What Newcomers Often Want to Know

What can I (and my children) wear to church?
Whatever you feel comfortable wearing is fine. Some of us wear pearls and heels, or dockers and a white shirt (seldom a tie), others of us wear jeans—or even shorts and flip-flops on a hot summer day. Children may have art projects or outdoor activities. They should dress so they can actively engage in the program.

Is there childcare/Sunday school during the church service?
Children often remain in the service for the first 15-20 minutes for a gathering song and story. Then they go to classes for the remainder of the hour. There are about 140 children and youth registered in our very active Religious Education program. Children’s classes address matters such as ethical decision-making, world religious traditions, and developing a reverence for the mystery of life.  Childcare for infants and toddlers is always available on Sundays, and when there is a meeting or church gathering, free child care is usually available with several days' advance notice. More at our Religious Education pages.

If my child doesn't separate well, can she or he stay with me in the service?
YES!  If you find that you need to step out, there is a speaker in the foyer where you can continue to hear the service. Or, you may choose to attend class with your child if that works best at first.

Will I be pressured to join or be saved or donate?
No. In fact, people sometimes think we are being aloof because we don't approach our visitors as if we were selling used cars. We'll welcome you at the door. We'll send you our newsletter for a while, if you ask for it. We'd be happy to have you join us, but we won't try to push ourselves onto you. We will never ask you to join on a first visit; we recommend you visit for a couple of months before you consider joining. We'll never pressure you to be saved, either. We don't believe in salvation by grace. That is where the "Universalist" part of "Unitarian-Universalists" comes in. Keep reading, and then see What do UUs believe?

How can an agnostic or atheist go to church?
The agnostics and atheists at our church arrive by foot, bicycle, car and bus.

Seriously, this is one of the things about us that puzzles people. Why would an agnostic (atheist, humanist...) go to church?

While an atheist doesn't believe in any supernatural god and an agnostic doesn't "know" if there is or isn't a god or gods, both can recognize the mystery of life, marvel at how everything learned deepens that mystery, and live a life filled with awe and gratitude. Life is such a "miracle" that it needs no further reason to be.

Atheists and agnostics are not inherently anti-religion, but also do not want to be limited to patterns of worship that have no meaning for them. An atheist and an agnostic can live meaningful lives even if there is no afterlife, which is precisely why what we *DO* (ethics) in this life matters so much. If we knew for certain that there were an afterlife, we wouldn't have great debates about it. Since no one knows, it can make sense to some to assume there is no god and no afterlife. That is, we act as if what we do matters NOW. This is an atheist spirituality.

UUCE offers people a place to explore and grow spiritually, even if we grow in different directions. We talk about "things-that-matter" on a regular basis, encouraging deeper thinking and exploring of religious and spiritual values, including better ways to live our lives consciously and how to understand our experiences and relationships more deeply. We provide religious education for our children, so that they can make an informed choice about which religious community reflects the values they've built for themselves. Finally, there is the social aspect of church. Even agnostics like potlucks. More info via our Orientation Series and on the What to UUs believe page.

This is a link to the PDF of a brochure about our church for visitors to print out:
http://www.uueugene.org/Membership/InfoResource.pdf

Is your church accessible to all people?
We believe it is. Four of our five bathrooms are wheelchair accessible, both levels are accessible either via the main ramp to the main door, or down the paved, lighted path near the playground to the lower level classrooms and office. We have three Braille hymnals, four hearing assistive devices, and large print programs. Please ask the ushers to help you. Our Accessibility Committee's work is ongoing.

Are you genuinely welcoming to all people?
We are a Welcoming Congregation, and a home of free faith and religious diversity. We gather to worship, honoring our differences in age, race, gender, ability, class, sexual orientation, and national origin. We trust that the unique and beautiful qualities that you bring will be celebrated and appreciated. While saying so doesn't make it so, an important reason we come together is to remind ourselves of what we value. And because we value human diversity, we include the voices and dreams of all people – in our readings and music, our Religious Education (R.E.) classes, and our leadership.

What goes on during the worship service?
Our format may feel familiar, but you may be surprised with the message.  We address a wide range of social, ethical, and inter-personal issues from different points of view. And in the end, you are not just free to make up your own mind, you are responsible for doing so. It may seem unsettling to go to a church which provides more questions than answers, but if you invest yourself in our community, you will find a strong network of support from fellow seekers.

Our Sunday Services involve singing, music, meditations, readings (from many sources) and reflections by our minister, guest speakers, and/or members of the congregation. The Services last about an hour. After every Sunday Service we have a coffee hour. Folks who are involved with church-based projects often have informational tables and sign-up sheets in the social hall. There are childcare and RE classes during every Service, though during the summer months RE classes are somewhat more informal and only for elementary-aged children and younger. There is current information about the other activities of the church on the weekly UUpDate page.

This description is typical, but in no way definitive. We may have an "alternative" service – maybe the sharing of music and poetry, or a service led by members of the congregation, by visiting ministers, or by other local speakers.  Altogether our Sunday Services are a mix of tradition and openness to change. They reflect our acceptance of the joyous and painful mysteries of life, and our unflagging efforts to make life meaningful.

Who Are the UUs?

Unitarian Universalists believe that religious faith is uniquely personal and evolves as we each engage our inner search in our life journey. We find our quest is enriched and empowered in community, a community that embraces and welcomes all persons. We affirm, promote, and celebrate the full participation of everyone in all of our activities without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, physical or mental challenge, affectional or sexual orientation, marital status, age, or national origin. If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact the office to learn more about the path to membership or to make an appointment with the minister. Our minister and our members welcome your questions.

Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion that emerged from the Jewish and Christian traditions. Unitarianism has its roots in the early Christian era. We trace our history to Jan Hus, to the Socinians, to Michael Servetus, whom John Calvin had burned at the stake for heresy in the 14th century, and even back to the 4th century controversies about the natures of Jesus and God (same substance or different?) and the rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity ("Father, Son, and Holy Ghost"). It developed along especially tolerant and humanist lines after being brought to America by noted minister and chemist Joseph Priestley, among others, late in the 18th century. Influential people in our more recent history include Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Ellery Channing, and Theodore Parker.  Universalism, the doctrine of universal salvation, developed in Germany and England in the 17th and 18th centuries; the first Universalist church in America was founded in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1796.

The name Unitarian originally came from the belief in the "unity" of God rather than a Trinity. The name Universalism originated with the belief in "universal" salvation, the idea that everyone will be saved and no one is eternally damned. Unitarians and Universalists merged in 1961. Contemporary Unitarian Universalism has no creed and is an alternative to creed-based religions.

The most fundamental of UU principles is individual freedom of religious belief.

See also What do UUs believe?

So it won't be a mystery, click the following link to see our church's Membership Responsibilities, Benefits, and Process..

A heretic is one who is able to choose.
                 ~ Forrest Church
                        in A Chosen Faith

Learn more about what Unitarian Universalists believe:
http://www.uua.org/aboutuu/uufaq.html

Unitarians and Universalists have traditions hundreds of years old. The name Unitarian originally came from the belief in the "unity" of God rather than a Trinity (Jan Hus in the 1200s, Michael Servetus in the1500s). The name Universalism originated with the belief in "universal" salvation, the idea that everyone will be saved and no one is eternally damned. Unitarians and Universalists merged in 1961.

Contemporary Unitarian Universalism has no creed and is an alternative to creed-based religions. The most fundamental of its principles is individual freedom of religious belief.

Love is not concerned with whom you pray or where you slept the night you ran away from home. Love is concerned that the beating of your heart should kill no one.
                 ~ Alice Walker

The Saturday, April 8th, 2000 edition of The New York Times includes religion editor Gustav Niebuhr's article, "A Civil Rights Martyr Remembered"  about the murder of the Rev. James Reeb in Selma, Alabama, in 1965. Niebuhr interviews the Rev. Clark Olsen who, along with the Rev. Orloff Miller, was with Reeb when all three were attacked on a Selma street by a white mob on March 9, 1965. Reeb died on March 11, 1965. The three UU ministers were among the many clergy people who responded to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's call to Selma in the wake of the vicious attack upon marchers several days earlier at the Edmund Pettus bridge.

What does the Eternal ask of you but to be just and kind and to live in quiet fellowship with your God?
                 ~ Micah

...Salvation is by character; character is not an end, but a means, and salvation lies in being saved from sin here, not from punishment in the hereafter. Hell and eternal punishment are held to be inconsistent with the concept of a loving and all-powerful God.
                 ~ Mead and Hill in
A Handbook of Denominations in the United States

When he discovered a man attempting to murder a young woman whom he had made pregnant Inman, protagonist of Cold Mountain by Frazier, speaks of Universalism. The minister asked Inman not to shoot him as he was a "man of God." Inman's reply was, "Some say we all are."
It is also interesting that Frazier named the cow and the horse in the novel "Ralph" and "Waldo"!

The Unitarians challenged the belief in the trinity which was held by the majority of Christians. The Universalists questioned the doctrine of original sin, claiming rather that the "elect" for whom Christ died were indeed all people, not just a few.

"Bless, O God, these delectable vittles.
May they add to your glory And not to our middles."

...It appears to me, one gradually formulates one's religion, be it what it may.  A person has no religion who has not slowly and painfully gathered one together, adding to it, shaping it;  and one's religion is never complete and final, but must always be undergoing modification.
                 ~ D.H. Lawrence

Universalism struck hell from the theological menu; Unitarianism removed original sin.
                 ~ Forrest Church

The bond of unity in a church is not a shared belief but a shared worship. Worship (worth-ship) is an act of reverence for what is regarded as of great or supreme worth. In the ultimate analysis, this is but another way of capturing the real meaning of love... Worship in a Unitarian setting becomes a shared act of celebration expressing our love for things of worth - those values by which and for which we live, in whatever picture-language they may be symbolized.
                 ~ Phillip Hewett,
                    Canadian Unitarian minister

Cherish your doubts for doubt is the attendant of truth; it is the servant of discovery. Truth, if it be truth, arises from each testing stronger.
                 ~ Robert T. Weston

The creative process of ordering is an ongoing journey toward beauty. The inner understanding and outward expression must be integrous. The act of breathing is a sacred art.
                 ~ Navajo wisdom