Unitarian Universalism: A Spiritual Haven

[windinthemaples]

Five weeks ago, we went as a family to visit the Unitarian Universalist church in our new neighborhood for the first time. We'd long hoped it would serve us as a center of social action, community spirit, and spiritual reflection but it has well surpassed my expectations. My purse is crammed with service bulletins, lettered over with hastily transcribed notes and quotes from the speakers, as I've been so driven to share my experiences there and, at the very least, to spend time better absorbing the wisdom I've found in such diverse and compassionate company.



I grew up as a Lutheran. I learned to sing in church and delighted in it. The strong, sure sound of my father's voice, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with my brother sharing a hymnal, my mom's glorious alto harmonies. That was the purity that couldn't stand up to my increasing discomfort with the dogma and beliefs of Christianity. The Church couldn't encapsulate my personal beliefs anymore and my experience of Truth, in those shreds and epiphanies and undeniable memories, was stronger than the faith I had in what I was taught. I chose to believe my own heart's voice and the separation was complete, painfully complete, before I'd reached my teenage years.

I can't remember the year but about ten years ago I first heard about Unitarian Universalism. I was investigating a local coven with the intention of joining them. They were small and meditative and run by a priestess with a soul of cheer and kindness and open-hearted hospitality. There, in their ranks, was a guy who belonged to a UU church in Ft. Lauderdale and talked about it all the time. He said that the UU was a great place to meet pagans, that it was like pagan-church, practically! I was extremely skeptical and had no interest, whatsoever, in attending a church no matter how pagan it might have been. I didn't investigate it further though in future years I've met other UU pagans and they all say the same thing--it is a haven and a strong community for people so often spiritually alone.

Okay. Actually, they were all completely right.

I could walk into any UU church in the world, tell them I'm a witch and a pagan, and not one would run me out on the point of a pitchfork nor even question the validity of my beliefs. It is pretty remarkable because the UU churches I've attended now look very much like Christian churches and they even have their own hymnals to sing from. There's a pastor and there are chairs or pews. It looks like one thing but sounds, astoundingly, like no church I've ever attended before. There are atheists and agnostics, pagans and Buddhists, Hindu and Muslim and Christian and an entire host of people who are in pursuit of spiritual knowledge and insights without any label at all. There is no holy book, there is no requirements of faith or religion, just seven principles held in common by all UU members:

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

That's it. That is the heart and soul of Unitarian Universalism. Social justice, compassion, and acceptance in a framework that supports each individual to do their own seeking for Truth.


~*~

I go onto NBC's website and watch their Making a Difference videos because I am so drawn to witnessing and being inspired by the philanthropy and generosity of others and I cry at Hallmark ads and I'm just generally a mess when it comes to the topic of homelessness and hunger and food deserts and children without pajamas. You know me, so each week during the service I'm crying and sniffling and singing and writing notes at the speed of light to keep up with everything that can go into the soup to make me better, to encourage me to do more and be more and love more. Daniel is next to me, squeezing my hand at the parts that slay him and borrowing tissues from me. It has just been really, really an awesome resource to find. I never knew enough about the U.U.

The building is an organic, cave-like thing with small patterns of stained-glass petals sunk into the thick, earthy walls. The glass reflects the beauty of nature (bony fish, snowflakes, rainbows, trees, oceans, rock strata) as well as the concept of humanity's search for Truth. There is a rocket ship and planets, so many beautiful things and nothing of any recognizable religious symbolism or significance. It is all about nature, humanity, and the Universe. It's an amazing space conceived by members during their protests of the Vietnam War and the full-on rush of the 1960s Space Race.



I'm just spiraling around and around and not getting where I wanted or intended to go with this post. :) I've spent too long not writing about this part of my life and now there feels like so much catching up to do! You may never read every word of this post--but I'll have at least put it to memory here for myself. :)



On July 31st the topic was Queer and Undocumented: Stories of Courage and Hope led by two guest speakers about their experiences as both lesbian and pro-immigration activists. A member of the congregation and musical genius plucked out Bach's Polonaise and Menuet on his guitar. Lay speakers talked about the UU campaign to "Stand on the Side of Love" and some of the uglier sides to the immigration debate in America today. Outside the sanctuary, boxes were filling up with school supplies and food pantry donations members were bringing to support congregation charitable drives.

On August 14th the service was about gun violence. Three years ago, a man intent on killing liberals, opened fire at a children's musical performance in a Knoxville Unitarian Universalist church. The response of the church's congregation and the UU movement in general to that tragedy has been amazingly loving, open, and commendable. How could anyone be so forgiving, so gentle in the face of violence? And yet, somehow, they were.

The chalice, a UU symbol open to interpretation, was lit at the beginning of the service and someone offered during the opening prayer as the fire caught that we should, "aspire to bring our gifts...to the altar of humanity". The prayer, like all the prayers said in the church, was ended "Amen and Blessed Be".

I have all kinds of snippets of quotes from that service in the margins of the bulletin. During the closing benediction, I wrote, we were reminded to "Take courage for there is a deeper Truth--you are not alone". The main prayer read was one adopted by the U.N. as part of a peace mission and among the list of requests, one read simply, "May my hands never harm another living being." The main reading was from the pastor of that Knoxville UU who, on the third anniversary of the shooting, wrote simply that we are "perpetually in danger of becoming what we hate".

On the Third Anniversary of the Tennessee Valley UU Church Shooting
Rev. Chris Buice--Minister

As the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church marks the anniversary of the shooting in our sanctuary on July 27, 2008, our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Norway as they mourn losses on an unimaginable scale.

In Knoxville, we lost two lives — Greg McKendry, a big, burly man with a heart of gold; and Westside congregation member Linda Kraeger, a scholar with a dry wit and a mind on fire. Thanks to the actions of brave members in the pews, we did not lose a single child. Our prayers are with the people of Norway who are suffering the heartbreaking loss of the young.

There is no comparing the scale of our losses. Even so, the parallels are unsettling. A man’s anger at extremists turned him into an extremist. In a fury to prevent terrorism he became a terrorist himself. This is what hatred can do to any of us. Hatred can blind us so that we do not see the humanity of others and the sacredness of their children. We are perpetually in danger of becoming like those we hate.

It is a paradox that good can come from evil. Acts of hatred can inspire an outpouring of love. Our congregation and the Westside congregation are empowered by the many people across the country who have become part of the Standing on the Side of Love campaign in the aftermath of our tragedy. Together we are re-envisioning the politics of our time.

In our statement of principles and purposes we affirm that we are inspired by the “words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love.” This campaign invites us to live lives grounded in that spirit.

In East Tennessee, we carried our Standing on the Side of Love banner in the Martin Luther King parade and in a community effort to offer a positive alternative to neo-Nazi rally. We marked the national Standing on the Side of Love day with a community interfaith forum to reclaim civil discourse on polarizing issues. With our neighbors in the Oak Ridge UU Church we voiced our opposition to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill seeking to ban open discussion in our schools. We hosted a teen-led rally where the message was “It’s Okay to Say Gay.” We have been inspired by the stories we hear around the country of congregations making a difference in their communities which can have ripple effects around the world.

On July 27, 2008, our congregation was everyone’s congregation. The trauma we experienced was felt throughout our denomination. We received cards, letters, paper cranes, messages of love and support from around the world. Our congregation has found healing in this love and reaffirmed our commitment to act in the world in ways that are congruent with this outpouring of compassion. “Love is the spirit of this church” read the banner put up in our front lawn by two members in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Love continues to be the spirit of our congregation and the spirit of this campaign which is touching lives around our country and the world.

It is new day, July 27, 2011, filled with new possibilities. So I will end by saying to you words I share with my congregation every Sunday, words adapted from a familiar hymn: “Prophetic church the world awaits your liberating ministry, go forward in the power of love, proclaim the truth that makes us free.”

We stood together and sang an old African American spiritual, There is More Love Somewhere, after the sermon.

There is more love somewhere.
There is more love somewhere.
I'm gonna keep on 'til I find it.

There is more hope somewhere
There is more hope somewhere
I'm gonna keep on 'til I find it.

There is more peace somewhere
There is more peace somewhere
I'm gonna keep on 'til I find it.

There is more joy somewhere
There is more joy somewhere
I'm gonna keep on 'til I find it.

The service ended with a man playing a real, honest-to-God lute as we all filed out to drink coffee and hug our children.

Finally, I'll mention that on August 21st the topic was community. A member of the congregation walked up to the five ton boulder that serves as a pulpit and introduced a man who played the piano and sang the Five For Fighting song, The Riddle. That was the basis of the whole service. He talked about how all the people who cross our paths in life--our companions, our partners, our adversaries, those random encounters with people--that all of those people are on our life's Guest List. They all bring gifts, of some sort, into our interactions. Even the most trying, troubling, hard-to-fathom relationships have gifts. I loved that idea and the challenge it lays at my feet to find the gift and find the gratitude for the people that I've crossed paths and left behind or found irritating, maddening, and hateful to be around. What was the gift of our brief communion? What did I gain or learn or have a chance to practice? I can't feel so victimized when I consider that somehow, for some reason, the immortal I, chose to put them on my life's Guest List before my life had ever begun.

The offering collected went entirely to supporting a local food bank. How easy it is to open my wallet and dig out the singles I had stashed there knowing that it would buy food for hungry people--not a new lectern or sanctuary lightbulbs or who knows what. It felt different to see the connection so directly--what I gave wasn't money but was, in a very real sense, fullness.

The main prayer and meditation began with a parable that others have probably heard before. In it, God or a saint or the Universe or I don't know who, invites someone to see the difference between Heaven and Hell. In Hell, a ever-refilling cauldron of delicious, nourishing soup stood in the center of a circle of seated people. They were each equipped with a spoon. The handle was too long and despite their best efforts they could not manage to bring any of that nourishment to their own lips. They were starving and miserable, wailing in torment. Heaven, it was revealed, was the exact same room and soup and spoons but here the people were convivial and full and happy. God or a saint or the Universe or an angel or whoever-knows-such-things said that the difference was that in Heaven--they had learned, instead, to feed each other.

We were left with one thought at the end of the service--that to find the meaning of life we must find meaning in life.

And as The Riddle would have us believe, "There's a Reason for the World: You and I."



It has become a remarkable, significant part of my spiritual journey--of my paganism and my individual Path towards Truth. I'm glad I didn't let the word 'church' continue to color my impressions and taint the message of the place for me.

Comments

[mermaiden.livejournal.com]

Okay, so I'm a total weepy mess at the end of this post. Thank you so, so much for sharing this. I was touched by every part of it. To bring our gifts to the altar of humanity...gods.

<333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333

[sugarmaplelife.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! Thank you for inspiring me to get my act together and post instead of mentally post about my thoughts on it. <3 :)

[suzanna-o.livejournal.com]

It sounds like a beautiful spiritual community.

[sugarmaplelife.livejournal.com]

It is a building brimming with love, that's for sure. <3

Welcome home! :)

[crownofviolets.livejournal.com]

Thank you for sharing. :) I very much enjoyed learning about it. I don't think I'd heard of UU before recently through the posts you and Sarah have been making. I'm intrigued! ♥

[sugarmaplelife.livejournal.com]

It seems like they're hiding in plain sight all over the place. I, like you, had no idea. (http://www.uua.org/)

Oh, wait! In Canada, you could find them at: http://www.cuc.ca/

[crownofviolets.livejournal.com]

Looks like there's one actually not too far from me! :o The building isn't quite as lovely as the one near you, but I'm free Sunday... Maybe it's time I take in a sermon. ;)

[sugarmaplelife.livejournal.com]

Get thee to a nunnery church! ;) No, seriously though, I think even as a social experiment/experience everyone should go once.

I've been to a few UUs in my life, now, and the fascinating thing is that they've all been a completely different flavor and makeup. One, near the university, was almost all young gay couples and professors. The one I'm in now is, at least during the summer, skewing towards the elderly--aged radicals, protesters, and some younger flower children. Another I visited did seem to be all pagan and mixed faith families. And then what they teach and whether they are quoting Martin Luther King, Jr. or Mother Teresa or Sting lyrics is also entirely individual. It is fascinating.

[shveta-thakrar.livejournal.com]

♥

[kimisutra.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you have found such a wonderous place. It sounds like an amazing structure full of like minded souls.

UUSG is my church down here in Geneva.

[sugarmaplelife.livejournal.com]

Ha! You're in UU, too?

This is like, the best kept secret anywhere, this UU thing. :D I'm surprised I went so long without hearing of the movement at all and when you look--there are congregations everywhere.

[lenaperry.livejournal.com]

I am so interested in checking it out - looks like there's one about 40 minutes from here (actually, between where I live and where Dad & Sue live), so that might be an option. You've given me a lot to think about (and a few more tabs open on my browser). Thank you so much for sharing!

[sugarmaplelife.livejournal.com]

I'll tell you what drove us to it, finally, was Graeme. Our local pagan rituals weren't really child-friendly with all their silent meditation/trance portions and I felt marooned without a way to celebrate holidays collectively. We found UUs with child care options and that gave us all a way to participate.

I don't know how long you're planning to stay after the wedding, but I was thinking that Graeme and I would go back to the little UU church for Sunday service. Would you like to come with us? I can't imagine what it'll be like, as they have 20 members (including Jenn and Sarah) but it might be nice and certainly would be an adventure. :D

[wanderlustlover]

I love so much of getting to read about your family and your personal experiences with the UU church. It makes my heart brim over with light.

[mrsbrewer.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I just asked my Catholic husband recently if he'd be open to trying the UU church, and here you are posting about it. If I wasn't so darned agnostic, I'd think it was a sign. ;-)