What are your experiences with the Universal Unitarian Church?

I'm agnostic and would like to meet more like minded people. Is this a good way to do that or are there other groups out there that are better which aren't organized religions?

I'd check it out, definately.

There is almost always a discussion after the service...

You're certain to meet plenty of like-minded people. I would say that a significant number of people in our congregation are agnostics, and they are not looked down upon in any way -- although their views may be challenged in the spirit of discussion by those who are not.

And I would also hardly call UU's an "organized religion". We're quite disorganized, actually. ;-)

If you want to learn more about us, visit the Unitarian Universalist Association website, http://www.uua.org.

going to look into it cuz Christianity is being used as a weapon now. I don't dig that at all.

I'm not religious but if I was UU would be my first choice.

Their website has lots of information about them.

http://www.uua.org/

We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote

* The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
* Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
* Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
* A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
* The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
* The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
* Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Check it out here: http://www.uua.org , and find a place near you there too.

Ive really enjoyed going to the Unitarian Universalist church off and on for years because it respects every religion and doesnt claim one is better than the other.

Its the way I think worshiping should be, at the risk of sounding dogmatic*, because Unitarians are dedicated to a non-dogmatic philosophy. In other words, everyone is welcome and every faith is as well.

if I were to attend a church, that's probably the one I would seek out.

I attend a couple of services a year offered by my local interfaith council. The UU is a member, and is one of the presenters. These services consist of speakers from several diverse religious groups, all giving a short message on a common theme. And the choir sings songs from all of the traditions. A friend is the choir director.

Those services have included speakers/ministers and songs from these faith traditions:

Orthodox Catholic
Christian Science
Muslim
Bahai
Pagan
Native American
UU
Jewish
Buddhist
and even a local babtist minister, who spends his time pointing out how open he is by showing up to share with all of these people he doesn't agree with.

was very positive.

It was always a hodgepodge of wonderful misfits. The perfect environment in which to grow.:)

I looked for a congregation near me on the web and found 3 all within 10 miles of me. I plan to eventually visit with all of them.

I went to this particular church first because they were having a presentation I was interested in. It was a guest speaker doing certain parts of native american spirituality.

It was a lovely service and I didn't feel confined mentally in anyway. And the idea that there is something worthwile and useful in every path is affirmed and supported. Which is good; that's what I was looking for.

After the service, I thanked the guest speaker and found out she used to be a presby minister! :D I laughed b/c I'm presby at the moment.

I will certainly go back the people were very friendly in a low key way. I liked that too. My church is getting a little too formal for me.

edit: Also, because of my research about UUs on the web, I went to a coffeehouse concert this past Sat at one of the other churches. Pat Donahue from Pairie Home Companion was in town! It was wonderful! So I never would have found that if I hadn't been exploring.

and some churches barely have a hint of Christianity left in them.

There are other denoms which are also very open-minded but have a bit more Christianity to them if you are interested in checking them out as well:


http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/liberalchristians.htm#denom

on poverty, homelessness, the environment, etc.

My one gripe is the Protestant-like services (responsive readings, hymns, etc.) A lot of people must like it, but it's not for me.

there are those who are not so Christian and then those who are more Christ centered. I think the less Christian UU church is in Kirkwood and the more Christian UU church is in the City and was founded by TS Eliot's family.

Back in the day when there were many job barriers to Jews on account of religion, there were many Jews who became UUs. They could call themselves "Christian" without having to really accept all that Jesus stuff.

Have you considered Ethical Society? It's based on ethical humanism. I have been to a couple services but didn't like it because while it didn't mention a diety the service sure did feel like a church service to me. Although here in St Louis they do have some awesome and liberal speakers at the Ethical Society.

only they're different strains than the ones you mentioned. Here you have Pagan leaning UUs on one hand, and rationalist/humanist leaning UUs on the other.

Catholic priests will only marry you in the church, and we didn't want to go through the pre-maritial bs either. We were married in a state park in MN. The minister was very cool. Her church was pretty cool too. It was hard to pin down what they believed in based on what was in the church. The closest was a poster that said "God loves <b>everybody</b>".

The local UU congregation used to rent space in the church building to the local NOW chapter for use as an office.

When my husband and I were looking for someone to do our wedding service, we met with the UU minister, she was great! My husband is a recovering Catholic, and I'm a former Christian-turned-agnostic-turned Wiccan and we were able to come up with a wonderful wedding ceremony that pleased both of us and our families.

The UU congregation overlaps somewhat with one of the Wiccan "congregations" and I've been to several Winter Solstice rituals at the UU Church.

I went to the UU church by Wayne State for a little while in the 90s. My only complaint is that it was very difficult for me to get used to singing the same hymns with different words than the ones I was used to (UU changes the words to reflect the transcendental philosophy-ie the works of Emerson and Thoreau).

I grew up UCC, attended UMC in college and now I'm a member of a Unity church. All are pretty liberal, the UMC being the most conservative in that they won't ordain gays (my SIL is a lay minister in the UMC, and she's one who is fighting that policy).

I did while on active duty in the Navy in the late 60's/early 70's. They assisted with meeting space, printing jobs, support for personnel seeking an alternative to completing their enlistments, etc. They didn't seem to want anything in return: material, political or spiritual.

told to me a UU minister: It is the place for those who don't believe in God but wish they could, and those who do believe in God, but wish they didn't. Our UU minister recently performed the first two same sex marriages here in Eugene, OR. The marriage licenses were obtained in Portland but the couples wanted to get married in their hometown. There are lots of same sex couples in the congregation. Plus we get to celebrate way more holidays since we embrace the good parts of all faiths. A nice community of activist, liberal folks.

:thumbsup:

aren't they the people that ring your doorbell on Saturday mornings for no particular reason? ;)

But I guess we could make an special trip to your house if you want. We're flexible like that.

;)

And the coffee and doughnuts are pretty good too!

Evanston congregation here, although I don't get to church that much working in politics. I go to everyone else's church these days.

I am an active UU myself so I may be biased. But any group that can be welcoming to as wide an array of people and beliefs as they are gets cool points in my book.

Go find out for yourself. There is no dogma to fear. There is no hellfire and damnation telling you where you are going to go (unless of course you eat your dinner with your salad fork .... old inside joke). There are no groups lurking to tell you the answers. UU is not the church with the answers. Its the church with the questions.

my mom took me before she became a quaker - then for a while we attended both - i've also attended a few times over the years as an adult - with friends on various occasions...

always - very positive very open very friendly very liberal experience...

:kick:

How often do you see so many positive comments about anything?

Seriously, I am a recovering Catholic. I didn't want anything to do with religion for a long time. UU is socially conscious, proactive. I'm happy to have found it.

John Quincy Adams
Louisa May Alcott
Horatio Alger
Ethan Allen
Susan B. Anthony
P.T. Barnum
Bela Bartok
Clara Barton
Alexander Graham Bell
Ambrose Bierce
Ray Bradbury
John C. Calhoun
William Ellery Channing
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Norman Cousins
E.E. Cummings
Charles Darwin
Charles Dickens
T.S. Elliot
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Benjamin Franklin
Robert Fulghum
Buckminster Fuller
Bret Harte
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
Thomas Jefferson
W.M. Kiplinger
Charles Lamb
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Horace Mann
John Milton
Herman Melville
Paul Newman
Isaac Newton
Florence Nightingale
Thomas Paine
William J. Perry
Sylvia Plath
Christopher Reeve
Paul Revere
Carl Sandberg
Albert Schweitzer
Rod Serling
Mary Shelley
William Howard Taft
Henry David Thoreau
Kurt Vonnegut
Frank Lloyd Wright

and i've been on the fence a long time about beliefs, you'll find open minds with a respect for individuals beliefs .. i hope you'll try it .

What do you get when you cross a Unitarian with a Jehovah's witness?

Someone who knocks on your door for no reason.


What is a Unitarian?

An Atheist with kids.

All dressed up with no place to go.

A long-time Unitarian (we'll call him Fred) moves from the city to a small town. A few months later, he visits friends in his old stomping ground. One of them asks, "So, how are you being treated as a UU in a small, traditional town?"

Fred says, "Oh, it's been great. I've only been there three months, and I've already had three question marks burned on my lawn!"

Buh-da-BOOM!!

A brand new UU church opened up very close to me (the closest chuch to me actually) and I was thinking of attending a few servicess.....so am interested in what folks here think of them.

a very liberal bunch. lotsa queers like uu because we are actually accepted there.

Those I know who are Unitarian Universalist are good folks. One friend told me that they are a congregation of searchers.

I think you will find that they are open, welcoming and generally non-judgemental. I'd try going several times and just see how things go for you. If you do find a good buddy there, ask him or her what other groups s/he is involved with besides the congregation, and maybe you can get an invitation to come along to that group also!

Go to a few Sunday services. Hang out, have coffee. Read "A Chosen Faith."

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0807016179/qid=1081289526/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/104-3543185-9088768?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

(No, it doesn't mean UU's are "chosen," it means you choose the faith, or un-faith, as the case may be. It's kind of like a "do-it-yourself" religion. Check out their website: http://www.uua.org

And another interesting site to look at: http://www.famousuus.com/

Have fun!

Well, I'm a member of CUUPS, and had considered becoming a UU minister way back when. They're decent people. Little thin on the spirituality department anymore, sad to say, but decent people.

Admittedly there is not a lot of defined spirit in a UU congregation. It really has to come from the particular community you find yourself in. Each church has its own flavor. The spirit is the community. Not telling people what the spirit is. :D