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VISITORS & NEWCOMERS• Newcomer Questions |
THEOLOGY
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. 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. The most fundamental of our principles is individual freedom of religious belief. We do not ask anyone to subscribe to a creed.
Unitarians do not claim the right to define God for anyone. We recognize that the word 'God' has no single definition. These are some of the ways in which we describe and experience God:- • As a universal father or mother.
• As a unifying and life-giving spirit, reflective of both masculine and feminine.
• As the source of all being, within which the creative process is unfolding.
• As a primarily inward reality, the "still, small voice".
• As a symbol for the noblest visions and aspirations of humankind, the standard against which to measure ourselves.
• As a 'great mystery' about which little can be said. Some Unitarians find the word 'God' meaningless, or believe it too misused to have any value.
• As the Ultimate in their own belief system
• As what is of supreme worth and significance in their own lives.
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She was truly afraid of nothing. She said: "God is the Unique, and he is so perfect that he does not resemble any of the things that exist or any of the things that do not; you cannot describe him using your human intelligence, as if he were someone who becomes angry if you are bad or who worries about you out of goodness, someone who has a mouth, ears, face, wings, or that is spirit, father or son, not even of himself. Baudolino by Umberto Eco |
Structure
The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) represents the interests of more than one thousand Unitarian Universalist congregations, on a continental scale. The UUA grew out of the consolidation, in 1961, of two religious denominations: the Universalists, organized in 1793, and the Unitarians, organized in 1825.
With its historical roots in the Jewish and Christian traditions, Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion -- that is, a religion that keeps an open mind to the religious questions people have struggled with in all times and places. We believe that personal experience, conscience and reason should be the final authorities in religion, and that in the end religious authority lies not in a book or person or institution, but in ourselves.
Our congregations are self-governing. Authority and responsibility are vested in the membership of the congregation. Each Unitarian Universalist congregation is involved in many kinds of programs. Worship is held regularly, the insights of the past and the present are shared with those who will create the future, service to the community is undertaken, and friendships are made. A visitor to a UU congregation will very likely find events and activities such as church school, day-care centers, lectures and forums, support groups, poetry festivals, family events, adult education classes and study groups.
Are you a UU? www.beliefnet.com offers an interesting "Belief-O-Matic" quiz that can help you identify your preferred religious tradition.
2004 Richard Borden Sermon Awards - The Rev. Michelle Bentley, Director of Professional Development for the UUA's Ministry and Professional Leadership Staff Group, has announced the winners of the 2004 Richard Borden Sermon Award Competition. The winning sermons and their authors are:
Playing With the Italians
Rev. Edward A. Frost, Atlanta, GA
Restoration
Rev. Marjorie (Midge) Skwire, Rocky River, OH
It Might Have Been Otherwise: Spiritual Gratitude
Rev. Edwin Charles Lynn, Danvers, MA
Reconciliation
Rev. Stephen H. Furrer, Santa Fe, NM
In A Homeless Person's Place
Rev. Susan M. Milnor, Columbia, PA
Unitarian Universalist Church in Eugene, Oregon
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