I am a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Chattanooga (www.uuc.org). There...I said it for all the world to know! When I joined a year ago, I was almost ashamed to tell people around here where I went to church. I would say something about church on Sunday and let them make their assumptions. Well, in the past few months, I have started telling people where I go. This has opened my eyes to the fact that not many people know what happens in that "church you can see from the interstate".
The beauty of the UUC is that there are no judgments (well...human nature is to judge a bit)...but, for the most part, no judgments. You aren't judged by the clothes you wear, what you believe, what you have done in the past, what you will do in the future, who you live with, who you are married to...It is a wonderful place to be. Each person's religious beliefs are personal. We have Christians, Buddhists, Atheists, Pagans, Agnostics and so on. Here, we are all in it together. Folks can freely discuss religion without agendas. I know I could say this all so much more eloquently, but there is it.
We have 7 Principles:
- The inherent worth and dignity of every person.
- Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations.
- Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations.
- A free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
- The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations, and in society at large.
- The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.
- Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
When I started telling people that I belong to the UU church, I started getting interesting opinions of what "goes on there". I have been asked, "Oh, that is like Unity Christ, right?"; "That is the place where they worship the stars?"; "We went there before and it was full of pagans!"; "It is the place where if you can't ration it out, then you don't believe it". And, I promise you, I have heard all of these things.
So, I am thinking, more folks need to know what we do, what we believe, and we just might have more folks who feel the same way join the UU church.
Have you ever used beliefnet (www.beliefnet.com)? It is the website that allows you to answer some questions and then tells you what religion would be best for you. Interesting, huh? Well, seems I rank highest as a Quaker then a Unitarian Universalist.
So, I have found my home. I am not ashamed.
