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This past December, I wrote this post about my faith journey. Here is the link; rather than me retell the whole story again, you can click on it to learn more.
But in this post, I'm going to tell you more about my particular church, why I like it, and the people who shape it.
One of the reasons why I like being a Unitarian Universalist is that no two services are alike. Take this month's services, for example. We began the month of February with a service led by our Covenant of UU Pagans, the "Winter Cross Quarter Fire Festival." This was the service on which I based my "Perspective" post. The following week, we had another lay-led service based on the concept of truth. How do we know what's true? What determines the truth, and why? I participated in last week's service, titled "One Singular Sensation," a service devoted to spirituality and the place single people have in society. I may post my sermon up on the blog, if anyone's interested.
Unitarian Universalism doesn't have a creed, but has its base in Judeo-Christian religious traditions. Basically, it's dedicated to developing and promoting "the inherent worth and dignity in every human being". This is what I love most about my faith, that every human being is valued, regardless of race, color, creed, or sexual orientation.
There are so many people from different backgrounds that attend my church. In addition to the Covenant of UU Pagans, we have atheists, agnostics, humanists, former Catholics, and former Episcopalians at my church. Everyone contributes to the church, and everyone's contributions are welcomed.
Just as important as the diversity of services is to me, the feeling of community I receive from the church is wonderfully enriching. I have made so many new friends in the church. It's a small enough community that if anything happens to anyone, either good or bad, we all rally around for support. We had, for example, a special collection for a family whose mother was fighting breast cancer. We collected over $1200 for this family; an astounding amount, given these tough economic times.
My favorite part of the service is "Joys and Concerns". It's a short part of the service, usually about five or ten minutes, where we share what's going on in our lives, both good and bad. We request prayers, for example, for people who are fighting illnesses, for pregnant women, or for good karma for job interviews. That's how wide it can range. Joys and Concerns helps me bond with my fellow parishoners, and brings us all much closer.
We don't have too many rituals in the church, but the ones that we do have are very interesting. Our church year runs from September to June, same as the school calendar does. At our first formal service of the year, in September, we have what's called "Water Ingathering". Every member of the congregation brings in a water sample from somewhere special to them. We pour all of our water samples into a bowl, and our minister takes it home with her, boils it, and filters it. This water is used for celebrations throughout the year, such as child dedications (our version of baptism).
So...in a nutshell, that's the story of my faith. If you have any more questions for me, pass 'em along!
P.S. You may have seen me mention a blogger known as PeaceBang in my posts. She's a UU minister at a congregation in Norwell, Massachusetts and is an absolute riot. Go over to her blog, which is on my blogroll, when you get the chance. PeaceBang rocks!
Showing posts with label my faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my faith. Show all posts
Monday, February 23, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
About my faith, part one
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about a service that I had attended at my church. Since then I've received a few questions about my faith, and I hope that I can answer most of them in this post.
I attend a Unitarian Universalist church. The history of the Unitarian Universalist movement is quite complicated for me to explain, and I am still learning a lot about it. If you click here, you'll go to the website of the Unitarian Universalist Association. If you click on the "About Us" tab at the top of the page, you can learn a little more about the history. It also has a directory of all of the UU churches in the United States, if you're interested in finding one in your area. I'll put the link to the UUA under my "Linky Love" section if you ever wish to go back to it someday.
Unitarian Universalism is a very small religion; as of 2007, there were roughly 163,000 practicing members across the U.S. That's a number that hasn't increased since the Unitarians and the Universalists merged in 1961.
Yes, there is a difference between the Unitarians and the Universalists. Unitarianism was founded upon the belief that God is only one being, as opposed to the Trinity (that is, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). In other words, it's a monotheistic faith. Most people, however, in the UU church, have moved away from this philosophy.
It's kind of hard for me to condense the history of Unitarianism into one blog post without risking plagarism, so click here for the Wikipedia article. (NOTE: I know I often sarcastically refer to Wikipedia as "that bastion of journalistic integrity", but there is a really good article here about the Unitarians. Not everything on Wikipedia is badly written!)
According to this Wikipedia article, Universalist philosophy holds that "all persons and creatures are related to God or the Divine and will be reconciled to God. A church or community that calls itself Universalist may emphasize the universal principles of most religions and accept other religions in an inclusive manner, believing in a universal reconciliation between humanity and the divine. For example monotheistic religions like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam still claim a universal value of their doctrine and moral principles because they feel they are inclusive.[1]
A belief in one common truth is also another important tenet. The living truth is seen as more far-reaching than national, cultural, or religious boundaries.[2]"
Finally, this Wikipedia article really delves into the history of Unitarian Universalism. Click on it if you want to find out even more!
Not many people are born into Unitarian Universalism. Most UUs come from other religious backgrounds. For example, about two-thirds of the members of my church are former Catholics. I am one of them. I was born and raised Catholic, attended Catholic high school, and went to a Catholic university and grad school. I was a Eucharistic Minister, a retreat leader, and campaigned for many social justice causes. I was really into it, especially in college, when there were so many opportunities to get involved, and more importantly, question everything.
I attended a Jesuit college, Fairfield University, and was really active in Campus Ministry. The staff of Campus Ministry really knew how to talk to college students, and provided opportunities for everyone to get involved in such things as mission trips, community service projects, and serving our fellow campus residents. I loved every minute of it. It was an important step in my faith journey, one that shapes my beliefs to this day.
Then I graduated college, and tried shopping around for a church that I would fall in love with. I didn't find one. I was very spoiled by the Fairfield experience. I missed the personalized attention, the close relationships I formed (many of which last to this day), and the fulfillment I got whenever I distributed Communion or was involved in a service project. All of the churches I attended were the same, and I never got a sense of fulfillment from any of them.
The churches I went to all had the same things in common. No one in the congregation talked to each other before the services started, no "Hello, how's it going" type small-talk catch up. Everyone sat in the pews, staring ahead at the altar, dutifully following the day's Bible readings in their missals, and dutifully singing the songs in the hymnal. (Most of the songs were performed like durges). Almost everyone would go up to receive Communion and return to their seats silently, then kneel in prayer.
I quickly became accustomed to sitting in the very back pew, not saying anything to anyone, and only acknowledging the presence of others during the Kiss of Peace.
I was miserable.
And my spirit, my faith, was slowly shrinking, shriveling up, like a raisin that was left out too long in the sun.
...TO BE CONTINUED...
I attend a Unitarian Universalist church. The history of the Unitarian Universalist movement is quite complicated for me to explain, and I am still learning a lot about it. If you click here, you'll go to the website of the Unitarian Universalist Association. If you click on the "About Us" tab at the top of the page, you can learn a little more about the history. It also has a directory of all of the UU churches in the United States, if you're interested in finding one in your area. I'll put the link to the UUA under my "Linky Love" section if you ever wish to go back to it someday.
Unitarian Universalism is a very small religion; as of 2007, there were roughly 163,000 practicing members across the U.S. That's a number that hasn't increased since the Unitarians and the Universalists merged in 1961.
Yes, there is a difference between the Unitarians and the Universalists. Unitarianism was founded upon the belief that God is only one being, as opposed to the Trinity (that is, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). In other words, it's a monotheistic faith. Most people, however, in the UU church, have moved away from this philosophy.
It's kind of hard for me to condense the history of Unitarianism into one blog post without risking plagarism, so click here for the Wikipedia article. (NOTE: I know I often sarcastically refer to Wikipedia as "that bastion of journalistic integrity", but there is a really good article here about the Unitarians. Not everything on Wikipedia is badly written!)
According to this Wikipedia article, Universalist philosophy holds that "all persons and creatures are related to God or the Divine and will be reconciled to God. A church or community that calls itself Universalist may emphasize the universal principles of most religions and accept other religions in an inclusive manner, believing in a universal reconciliation between humanity and the divine. For example monotheistic religions like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam still claim a universal value of their doctrine and moral principles because they feel they are inclusive.[1]
A belief in one common truth is also another important tenet. The living truth is seen as more far-reaching than national, cultural, or religious boundaries.[2]"
Finally, this Wikipedia article really delves into the history of Unitarian Universalism. Click on it if you want to find out even more!
Not many people are born into Unitarian Universalism. Most UUs come from other religious backgrounds. For example, about two-thirds of the members of my church are former Catholics. I am one of them. I was born and raised Catholic, attended Catholic high school, and went to a Catholic university and grad school. I was a Eucharistic Minister, a retreat leader, and campaigned for many social justice causes. I was really into it, especially in college, when there were so many opportunities to get involved, and more importantly, question everything.
I attended a Jesuit college, Fairfield University, and was really active in Campus Ministry. The staff of Campus Ministry really knew how to talk to college students, and provided opportunities for everyone to get involved in such things as mission trips, community service projects, and serving our fellow campus residents. I loved every minute of it. It was an important step in my faith journey, one that shapes my beliefs to this day.
Then I graduated college, and tried shopping around for a church that I would fall in love with. I didn't find one. I was very spoiled by the Fairfield experience. I missed the personalized attention, the close relationships I formed (many of which last to this day), and the fulfillment I got whenever I distributed Communion or was involved in a service project. All of the churches I attended were the same, and I never got a sense of fulfillment from any of them.
The churches I went to all had the same things in common. No one in the congregation talked to each other before the services started, no "Hello, how's it going" type small-talk catch up. Everyone sat in the pews, staring ahead at the altar, dutifully following the day's Bible readings in their missals, and dutifully singing the songs in the hymnal. (Most of the songs were performed like durges). Almost everyone would go up to receive Communion and return to their seats silently, then kneel in prayer.
I quickly became accustomed to sitting in the very back pew, not saying anything to anyone, and only acknowledging the presence of others during the Kiss of Peace.
I was miserable.
And my spirit, my faith, was slowly shrinking, shriveling up, like a raisin that was left out too long in the sun.
...TO BE CONTINUED...
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