ELEVATOR SPEECHES

What are some of the barriers to lay UUs talking about UU?

One of the tenets of effective networking for job hunting is that you can't talk with someone about the fact that you are job hunting. Asking someone for a job is the quickest way to shut down communication. The "trick" then is to have a conversation about something else during which the fact that you are looking for a job may (or may not) come up.

For example, I might call someone because (let's say) I am working on an article about marketing in religion and I want to get her input and advice on what she sees as the big challenges. Will she take my call? I think so. Will she ask me who I am and what my background is? Yes. Will she learn that I am a consultant? You bet! but I'm not directly calling her for a job.

The conversation would be completely different if I called and said "Hi John, I'm a consultant providing blah blah blah...". <shudder> I can feel myself tensing up even just thinking about it! The same is true for our congregations. It's much easier to talk about things that are happening than talking about UU & religion.

The place for the elevator speech is in the context of a conversation. If someone asked me "What's UU", a concise answer is required, not an hour long treatise or a lot of humming and hawing. The elevator speech is not, in itself, a way to open a conversation.

It's much more effective if people in the congregation have *something* to talk with people about besides UU directly. Like my "article" above, it's a vehicle to engage in conversation with people during which they will learn something about UU.

What is the *something*? It could be a local issue. It could be an event or a planned seminar series on a local topic or the environment, a living wage. Any issue that is of interest in the community that anyone in the congregation might have a reason to tell other people about it from their neighbor to the mayor. I can see calling the mayor of our city and saying "We're planning a seminar series on a living wage. I know that this is an important issue in our town and I'd like to get your advice on topics to cover and speakers you could recommend."

Dean
Outreach Chair, Chalice UU Congregation, Escondido, CA

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There are three things I try to do about my faith.
1. I try to mention the word "Unitarian" at least once a week in everyday conversation. Thus I never say "I plan to go to church this weekend" but "I am going to the Unitarian Church this weekend." or "...at the coffee hour after the Unitarian service we talked about..". This does lead people to ask about the church as most people, especially here in Puerto Rico, have never heard of it.

2. I have added my church's web site to my signature in all my emails. I also have the first of our principles. I intended to rotate them, but it is another thing I never got around to.

3. I wear a "Flaming Chalice" pendant around my neck every day. When people ask me about it, and they do, it allows me a chance to talk about the free and independent search for truth and meaning.

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How do YOU express your faith in just a few words?

Our religion can be an expanding mosaic of enriching personalities that think and feel and act with compassionate vision concerning how best to live and grow in this life and this world.

Unitarian Universalism is a warm and welcoming space for those seeking to be a caring human being through sharing and discussion and recognition of individual dignity.

We are a church that believes actions speak louder than recited creeds or spoken beliefs.

Justice without a deity.

Being with UUs allows me to explore who I am and what I believe in a like community of people who respect the individual search.

A sharing caring responsible self help search for truth where we believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person and that even a question may be an answer.

I believe there is truth and meaning in all faiths. I believe in my right to find my own personal truth and freedom in my own responsible individual search.

We're people of many beliefs worshiping together, but unified by seven principles which include love, justice, and freedom for all.

A UU is one who welcomes various views on what the truth is.

An opportunity to bridge differences and be enriched through community, to speak as a religion to the needs of our present.

Having the freedom to search for truth, having love and respect for all mankind, being able to embrace words of wisdom from different sources.

My faith accepts the wisdom gleaned from all peoples and religions on the earth. We believe in justice, truth, and love for all of humankind. We respect our collective roles we play in the universe.

I like the honesty I hear. I'm looking for God or the spirit that inspires the concept of God. Compassion, honesty, and tolerance of people's choices.

We don't believe that any religion has a monopoly on the truth, though each has some wisdom to offer. As a UU I have the freedom to draw from all religions to establish the set of beliefs that best satisfy my personal experience and provide guidance in becoming a better person in the sense of respecting my fellow people and the physical world of which we are a part.

Everyone is important, ideas are listened to; people care for one another; truth, justice and the importance of our planet and nature are vital to all nations and peoples.

A UU church where I can unite with those who share a strong, active belief in spiritual growth, personal closeness, and inner peace full of love, joy, and justice.

It is a church where I can discover and distill what is important and sacred to myself. It is a place where I can have a community where I find out what is sacred and important to each member. Where honest similarities and differences are honored.

I believe in God. I believe in trying to be a good person. This church allows freedom of thought.

A place where people of all religions come together to worship and share in spirituality. A place where we learn to respect others' beliefs. A safe place of spiritual freedom and discussion.