaldabaoth represents chaos corrupted into sterile consumption, hierarchy, destructive violence, and oppression. This reframes spiritual struggle as connection vs disconnection, fertility vs sterility, integration vs fragmentation. • Horn God & the sacred masculine archetype: I also honor the Horn God archetype and the sacred masculine. Male deities exist in partnership with the Mother, complementing Her without being supreme. While the Horn God (and the sacred masculine counterpart) are equal in partnership, they are not equal in origin.

Ritual & Practical Side: Offerings & Altars • Offering words (poetry, prayers), music, or art rather than physical items. • Creating an altar (even digital/mental) with images of the Mother Goddess, other goddesses/deities, symbols, etc.

Astrology & Numerology • Using sun/moon sign, Chinese/Eastern astrology, and Life Path numbers in meditations. • Looking at numbers/dates as sacred codes.

Seasonal & Cosmic Rituals • Tying my mythopoetic/gospel writing and rituals to solstices, equinoxes, eclipses. • Honoring cycles as expressions of the Mother Goddess.

Shadow & Liberation Work • Naming and rejecting the False God in ritual. • Using meditation or prayer to “banish” oppressive systems (e.g., patriarchy, capitalism, colonization). • Aligning oneself with freedom, love, and cosmic justice.

Mysticism/Gnosis (Private Practice) • Blending gnosis/knowledge, spiritual awareness, desire, experiential visions, dreams, and devotion to the Mother in rites. • Treating intimacy (even imagined/visionary) as sacred ritual union with the Great Mother.

Why I’m sharing this: I believe Pan-Egalithic Paganism bridges restoration and reinvention: reviving the primal reverence of the Great Mother while reimagining spirituality through science, philosophy, and pluralism. It’s meaningful to me because it unites myth, politics, cosmology, and ethics into one living framework.

I’d love to hear from others: • Do some of you also integrate many spiritual/philosophical systems into a personal path? • How do you all balance mythos, philosophy, and politics in your practice or worldview?

• And do any of you see parallels in your own practices or myths you’ve studied? Does my path and belief system overlap or have similarities with some of yours?

Thanks for reading, and I welcome any discussion!

As the title mentioned, I went to my first UU service this morning, it was amazing! I found my new home!

I grew up in a somewhat religious household, went to catholic school for early elementary, bounced from different x-tian denominations and once I got to H.S/Adolescence I became a staunch atheist and proponent for human rights, engulfed in the early 2000's SoCal punk scene, and then became an engineer. I thought witchcraft, satnism and the supernatural was interesting but as an engineer with a special interest in physics, it wasn't logical.

But, over the last few years, I've been pondering more about spirituality, divine purpose, and really just self growth with a therapist. I wasn't sure what/who I was looking for, turns out, I was looking for myself and a community that supported my drive to be to true to myself. My true being is of someone of love, justice, equality, a search for knowledge, and doing what I can to make the world a better place for everyone.

I can be awkward, shy, and kinda standoffish, thanks neurodivervence. I had heard of UU months ago but been kinda reluctant to go to a church, especially, now living in the South. My youngest daughter(10) wanted to have a sleepover with one of her GFs but they were going to a Southern Baptist church this AM and neither one of us were comfortable with it. Naturally, she was pretty bummed about it, so I ran the idea of going to our local UU Congregation by her, showed her the website, had a very open conversation about it with her. She liked the idea, so we went this morning. We were greeted with warm authenticity, heard some incredible messages that truly spoke to us, and met some phenomenal people. I felt like today's service was made for me, the Reverend shared an eerily similar story about finding her way to UU and a new home.

Hey all! I was raised in a pretty strict Christian household. No Harry Potter, no magic, das burned the Disney movies we did own. Church multiple times a week. Things like that.

I miss the community that came with church. However I don’t miss the people? I never met a meaner group of people, that’s for sure. I still hold my own beliefs and I’ve been doing some research into Unitarian Universalist and I guess I’m just wondering if anyone here came from a similar background? How did you move past that trauma to really dig into this? I’d love to attend services again but honestly, I’m worried. The thought of stepping into a religious space makes me anxious.

I've just found this prayer on here and wanted to share it with you.

A Prayer for Hope

Spirit of Love and Truth,
Help us to feel You in our breathing in and breathing out.
Quiet our minds even if only for a moment.
Still our bodies even if only for a moment.
Soothe our souls in this holy moment.

When uncertainty pervades, give us rest from worry.
When fear rises, give us peace.
When pain surfaces, give us a balm.

Some of our spirits are so weary,
Some of our bodies feel fried,
Some of our minds feel frantic and uneasy.
How long will this last, we ask in desperation?

Spirit of Life-giving Love,
Remind us of the cycles of life so that we might turn toward the dawn,
Turn toward the thaw,
And turn toward the rebirth of spring with New Hope.
Make that hope alive in us, oh Holy One!
Ignite that hope so it burns brighter than our fears.
And may that bright hope shine for others to witness,
That our Faith might be a beacon
And our Love a lamp to light the way.

Oh luminous Spirit, fill us with gratitude
As we turn toward one another in the human family,
Never alone on our journeys,
Always reminded of a greater Love that holds all.
Blessed Be, May it be so, Amen.

By Christin Green

This is a niche interest, but King’s Chapel in Boston, the oldest Unitarian church in America, uses a version of the BCP. Now said to be in its 9th edition. Said to be because I can’t find it for love nor money anywhere, nothing more recent than 1865. The chapel seems to not sell copies, and there is no digital copy anywhere. This was true three years ago last time I looked.

What’s up with this? Does anyone know? As it is I can’t even see a copy without going to Boston. It’s easier to find leaked national security documents online.

Hello, all. I'm not a UU. However, I am an admirer of the practice and belief systems behind it. Me, my wife and my son used to go to church years ago. However, being a queer (bisexual) person, I began questioning my faith about two years ago after seeing extremism within Christianity. I couldn't reconcile my faith anymore after that and the questions that had come up, also, at the time, I had discovered Deism. Logically speaking, it made a lot of sense to me to sort of become a "Deist," since I could give up everything I saw that was harmful in terms of a religious sense, but still believe in God. However, due to personal events and further pondering, that also fell apart and I basically became an agnostic/atheist.

That said, with my personal experiences, I've always tried to see goodness in people, act logically in my belief in ethically treating others, and believe deeply in human rights. I believe in peaceful coexistence with others, and the respect of others beliefs. Would this make me a Humanist also? Possibly.

My wife also left Christianity shortly after I did as she also shared many of my sentiments, and was raised in deep evangelical beliefs. So, we are both queer allies now, and "not religious" in the conventional sense.

I like the message behind UU churches and beliefs about treating others, and embracing your own beliefs, and being able to coexist with/love/respect others, even if you don't hold those beliefs. I've tried a couple UU churches, and it kinda eh... Wasn't for me. Also, my schedule is unfortunately extremely busy so even going to a UU church consistently is kind of difficult.

My wife's family is basically still evangelical Christian, and do not share our sentiments about Humanistic values and the LGBTQ community. I don't know exactly what their stance is, but I know they aren't really supporters or anything. I don't have any family left. Besides my wife and son, the only one I have left in my family, at least that is relevant in any way that I actually have any kind of contact with, is my Mom. She knows I'm queer, and I came out to her recently. I know she isn't necessarily an active supporter or anything like that, but she hasn't expressed hatred or any kind of bigoted views either from what I can see. My coming out to her went well.

Belief-wise... I don't really know what I believe. I might be an atheist, agnostic, Deist, spiritual naturalist... Who knows. I don't believe in anything supernatural honestly. My thoughts on god are... complicated. Perhaps I don't need a label.

That said, in my particular scenario and what me and my wife believe now.... non-religious and believe in compassion, respect, love and empathy towards others.... We feel pretty alone sometimes due to the current political climate.

I thought a great way to find a sense of community/other people like us who want to embrace others is trying a UU church again.... But like I said, going to any consistently is difficult due to timing usually and our chaotic schedule.

Any advice? It's really hard out here I feel like trying to navigate through not only what we believe ourselves, but trying to keep hateful/toxic beliefs out and also away from our son.

I went to church today, afterwards we had all the different groups within the church out with sign up sheets, as September is when all new committees start up. I was talking with the woman that represented the groups that feeds homeless and does food prep. I told her I just wanted to do something for my community that has nothing to do with politics. The woman next to her interjected telling me I still need to vote and told me about an upcoming local election. I told her I did vote and lately have pretty involved in local election, as they the Rezoning for my community is super irresponsible. She started arguing with me, kind of acting like I didn’t know what I was talking about and telling me there was misinformation. I started telling her numbers down to sq footage, I know my stuff and she still wanted to argue with me. All this after I told the other woman I just want to do something for my community that does not involve politics. Now I’m thinking maybe I picked the wrong church, there are 3 others not far from me. Is she a one off, should I have just kept to myself with I do vote and walk away. Why was she so in my face. Argh, left more bothered than when I walked in.

Hello everyone,

My husband and I have been talking about the importance of community in these completely insane times we are living in. I've always like the idea of church as a social outlet, but do not believe in any higher power whatsoever. I consider myself more of an atheist/humanist, but I am leaning more into the humanism lately as I age. I am also studying counseling in graduate school right now and that is pulling me in a more existential/humanist/spiritual direction. Here are my questions about UU that are keeping me from jumping right in:

1. I have 9 year old twins, and I can't decipher from my local UU website what they teach to children. I would just like some kind of idea what they might be taught, so any insight is appreciated.

2. I see from this reddit page that there is not a one-size-fits-all answer to "how religious is this?" but like...how religious is this? I don't want to accidentally join a covert new-age christian cult...

3. How much identity politics are we getting into here? I was going to type more to this questions but I think I'll leave it at that.

4. What are some reading materials (books, preferably) that can get me started?

Thanks for reading and responding!

Hey everyone!

So, I’m an Episcopalian. I’m a very progressive and affirming Christian, I’m left leaning politically and I need to know if I could be UU. I believe in God and Jesus and standard Episcopalian doctrine, but I’m a hopeful universalist. I’m skeptical of the concept of hell and I’m influenced by thinkers like Swedenborg and other mystics even like Rumi. I think perhaps it is possible to be Christian but also believe that divinity speaks to other traditions too. This is my tradition, it is home. But UU would allow me the ability to expand and associate and see how the divine is working in other traditions too. I really believe in the end everyone’s going to be “saved” anyway. I really love the UU philosophy of taking what resonates and leaving what doesn’t.

I’ve been attending a couple services with the Church of the Larger Fellowship. I seem to really like it so far! Any Christian UU resources? Or just anything I may find interesting? Haha. If I’m not welcome here, and this isn’t a tradition for me feel free to let me know. I would ideally like to consider myself both Episcopalian and UU. I appreciate your time. Thank you.

I’ve seen last supper photographs in a local UU church but God, Christ, or the Scriptures are seldom mentioned.

I am a young woman (in STEM 💪🏻🤓) who broke off from the Catholic Church years ago as a young adult when it no longer resonated with me. Since then, I have identified as atheist, but have missed a congregation/community as well as a framework that helps me to push myself to be better and explore my views and opinions. I truly never thought I would be excited about a religion ever again (or welcomed in one), until I discovered UU this last week. I cannot tell you how excited I am that I discovered this! I am 1000% sure that this resonates with me and I am jumping in headfirst, reading “A Chosen Faith.” With all the uncertainty in the world, this really does help me to feel better about life. In fact, the political uncertainty is what brought me here- as I am frustrated that religion is being used in many ways to harm people, where I think that its purpose should be to uplift and meet people where they are. I want to act on this belief. It’s also just nice to belong to a community, whether in person or in spirit. I plan on going to a local UU church this weekend. It’s been a hard year for me, and I just wanted to put out there how excited I am! I truly think UU will help me to be a better person! Thanks for reading (if you did) ❤️🥰

HTX folx: Fringe Art Fest @ Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church! Looking for a few more artists and 2 more musicians! Details below 👇 October 4th, 2025 for our 2nd Annual Fringe Art Fest!

BAUUC Fringe Art Fest 2025 Saturday October 4, 2025 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church 17503 El Camino Real, Houston, Texas 77058

Hello dear UU-fellows! We are looking for a few more artists who would like to showcase their art work and sell their work! We are also looking for 2-3 more musicians to showcase their music or singing! All forms are welcomed. You’ll be provided a 30 min time slot for preforming. Must have your own set up.

Please inquire through Reddit or by emailing FringeArt@bauuc.org

Booths both inside and outdoors, with a variety of unique art! There will able light refreshments as you wander through the festival. Traditional, eclectic, and abstract painting on paper or canvas, ceramic jewelry, sewn art such as purses and shoulder bags, wallets, etc., photography on canvas as well as paper, and antique porcelain dolls from long ago.

Each artist will be required donate a piece of their art for the silent auction room. Feel free to spread the word! Let’s make this year another success!

Set up: Friday October 3rd, 4 to 8 pm or Saturday, October 4th, 8:30 to 10 am

I come from a Christian background. I am considering trying UU because I can't fathom the idea of there being one religion and one "right" way to live your life, but still want the spiritual growth and sense of community that church brings.

Was anyone else searching for this and found it in UU? Were you looking for something else? Did you find it or find something different?

(I'm Canadian, so I use the Canadian framework. I understand that the US does something different, so I am interested to see how that framework looks differently for you in this matter as well.)

I want to start under the assumption that we agree on Charlie Kirk having been an agent of evil, personal definitions of evil notwithstanding. If you disagree on that, then imo we are too theologically divergent to have a productive discussion on such a specific topic within the context of our faith.

I'm not really sure what it means to "celebrate" someone's death. But I remember when Thatcher died, there were a lot of toasts and cheers within my circle. I admit it did make me uncomfortable, partly because I do take seriously the inherent worth and dignity of every person. I came up with a line of "I'm sad that she didn't live to see socialism prevail", which I agree with, but I do see it as a bit of a cop out.

But Thatcher was old and poorly. She wasn't of sound mind, or in a position to wield power or influence. Where I live, she was barely even a symbol of conservatism, austerity, or neoliberalism compared to the likes of Reagan, Friedman, Sowell, or even Cameron.

Kirk, on the other hand, was very much at the top of his game in terms of the hate and destruction he soought to wreak. He was one of the most iconic propagandists in the USA over the last 10 years, relentlessly agitating for policy that has caused much more harm than the death of one man.

Now, in my opinion, there is a relatively straightforward reading of the first principal which would tell us that Kirk was a person, and therefore has worth and dignity. I would never seek to argue against this, it is in my opinion one of the most important tenets of our faith.

The fifth principal also highlights the importance of conscience and democratic processes. In my opinion, vigilantism is very clearly a breach of this principal.

However, the 2nd, 6th, and 8th principals, as accepted by the CUC are:

2) Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations;

6) The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;

8) Individual and communal action that accountably dismantles racism and systemic barriers to full inclusion in ourselves and our institutions

And Kirk was one of the most prominent and arguably effective actors in fighting against these principals in our own world. And even the first principal itself, Kirk did not respect the dignity and worth of anyone who wasn't a white able-bodied cishet man. And I want to emphasize that this was not a man seething in private; he actively sought to brutalize and destroy the most marginalized communities.

Finally, I come to the seventh principal, the respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. I worry about the backlash that this death will have. I am saddened for his kids, for everyone in attendance who witnessed an act of brutality. I am very aware that the consequences of an action can be varied and unknown, and a well-intentioned action can have a great many unintended consequences. And I am so deeply afraid for our beloved planet and our species.

What do you folks think?

I will be mentioning Charlie Kirk here, so feel free to scroll past if you don't want to see political stuff. I'm just talking about my feelings about his death and how I don't support Turning Point USA.

I don't support Charlie Kirk, or Turning Point USA. I am super progressive and transgender. I think him and his group are a big problem. What they are doing is making them a menace to society. But each individual person within Turning Point USA isn't evil. They're just doing and saying things I think are wrong. Everyone has (or, I guess I should say, they should have) the opportunity to grow, change, and become better, more caring people. Not every person will change for the better, but how do you really know which people will or won't without giving them a chance?

Killing someone takes away that opportunity to change. It impacts the family of that person. It says "this person is inherently unworthy". So many people are happy he's dead. I'm not. I'm happy and relieved that there's one less person doing and saying awful things. Killing isn't the answer. Violence isn't the answer, unless someone is fighting back in self defense or protecting the person your with who's getting attacked. I wouldn't punch someone just for being right wing. I'd punch them is they were physically attacking me or my friend.

https://x.com/shellenberger/status/1966249089114464484?s=46

I hope next Sunday there will be many UU sermons preaching for nonviolence, without any statements that elected officials in our state and federal governments are fascists, like I’ve heard in recent UU sermons.

I feel certain that I saw a sermon online several years ago that focused on First Principle in light of public figures we disagree with. Or maybe I read something published by the UUA about this?

My very blurry memory of it has helped me emphasize compassion when struggling with current events.

I’m certain this is something I read or watched online. Any ideas?

I would be interested in any of your thoughts about why UU congregations are generally overwhelmingly white and predominantly old. Anecdotally, I’ve observed this for all the UU congregations in my area and also through the sampling of services I’ve watched in other places in the USA. And from what I’ve read on the Internet, my observations are consistent with the composition of most UU congregations, along with members being relatively well-educated on average. In comparison, I attended a couple of Eastern Orthodox Christian churches in my area in the last couple of years (as part of my last-gasp effort of considering Christianity) and they were growing dramatically, with lots of young people and more racial/ethnic diversity, but below the diversity of the broader area, than the UU congregations. At one of the churches, I had a conversation with a young Hispanic man who was also attending the church for the first time. He volunteered that he was gay and autistic. I also met a young man, also attending for the first time, that volunteered he had Jewish ancestry (and a Jewish name). At the other church, I attended an “Orthodoxy 101” class with a small number of attendees that was attended by a middle-aged black man with a younger black woman who I presumed was his daughter. And judging from the truck that he drove, there was a high probability that he was working class. (I also think he was pretty cool because he laughed at one of my sophomoric jokes during the class, unlike anyone else at the class that I can recall.) Anyway, I would be interested in your thoughts about this phenomenon and what if anything UU has been doing to successfully address this phenomenon. Thank you for your consideration of my questions.

After many years of grappling with theism, I’ve recently acknowledged to myself that I’m an atheist, meaning that I think there is insufficient evidence for believing in the existence of a theistic god (although I find Bernardo Kastrup’s “mind of nature” theory intriguing). I’ve been reluctant to acknowledge my atheism to myself in part because of my fear of nihilism. What has helped me immensely in my religious deconstruction and my current spiritual reconstruction is the book and podcast by Britt Hartley called No Nonsense Spirituality. I’m curious if any of you are familiar with Britt’s work and, if so, what your experience with it has been and whether it has been discussed in your UU congregation.

I’ve researched UU and watched services of local UU congregations and really like most of what I’ve learned and observed, including the UU values and principles, the sense of community, the outreach to provide food to those who can’t afford it and helping those who are learning English, and the welcoming of diversity in religious beliefs and sexual orientation. I’m an atheist who grew up in a family that was loving and religiously and politically conservative. I could voice my disagreement on political issues but agreeing with atheism was off limits as a practical matter out of fear of ostracism in both my family and social circles. My political views are generally centrist so I’m wondering whether or how I could fit in at a UU congregation. I would feel free to identify as an atheist, but would I have to remain silent, or even feign agreement, on political issues out of fear of ostracism? The sermons that I’ve watched at local UU congregations generally include at least vague criticisms of the state (I live in a red state) and federal governments.

Do you know whether it is customary for a church member to give the minister a gratuity when presiding at their family’s service? If yes, what amount is customary? I am absolutely without a clue. Our fellowship is in a high COL area west of the Sierras in case that's helpful.

Hey, people of this subreddit and the other one I'm crossposting to!

I’m a Unitarian Universalist-leaning agnostic atheist with a reverent disposition. I find wonder and transcendence in science and the natural world 🌿 I’m looking for likeminded people and deliciously different perspectives alike!

I’m interested in reading titles like…

• Ursula Goodenough, The Sacred Depths of Nature
• Loyal Rue, Nature is Enough and Religion is Not about God
• Jerome Stone, Religious Naturalism Today
• Chet Raymo, When God is Gone Everything is Holy

In fact, Raymo’s book is on its way to my mailbox now, and I’m hoping to start with it!

Does any of this sound intriguing to you? Want to test the waters? 🐳

I’m hoping to kick off a weekly reading group because research shows that weekly interactions lead to strong social bonds — and we’d pace it at a chapter a week to keep things accessible.

Think deep dives into meaning, emergence, and what makes life sacred. Thoughtful discussion about science, spirituality, and the search for meaning.

If you’d be into this, comment on this post with days and times that work for you! Please also DM me your email address (or Discord handle, if you’re more comfortable) so we can start a communication channel for those interested.

I don’t know if updates here are normal, but for whoever happens to see this update, I just wanted to give one after getting all of your responses over the last 24 hours.

Not to be overdramatic and super wordy (yet again, ha!) but for real, I’m tearing up all over again. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for everyone who took the time to respond to me. Reddit can be a weird and dismissive place to be emotionally vulnerable, especially when it comes to anything involving faith or mental health and extra-especially with the world being on fire and all. You all managed to make me feel validated and welcome here in this faceless virtual space - to have questions/comments/concerns be heard and answered non-judgementally and helpfully... it tells me basically everything I needed to know about UU. It was the scary tweet from the Dept of State that was the final straw in the internal push I felt to connect with a community again. It's all so scary sometimes and we all need one another more than ever to help keep each other safer

As I said in some of my replies to others, your responses have definitely opened my eyes to some of the leftover emotional baggage I hadn’t yet confronted from the toxic religious environment I spent 30 years of my life in. Christian Nationalism taking over has been so triggering and sometimes it feels like that is a never-ending process to work through all of it. But, thanks to you all, I feel soooo much more encouraged and confident in confronting these things as they arise. I have real hope that I can be involved in a community of people... so for others who end up here looking for a safety net in these scarey times, here's what I've learned in the last 24 hours:

• Maybe when people seem welcoming it’s not because they have an agenda or unspoken expectations that I will need to figure out and eventually meet.
• Maybe sometimes it’s not a total fucking lie when people say “come as you are” and that when they tell me they’re glad I’m there they actually mean it.
• Maybe the concept of unconditional love and acceptance doesn’t have an asterisk next to it.
• Maybe I can act according to my own values and maintain mental, emotional, and spiritual autonomy without worrying that my thoughts, feelings, and actions don’t align with an externally imposed belief system that, if not followed, will lead maintain mental, emotional, and spiritual consequences.
• Maybe I can actually pick and choose what I enjoy and don’t enjoy about my church or congregation and let it inform what I choose to do or not do without feeling fear, guilt, or shame. I don’t have to force myself to love every aspect of it.
• Maybe questions can be welcomed and even encouraged and I can even *openly* discuss with others how I feel about things I may not like or agree with, also without feeling fear, guilt, or shame.
• I don’t have to feel like I’m not doing something right if I don’t leave every service feeling as if I had some profound connection with the divine through the music or the teaching.
• Maybe I can enjoy church and attend simply because of my desire to connect with others without being told “it’s about your relationship with God, not other people” and sweeping the bad behavior of “people” under the rug.
• Maybe I don’t have a “special language” I have to learn in order to communicate with others and be accepted or validated.
• MAYBE I CAN FEEL SAFE BEING MY AUTHENTIC SELF.

If you grew up UU, in a less mainline protestant denomination, or other non-high control religious environment, then these truths may seem obvious but I am telling you that there are tens of thousands of people like me recovering from the cult. The trauma is real and we are all struggling right now because of that is happening in the US. All of those feelings of powerlessness, feeling like I will never escape and I will never be safe. My son is POC on top of it and it's terrifying. It seems like some of those who had experiences like me have found their way here already - that you were able to trust again is so relieving. The cult survivors need community right now so badly.

The only evangelizing I do is preaching the freedom found in radical self-acceptance. I’ve done sooo much work to rebuild my sense of self after having to take a sledgehammer to the identity I had built in order to maintain my safety inside my religion. Because of that I am fiercely protective of my authentic self and my autonomy, sometimes to the point the hypervigilance. In the earlier stages of my recovery I really connected with a pagan framework of viewing spirituality and it has been so healing to reconnect to my spirituality that way - I’ve spent the last several years honoring the cycles of time and my deep love of nature through carefully selected and personally created rituals and practices. This has been great for my spirit but I’ve known that something has been missing - I can see that the next step in my healing is allowing my authentic self to be connected with others, to be a part of a community of people without fear of losing my identity again. I wanna add "evangelizing about the importance of community while maintaining a sense of Self" to my preaching activities ;)

You all have actually managed to make me feel EXCITED about church lol. I had to *make* myself go to the service on Sunday. It may take a bit for the hypervigilance to go away, but I definitely feel safer giving it a shot thanks to you all. I love that as the fall equinox approaches that I have a clear understanding of what I am letting go of and what I am letting in. I will light a gratitude candle in honor of what you have given me, with an invocation that the universe brings you love that fights for you and PROTECTS you from the threats to your emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical safety. <3

The fact is not lost on me that the UU is a logical target of the fascist regime in the USA and will likely be a target within the next 3 years or so. Have you given it any thought and considered what actions might be take, or how we should react in such an evantuality? I ask the question only to begin the discussion.

---------------------------------------------------------

A follow-up after so many responses. I have to say i am pleased and surprised that so manyshared their thoughts. One thing that did come to mind as many suggested that we are too small to get attention from the present regime is, it is a common tactic for authoritarian governments to go after relatively small groups and gin up anger toward them if they are in any way differrent from the norm. That is the UU. I am not trying to stir up fear, but we could learn, in short order, that we are noticed and targeted. My congregation has takens steps to increase our safety on many levels. And, if anything, our outreach to others to let them know about us as a safe place, in particular for marginalized groups, has increased significantly in the last year.

Hello all,

2 days ago I asked about some apprehensions I have about becoming a part of a UU congregation (I meant join much more informally than it was meant).

So now I would like to ask how did joining or becoming a part of the Universalist Unitarians benefit or mar you?

Please tell me if I am clogging the subreddit.

Hi! I went to my first UU service today and then came home and found this subreddit. This got long because I did the ADHD oversharing thing so there is a TL;DR at the end 🙃

First off, I have been wanting to check it out for years now - in 2019 I completely left the faith of my youth after years of deconstruction and was really feeling the hole in my life from the loss of community. And then COVID happened. And then I went back to school to get my MSW and started a new career… and here I am 5 years later. After a particularly bad day this past week, my feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness were overwhelming in a way that actually scared me a bit. I believe in the idea that quite often “action is the antidote to despair” and I knew that the action I needed to take was to find a community of people that I know have each other’s backs and have similar values. People that make me feel safe when I am feeling anything but. So, I made the decision that I was finally going to check out the UUC in my town - I gave my family the option on whether or not they wanted to go with me and I was very pleasantly surprised that they were excited to go!

I’m really glad that we went this week because they were doing their annual water communion ritual and the message was on hopelessness. I cried. It was everything I needed to hear, and I’ve spent the last several hours letting it all sink in. I cried because I felt seen and supported even though no one there knew me… I knew they understood why I was there. I felt accepted and people were just genuinely glad that we were there. I asked my 10-year-old son what he thought of his experience there and he said “I like this place a lot! I feel really welcome here. I don’t feel like I don’t belong like I did when I went to other churches.” That made me really happy.

So, what brought me to Reddit? I don’t know why I hadn’t even thought about looking for a UU subreddit before, but I am glad that I went before I scrolled through here. I see other people have come here before with similar questions and thoughts lol. The two things that surprised me were, 1) There are not a lot of young people, and 2) we sang from a hymnal. What brought me to Reddit was that I am wondering how the heck people learn the songs and know them. I know each UU congregation is different and from what I understand, services are even drastically different from one week to another, but there were two hymnals full of music and I kind of felt overwhelmed at the idea of having to learn a whole bunch of new songs again.

Additionally, singing from a hymnal felt weird juxtaposed to a water ritual… and I think that it was weird for me because the water communion was so new and more aligned with my current version of spirituality and the hymns were an echo of my past. I have worked through a lot of my religious trauma so it wasn’t necessarily triggering, but it definitely left me wishing the music part of the UU service was different.

I think I might be open to learning some of these hymns because the lyrics seem like something I can get behind, but I feel like it takes me out of the purpose when I’m feeling confused and trying to follow along and process what I’m reading. I am a musician and so this part of worship is actually very important to me and I guess I had just pictured something different. I am not looking for manipulative, emotionally charged, repetitive worship songs I would’ve sang a decade ago, but I do like a little passion in my worship music and it would be nice to just know some of the songs because maybe I would be into them. I was laughing to my husband after we left, joking that I didn’t exactly think we were going to be singing “Prison Song” System of a Down style social justice lyrics (although I could totally get behind that lol), but I also didn’t expect it to be so traditional. So where does one become more acquainted with UU music/songs played during services?

I’m sure that there is some connection between the “traditionalness” of the service and the lack of young people there. I’m definitely going back next week to continue checking things out and will continue to do so… and maybe there are younger people involved in other associated groups. I’m a millennial in my late 30s and I know that my generation really, really needs to regain a sense of community that we have lost. And of course, we are not the only ones but the Boomers and Gen-Xers we were in a significantly different place in their lives at the same age as I am now. When it comes to religion, many in my gen have left the Christian church but we lived through peak purity culture, Teen Mania and Aquire the Fire, Joshua Generation, and Jesus Camp style childhoods, and our parents and families are still deeply entrenched and often in the MAGA cult - we’ve lost a lot of our previous community and we have this hole left within us that fuels a sense of disconnection. We are feeling isolated. And also, many of us are radicalized lol. I will just leave it at that.

We need more non-religion driven community organizing to restore connection so that we can help one another carry our individual and collective burdens instead of drowning alone. I would love for the UU congregation to be one of the solutions for that… but, I get the sense that it’s probably going to have to change to be more aligned with the needs of us “younger” folks. We don’t need worship to be the antithesis of the charismatic evangelical worship service and we don’t want it to match that energy either… but it kinda feels like I’m going to grandma‘s liberal Lutheran Church and if that’s what I wanted, I would go to one of those. Maybe I wanna do the yearly water ritual in a drum circle lol. Maybe I do wanna get my radicalized angst out through some loud music and dancing, reclaim what they tried to steal from us by manipulating our emotions.

Anyways, this has gotten long so TL;DR - I went to my first UUC service and really enjoyed the warmth and openness of the people there and my family felt very welcome. I enjoyed the message a lot as well as the symbolism in the various rituals. They are very involved in the community and I could absolutely see myself getting involved in some of the things they do. I am excited for my son to get involved as well. For me, the main drawbacks were the lack of “younger” people, my lack of knowledge about the music and the music style feeling more old school than anticipated - where does one become more acquainted with UU music/songs played during services or elsewhere?

Thank you all!

I’m (trying) to be a practicing Daoist. I’ve also started going to UU church. I feel conflicted. UU encourages us to step into the political/societal injustices around us, on the other hand Daoism speaks to letting go of that type of thing. If you are a Daoist how do you reconcile the 2?

Hello all, I emailed my local UU church expressing interest in joining because I can't shake the feeling that something's missing from my life as an atheist but I am getting some reservations before tomorrow.

1. I am a black male and am worried about not fitting in.
2. I'm autistic and worried about fitting in or maybe even being patronized.
3. I can't make it there cause I don't own a car and anyone who would take me does not approve of me doing this, so most weeks I would be on zoom.
4. This is more of a personal concern, but compared to the movies video games and sports I watch how ... unpretentious the newsletter they sent was. It gives me whiplash and red flags honestly.
5. I'm 24, so I'm worried I'll be the youngest person there voluntarily and between that and my race I'm worried no one will want to connect with me.

Are these valid worries to have?

Asalaam mu alaikum 👏

I used to be Sufi Muslim within the Naqshbandi Haqqaniyya order but lapsed due to the more dogmatic and anti secular nature of most Muslim lifestyle.

I had a spiritual experience that was so profound, that I have literally no other viewpoint on God except through a lense of Universalism and full love and acceptance of everyone. I identify as UU these days and I still want to practice my Islamic faith with these new values, I keep hearing there’s alot of Muslim UUs but I absolutely cannot find any lol, can anyone help me out?

Edit: This isn't to disprove or argue against UU, as I am UU myself, I am just proposing an argument from the perspective of Christian U and Christian UU :)

An argument for Christian Universalism: Law of Expanding Eternality.

This Law states that for God to be infinitely Merciful, infinitely Loving, and Infinitely Forgiving, these natures of God must not have any limitations or barriers, which means these natures expand infinitely and cover eternity in every capacity.

Because this is the case, there can be nothing that limits, alters, distorts, or prevents these natures from encapsulating every aspect of existence, which leaves the concept of sin leading to punishment as contradictory to God’s nature which is impossible as God has no contradictions in His nature.

Therefore, the only reasonably and conscious position is that truly, God will save everyone and all will find union with their Creator.

Tell me your thoughts on this! :)

Context: I attended the Labor Day parade in my city with my wife and two kids. I am in the process of joining the Unitarian Universalist congregation near my house so we decided to stand with them in the parade.

Event: Near the end of the parade the Republican county committee was marching. When we saw them coming there were lots of anti-Republican comments but when they passed I was the only one booing. My wife says I was an asshole and I should have considered everyone else.

At first I didn’t think I was but upon reflection I believe she may have been right. I was hoping to get your perspective before asking at the congregation.

Edit to add: this is a throw away account

I’m looking to deepen my UU experience beyond my local congregation by watching some of the more engaging and thought-provoking Unitarian Universalist sermons available to watch online.

If there’s a recorded sermon that moved you, challenged your thinking, or sparked deep reflection, whether it’s from your local congregation, a General Assembly, or an amazing UU minister from a great congregation, I'd love to hear about it.

I'd appreciate Youtube links or even just the name of the speaker or their website. I just watched Dr. Molly Housh Gordon's "How to have an enemy" which was awarded the 2024 Skinner Sermon Award (and I need to watch it again). I've also watched some sermons with my non-UU wife including "Living with Purpose", part of a 2022 series by the Rev. Amanda Poppei, because I hoped they would reach her at this challenging turn in her life's journey. I enjoy Rev. Amanda.

Thank you all.

Hey everyone,

I’m 39, from the Dominican Republic. I grew up Catholic but over time became more of an agnostic skeptic. I have a hard time believing in anything supernatural. That said, I really want community and sometimes feel envious when I hear people talk about having a relationship with God or finding meaning through faith. Most churches here are very conservative, though, and I struggle to fit in — especially since I’m kind of a political centrist.
I’ve been reading a bit about Unitarian Universalism.
So, I’m curious:

• Do UU spaces welcome skeptics like me?
• Are there online UU services I could check out to get a feel for it?
• How do UU communities handle different political views?

Thanks in advance! I’m just trying to figure out if UU could be a good spiritual “home” without having to pretend to believe things I don’t.

Hello all, I’m 34 white female accountant interested in visiting my local UU. For context I’ve grown up in the deep Midwest Bible Belt. My mother was a catholic and my father is a baptist. While I never converted to either faith I grew up around it and so picked up some of the beliefs over the years. But that’s also changed over time..I’d say I identify as agnostic I’ve always thought the writings of the old testament were quite pretty and catchy like a good story..but I also feel it was written by humans trying to make sense of god through their own experiences. There was no breath of god stuff. I feel Jesus was a unique maybe special man who perhaps had visions of prophecy from god but was not the son of god. I definitely don’t understand god as 3 beings and so god as just one being makes total sense. I’m trying to find a community who might be understanding. And I think UU might be for me..

My only issue is the nearest UU congregation is 1 hour and 30 minutes away by car…sigh..I might drive up the once to check it out.

Can anyone recommend a book I can order?

Hi there— 37 year old white cis gay man. I was born Jewish and my husband was born Christian. We were married in a mostly secular ceremony that incorporated a chuppah and breaking a glass mostly because they were cute and we liked them. Our officiant was secular and everything else was. We celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas and Passover and Easter.

I grew up decently observant but I feel myself pulling away from organized religion or jaded by it. At the same time I do kind of miss it. My husband mostly identifies as agnostic.

We live near a big UU congregation. They run a weekly soup kitchen and seem very LGBTQ friendly too. I’ve toyed with checking it out both to volunteer at the soup kitchen and to participate in services.

UU feels like a community where we can embrace being a mixed religion household and also question the traditional notion of God. Is that fair to say? Anyone else here in a mixed marriage? I really want to check out the congregation but my engrained guilt about exploring anything outside Judaism is holding me back.

Tl;dr Gay Jewish guy in a mixed marriage with an agnostic Christian guy thinks UU could be a great community for us as a mixed marriage household that isn’t terribly religious or observant but is nervous to check it out

Right now it looks like UUA requires a M.Div. In order to be a minister in fellowship with the UUA.

In your mind is this still a relevant requirement or should there be alternative pathways?

Do you think this will ever change?

It’s my personal belief that reliance on a degree as a gatekeeper for ordination/fellowship is woefully outdated. I understand that a M.Div. provides certain skill sets that are beneficial as a minister but those skill sets are transferable.

Pastoral counseling requires communication skills, sociology skills, and psychology skills.

Writing and presenting sermons require communication skills, research skills, and again some basic sociology and psychology.

Supporting a church or community through the operations side of things relies on knowledge of business and law that are not even taught in most seminary programs!

Lastly the most important part of UU ministry is understanding the complex interplay of beliefs and backgrounds in your church as well as how to pull from a wide variety of sources to do that. Currently the UUA only recognizes M.Div. Degrees from an Association of Theological Schools accredited program. Outside the two UU schools none of the others focus on an interfaith approach! They all focus primarily on Christian Theology and Dogma. Not only is this limiting but it’s also highly exclusionary to those of a non-Christian background.

I believe it is high time we return to the practices of the church forefathers and look for competencies not degrees. A person from a different background can absolutely be the minister others need so why not let them?

Another point is that higher degrees cost money. Someone like myself who sought out other higher degrees can’t afford to go to seminary. Is it fair to exclude people like me who went for work related degrees but who would love to serve, possibly in a part time role or maybe transition into ministry entirely?

Now that I’ve been on my soapbox, what’s your take and is there something I’m missing? I’m always happy to hear from others and learn.

Estoy buscando p un servicio uu en linea. Porfa avisame si sepa alguno. No importa el pais.

I'm looking for a UU service online in Spanish. Please let me know if you know of any. The country doesn't matter.

The building is very accessible, which made the whole experience far less intimidating for me. The parking lot has ample disabled parking and a ramp directly to the front door. I was greeted warmly and welcomed readily.

The chalice lighting is a beautifully simple way to signify the start of service. As a Pagan, it's not unlike lighting a candle to start a ritual, spell, or meditation. It was comforting to draw some parallels between what I was observing and what I practice at home.

Today's service featured Bob Sanders, of Ride Against War on Gaza (RAW Gaza), whose sentiments I greatly appreciated in the midst of so much vitriol and sensationalism in the media. Hearing someone speak reasonably on the matter was refreshing and helpful. Sanders delivered an explicitly anti-Zionist, anti-genocide message. He emphasized his disappointment and grief that his fellow Jews have become the perpetrators of exactly the kind of horrors they suffered during the Holocaust.

🗣️"I'm pro-peace... I support the right of anybody who is oppressed to resist," said Sanders.

In the Pagan community, we often talk about the "buzz" we get from participating in group ritual work. It's the sensation of all the energy in the air around and between us as we haggle with unseen forces and channel shared intentions. It's a feeling that tells us the working has some zip to it. It's not easy to build that kind of energy; and it's even harder to maintain it. I was happily buzzing on the kindness, sincerity, and empathy in the room.

I will definitely be returning. I look forward to building community, meeting more like-minded people, expanding my spiritual perspective, and adding a sense of structure into my practice.

I’ll try to make this short. For the past three years, I was being misgendered and hearing transphobic and misogynist language from a high ranking member of my UU congregation. I would talk to them and correct them on the language used, be told that they would carefully consider it, and only hear the exact same hateful language. I brought it to my minister who seemed genuinely concerned and said they would take action. I was told I’d have a meeting date and an update in two days after following up a month later. I waited another week, followed up again, and was told not to rush things and that there was still no update. I waited an additional two months and asked for an update and got crickets. Only when I informed another member who was on the minister election committee did I get a response two weeks after that saying how they didn’t see my last email but again no update.

I let the minister know that due to the lack of communication, lack of action, and feeling unsafe, I would be exploring other congregations. I got a very dismissive email in response, just saying they support my family’s search for a new spiritual community. No acknowledgment of the harm or the long delay. They had previously said they understood how hard it was for me to continue attending during this time.

Now there’s a vote coming up to elect this minister as permanent. I sent a detailed account of everything that happened to the board over a month ago. I just found out that my and my husband’s memberships seem to have been removed even though we never resigned and the minister knew that we occasionally attended other congregations due to my pagan beliefs. The board member who was supposed to follow up still hasn’t contacted me after a month and a half, and I was intending to resign after I casted my vote next month pending the result..

I’m hurt by what happened with the original person, but also deeply hurt by the minister’s inaction and by the board’s silence. I have found another congregation, but I’m not sure if I will ever trust a congregation or minister fully again. I know this shouldn’t be normal, but I need to ask if others have experienced anything like this. We have to do better as a faith community when it comes to confronting hate and actually caring for people who are in pain. I wouldn’t have posted this if anyone had communicated with me. Thanks for your time and care and sorry about the long post.

My name is Timothy. I’ve been surviving alone since I was 14. My father died suddenly. My mother changed. She sold the truck he left me, my inheritance, my rite of passage. Gone.

The only other inheritance I had was a few thousand dollars from my grandfather’s trust fund. I was 15. My mother tricked me into signing it over and her boyfriend spent it all on crack. That money was supposed to give me a shot. Gone.

No parents. No grandparents. No safety net. I worked as soon as I could. I last did Doordash and finally built some savings. Then my car broke down. I spent everything trying to fix it. When I couldn’t, I had to sell it for scraps.

Now my girl and I live week-to-week in a motel. I’ve applied everywhere, reached out to charities, churches, 211, United Way. Nothing. Social media mocks me: “DoorDash isn’t a real job,” “Why doesn’t your girl work,” “Get a job.” They don’t get what it’s like to fight alone while others get lifelines handed to them.

Our weekly rent is due Sunday. I don’t know how we’ll make it. I’m broke. I’m not asking for sympathy. I just want to be heard.

I went 28 years without asking for help. Even after everything, I never asked until I absolutely could not do anything. That shows my character and my resilience.

I’m still in the process of rebuilding my health after a long stretch of extreme malnutrition. It’s been slow going, but I’m trying to stay focused and keep moving forward while managing the other challenges I’m facing.

Hi there. Quick backstory about me: I was raised Catholic, and even attended Catholic school for years. After realizing that I could never fit into the mold they demanded, I have left religion almost entirely after dabbling in a few different philosophies. At this point, it's all I can do not to hiss and snarl when someone gets religious at me (I'm kidding, I do have manners) BUT I live in the Bible belt so it's inescapable and so I just smile and nod.

I want to check out UU as a sense of community because I don't really fit in many other places, but I have two questions (also they're stupid questions because I'm a very shy and awkward human):

1. Can I just show up to any particular Sunday worship? Is that acceptable?

2. What, generally, should I wear? I don't really dress up (I sort of live in jeans and tee shirts) and I am highly uncomfortable in an actual dress, but I'd like to at least not stand out too much.

Yes, they sound like small things, but please humor me because these questions have kept me from going for like a year now. Thank you.

Edit: I went to today's sermon and it was pretty cool. Nice message and really nice people. I didn't go to coffee hour because I was a little overwhelmed, but I did talk to a couple of people and yoink some of the brochures to bring home. Overall, I'm glad I went. Thanks all.

I’m loving these—refreshing and comforting in these terrible times.

https://secure.everyaction.com/xTtjcRmugk-nFKl6GNMsxQ2

Hey, I am interested in joining a UU community in the Philippines. Anyone here knows anyone in a UU community from this Southeast Asian country please message me.

Also, why are you a Unitarian Universalist?

I'm not exactly sure how to start this, so I'll begin with some background and share what I'm hoping to find in a spiritual community.

I'm a 34-year-old white, cis, gay man, married to a brown, immigrant, cis, gay man. I was raised in a liberal, non-religious household, but growing up in rural Colorado, I spent a lot of time attending evangelical churches with friends; that was the dominant faith community around me. My parents avoided religion altogether, so I was left to piece together my own understanding of faith, which eventually led me to a kind of Unitarian outlook.

I deeply identify with William Ellery Channing’s vision of Unitarianism and feel a strong connection to the works of Emerson and Thomas Paine. I read the Bible regularly, say the Lord’s Prayer every night, and see Jesus as a saintly teacher rather than a deity. I believe all sacred texts should be read metaphorically, as cultural expressions of the divine rather than literal truth. I also value the traditional Unitarian ideals of freedom, reason, and tolerance, along with both the older seven principles and the newer values like love, justice, equity, interdependence, pluralism, generosity, and transformation (though I don't always agree with how the UUA interprets them).

Politically, I’ve long considered myself a liberal Democrat, but over the last few years I’ve felt increasingly out of step with progressive spaces. The current emphasis on identity politics often feels reminiscent of the evangelical mindset I grew up around: rigid, moralizing, and unforgiving. In some circles, it can feel like being white and male is treated as an original sin, with no path to redemption.

Spiritually, I feel Unitarian Universalism is my home, but I’ve struggled to find a congregation that truly resonates. Of the four UU churches I’ve attended, most felt very secular; more like self-help sessions or spaces of collective guilt than anything spiritually nourishing. There's often little use of God-language or genuine engagement with the divine. As someone who still finds value in Christian language and metaphor, this can feel alienating.

So, I’m wondering: does anyone else relate to this experience? Have you found a congregation or community that embraces a more classical Unitarian spirituality? Something that honors the divine, welcomes metaphorical readings of scripture, and encourages open-minded, moderately progressive conversation without the ideological extremes?

https://uua.wufoo.com/forms/qvw53890r1qzjb/?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwMHWbBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHo7G4QLzLlO8rZyF7OfFZbeMSSQQw-iY84tXsHW3znGwDxjsc8uTGcYa_efp_aem_K6CUQv3nPSSWV4EoENvkig

Where Two or Three Are Gathered Bringing UU Christians Together, Right Where You Are Thursday, August 28, 8:30 PM eastern Hosted by Rev. Jake Morrill, Exec Director, UU Christian Fellowship unitarianuniversalist CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP Freely following Jesus Ready to Launch a Local UUCF Chapter? You don't need a crowd to begin. You need courage, creativity, and commitment to sharing (or at least exploring) the good news. This annual start- of-the-year webinar will guide you through the process of forming a local UUCF chapter, from initial discernment to facilitation skills to growing in grace. If you're longing for deeper faith in beloved community, this is your invitation.

Hello everyone. I have recently discovered UU and from what I've been able to look up online it seems as though you are very non judgmental and accepting in your beliefs and the beliefs of others. I think that's amazing. I've been looking for a church that embodies those things for a long time. Every time I go to a church it seems like they talk down about "others". I'm so sick of hearing things like that. To me religion/spirituality should be more about someone's personal journey.

I'm a very complicated person and my relationship with religion/spirituality has been quite a ride so far. I grew up non religious- my mom was raised Lutheran my Dad was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They had a hard time getting married because everyone told them they were going to hell and/or just refused to acknowledge their relationship spiritually (they are still together btw). Obviously they were bitter about that for a while and that rubbed off on me in my childhood. I never saw the point of going to church. When I was in high school my mom had a heath scare and became EXTREMELY religious (Baptist/Non-denominational). All of a sudden I was expected to go to church/pray/read the Bible/etc. I checked out quite a few religions/churches but was always put off when they started downtalking people who might pray or live differently than they do. I kept an open mind. I tried reading the Bible just by myself, non denominational Christain churches, etc. Eventually I joined the LDS church and married a man who is very faithfully LDS (I would never want him to change because of my beliefs/lack thereof).

Now, many years later, I consider myself a spiritual agnostic; I attend the LDS church service a couple Sundays a month with my family; I'm bisexual and not interested in having to hide it anymore or be shamed for it; have some paegan leanings sometimes; a strong feminist; I do not believe in hell and am unsure if I believe in heaven; and I still really want to find a spiritual gathering/church of some kind where all of my family would feel safe attending (or at least not be judged unfairly). Would we be accepted by UU's?

We’re having a summer community dance/potluck at our church and I was wondering if people had any suggestions for danceable songs with some message that fits in with UU value vibes.

And not breaking any stereotypes we’re trying to have a diversity of era and genres. Just a song that slaps lol.

From UUA….register here!

https://www.uua.org/worship/lab/virtual-hymnal

Hello! I left the LDS church ~5 years ago after being born and raised in it. Since then I've considered myself to be spiritual, but religion has since left a bad taste in my mouth. I don't really know how to define my own spirituality as I don't have a true outlet for it.

I'm looking to attend a UU congregation near me which I'm excited for but I'm also nervous! After reading this congregation's website, I definitely agree with everything they stand for and love the diverse spirituality approach of UU. I think it will be a good fit for me, but I wanted to ask- is there typically any sort of pressure for participation from members or leadership? I look forward to attending service, but I plan to just sit towards the back and feel it out until I'm comfortable to participate more. I think I may just be a bit "traumatized" from the intense missionary work and pressure for constant participation in every Mormon congregation lol. I have a hard time saying no, and will be attending by myself, so I just want to get an idea of what the culture is like for new-comers :)

TIA!

I’ll be visiting my local UU congregation, hopefully next week. Little background about me:

I grew up very religious and raised fairly conservative, but it never meshed with me. I didn’t appreciate the way churches claimed to love everyone then put down half of the people I loved (gay, trans, etc) saying that their “choices” were wrong. I also hated the systemic racism that I felt in every church my mom made us attend. I’m also childfree, and always knew I didn’t want them, so I hated people assuming I should want to have a church wedding and be a mom one day.

As a teen, I realized I don’t necessarily believe in a “god”. I believe in energies and putting out what you want to get back, but I don’t think we were all created by a single deity. I think Jesus was a teacher and did some great things and taught good messages, but nothing more.

I haven’t attended church in over 10 years, and never intended to again until I learned about this group. I really hope to meet some lovely, welcoming, like-minded people.

I've stumbled upon UU and I'm pretty interested, but I guess I don't really understand? I myself would consider myself more spiritual than religious. I believe in a God, but not necessarily the way Christians portray it.

There's a few UU churches in my city, but I haven't gone yet. I guess aim just kind of confused? Confused but intruguied.

We sang the tune "Standing on the the Side of Love" in the service today, but we were asked to sing it changing the words to "Answering the Call of Love". I like both phrasings, and it was explained that the songwriter approved the change. We were even invited to cross out the original words in the hymnal and write in the new ones if we wanted. I'm bothered by the idea that saying or singing "standing on the side of love" is seen as ableist. I told my husband, who doesn't attend, and he said, "what about deaf/hard of hearing people?" as a sarcastic comment about the alternate way of singing it. I think what bothers me is that we can't see the word stand as having a meaning other than to support oneself on the feet in an upright position, as Merriam-Webster says. I would so much rather we address ableism in a different way. It seems counter productive to raising awareness of ableis. There are so many situations in which language needs to be thoughtfully changed, but in my opinion this is not one of them. Anyone else care to share your opinion?

I find Unitarian Universalism appealing (and intellectually stimulating) but I always struggle with how overly political some of these movements become.

I don't mean that we shouldn't stand up for human rights, I mean that I take issue with both sides of the political spectrum and lean post-modernist (i.e. distrusting of the government's inherent desire for power and control).

Most philosophically liberal-leaning people I know are hardcore Democrat, but I personally have my concerns about their agendas as well as the Republicans (albeit in multiple ways I find the Republicans worse than the Democrats).

Maybe someone could help me out on this. I would appreciate it.

Are the gods mentioned or prayed to in CUUPS rituals, or are they talked about more nebulously? I like the nature part of paganism too, but what really makes pagan faiths special to me is polytheism when the premise of Abrahamic monotheism is so ubiquitous. I would love to find a space where people openly venerate multiple gods.

I was raised Catholic, converted to fundamentalist evangelicalism, then have been an atheist for about the last decade.

My recent bout with cancer and the birth of my daughter has had me reconsidering my atheism and looking again at community and some of my spiritual inklings. I'm a big fan of Alan Watts for a point of reference. And i still study a lot of secular academic biblical scholarship for fun.

I Finally listened to a CLF service. The recent one on holy wholeness. The whole thing was very good, but I think I realized I'm just too much of an anti-nature atheist to be UU or any kind of humanist or progressive Christian.

Specifically the portion about 3 dimensional living which was very well delivered and a great message, but it helped me realize I don't actually believe in identifying the web of being with love or interconnectedness or wholeness. I see nature as inherently hostile and something we thrive in spite of not because of.

Like don't get me wrong i fully support the social political point of UU. If I had a stronger desire for community, I'd probably join anyways.

But it was helpful for me to recognize that my flirtations with things like progressive Christianity require me to suppress how i actually think about the history of the church and what i believe to be the shortcomings of the historical Jesus himself. I don't think I can authentically embrace Jesus as a moral teacher.

And my attraction to something like deep ecology or pantheism or Buddhist dependents arising and identifying God with love or the whole of humanity or all the universe requires me to suppress how I actually feel about natural evil, human evil, and what I see as pointless but unavoidable suffering.

I guess I'm something like an optimistic nihilist who narrowly (perhaps selfishly) wants to focus on my family and my minimal sphere of influence in doing the best I can, but have little desire for connection or impact beyond that.

Love everything y'all are doing but not for me personally no offense at all and thank you for the hospitality.

I don't know quite what I am. I'm a bit agnostic, secularist, and pluralist... but I'm also Christian. Is this last one acceptable to UUism? :)

Well, I live in a country with NO UU Churches whatsoever (like, I checked the map and there's no Churches in THE ENTIRE REGION), and I'm neither in the economical situation to either move countries nor fund my own Church locally (one of the legal requisites here for doing so is having a physical place for meetings, which I can't afford rn).

However, UU is the closest thing I attune to Spiritually, so I want to join a Community. Is there like, a Discord server or anything like that where fellow UUs do online meetings? I wanna see if that's a possibility in the short term.

Thank you very much, and have a wonderful day! ^^

So in my early years the church was a big part of my life. My Grandmother was very involved and by extension my family was. After I was born I even lived in an apartment owned by the church and was raised there for a little while. I was "baptized" UU and the church was part of my life until I was about 11-12.

I'm 33 and just getting back in, but in a different part of the country. Over the years I've forgotten a lot and would like to reconnect with my faith and raise my children in it, but I've been to a couple services and I don't care for it.

The first presentation I attended was some pretentious writer reading from her memoirs about her struggle to save her boyfriend's family farm and get it recognized as protected land. My wife and children are native and I was so embarrassed listening to this woman talk about how after 4 generations it was a travesty they might lose their huge patch of land without a single mention of the suffering that made that land fall into their hands in the first place. She had given us enough context to understand she was from settler blood as well and when she said, "I could feel my ancestors rejoicing for us saving the land." I could about feel the soul leaving my body. Then she read us like 4 pages about buying a fucking car. It was awful.

My third visit was a sermon from a guest Minister. She seemed nice enough, but she basically gave a whole sermon on labor justice, liberation, and equality without a single honest criticism of what it is about our society and economic system that makes these things rampant. Nothing meaningful said on class or on the history of the labor movement. She made it seem like if immigrant produce pickers were given the protections and pay that most American blue collar workers have that that would be that. No more exploitation. No reason to think past a system that has benefited her tremendously and has caused untold suffering through war and imperialism. She wrapped this sermon up in revolutionary language and even added a nice white washed quote from a black revolutionary artist.

If I start on my first meeting with the Social Justice Group I'll be dropping like three more paragraphs about how problematic that was.

I say all this to ask if this is an experience you all are having? How do I reconnect with my faith when the church is so right wing? How do I get past the performative, white liberal, bullshit? Why have the politics of the church not expanded left of liberalism, especially since it's absolutely not compatible with our principles?

Thanks. I know that some of you may feel a little called out on this post and I'm genuinely sorry.

Basically I live out in the middle of nowhere, there’s a UU church at my nearest city but there’s no transport on Sundays and I don’t drive. I’d love to visit and I’m starting to feel UU may be a good fit for me, but I kinda realise that part of joining a religion is about the community, which is what I don’t have. I’m also kinda introverted and get some social anxiety so it’s difficult anyway to make myself go to events, so maybe it’s just an excuse. But yeah basically can I identify as UU and just do my own thing? I am still learning about UU but so far I seem to agree with everything.

Been feeling really at home in my local congregation since joining this year and so have my children.

Threw together a plan for an all ages video games club to pitch to our fellowship planning meeting today.

I can tell that the under 65 members of our congregation are craving activities that are much more casual (and air conditioned - we’re in the south).

Wish me luck yall.

I’ve been going to a UU church for about a year now, but I just found out today that an elderly member who passed away recently wanted the church to help her donate a large sum of money to a local food pantry, but our reverend met with the bereaved family members and convinced them to only give half of the money to the food pantry, and the other half to the church. She was presenting it as a big win in the board meeting, even though it goes against the wishes of the person who passed away.

I’m just curious, is this normal behavior for a UU church?

———————

UPDATE:

Sorry I don’t have all the information, or if I didn’t explain something the right way, but what I do know for sure is that the person who passed away really cared about the food pantry, her family knew that she wanted the money earmarked specifically for the food pantry. People who knew her well at church knew that it was her priority too. The church works closely with the food pantry and even has a fund set up for it so that the congregation can donate directly, so it’s reasonable to think that she left the money to the church for that purpose.

I also discovered yesterday when I went to the food pantry website that she was actually on the board for the food pantry too, serving as their secretary.

The reverend must have been aware of her wishes, since she actually negotiated with the family to undermine her wishes, then bragged to the board in yesterday’s meeting that half of the money is going to go to the church now (which I assume means the general fund, as though it was a pledge). Another board member mentioned that they would need to check on the legality of this, and then they also decided to appoint a committee to do some research about how the money should be used. Unless they decide to go ahead and donate it to the food pantry, it seems pretty unethical to me.

Why would anyone want to leave money to a church if they can’t trust that their wishes will be honored? This lady had been a member for over forty years. I understand that corruption can happen in any denomination, but I’m still disappointed to find out that this is happening in MY church.

The reason I asked the question the way I did is to see how many people have the same initial reaction of disgust that I did, or if it doesn’t surprise them, or if some people will even be apologists and act like it’s ok, and that will help me decide if I want to find a different UU church, or maybe church just isn’t for me.

Edit: Changed pastor to reverend when I realized my mistake. The church I grew up in up in had a pastor.

The third source is "Wisdom from the world’s religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life," but then numbers four and six seem to just be specific examples of wisdom from the world's religions.

Am I missing something?

30F, going solo to my first UU service to see what it’s like. What would be appropriate to wear?

I’m Jewish, and I know there’s a certain “dress code” for a synagogue so I figure I should ask about UU fellowships.

EDIT: Nevermind! Apparently, I can’t just go to a service without being a member. I have to complete an introductory learning series first. So I’ll be starting that on Sunday instead.

I guess I’m speaking mostly about the music, but as much as I liked what I heard being said at the local UU conversations I’ve visited, one thing that turned me off is that the presentation felt even MORE like church than evangelical churches I’ve been too. I’m not a fan of singing in church in general, but songs in a traditional-hymn style, with the only instrumentation being a line piano being played with no syncopation feels like torture to me. I supposed I could show up late to skip the music, but that feels wrong somehow.

Hi :) recently got to have a weekend away with a lovely bunch of UU people and before dinner, they'd light a chalice and share things they were grateful for. Kind of like prayer, but just to each other and the world. it just left the sweetest feeling for me. I'd like to incorporate this into my life, but I'm wondering about some other things I can do to feel more connected to my faith. Any suggestions?

I’ve looked into this and would love to go to a church or congregation or whatever it would be called. I feel like I’m missing something and would love to find a community of like minded people because where I live I’m kind of an outcast for being a liberal, non Christian person. The problem is that I will need to travel about an hour to find a congregation(?) and that’s fine, but I need to get over the idea that it feels like I’m joining a cult?? I believe that the right cult can suck anyone in, and while Christianity has never had potential to be my cult I have a worry in the back of my mind that if this is a cult it is one that could??

I’m not sure if this makes any sense, but I just want to discuss this with someone because I really need a community and don’t want to join something out of desperation that could be culty. I’m also not trying to say anyone here is culty, because I don’t think that but I also believe that for the right cult I WOULDNT think it sounds like one??

Edit: in the cesspool the internet has become, I expected at least one reply that was upset about my questions but I love the fact that it seems like people understand my concerns! I don’t think I would expect that of a cult and I will definitely be checking out some online services next time :) thanks for the wonderful answers, I’m really hopeful that I have found my people!🩷

(This is rambling thoughts of spiritual seeker) I'm just beginning to read and learn about Daoism and it's a nice fit for me. For a while now I've gone to my local UU church (not regularly) and feel like that fits as well. I like the activism part of UU but as I listen to more and more people speak on Daoism the more they follow the way the less they care. Do they fit?

My wife and I finally made at to a UU service. We’re both pretty religious averse but it was overall pretty good. We met some nice people afterwards. Overall, we’ll be back,