Ask the UU!

[Maize]

By the way, I had meant to ask before, Is there a significant difference between UU and UUE?

I'm still having my morning coffee... you'll have to tell me what UUE stands for first. :o

 

[Rochir]

So, here's your chance to ask anything about Unitarian Universalism!

Do UU believe in a Higher Being? I know many Christian Unitarians do - we call Him God!

And thanks for starting this nice thread, Maize!

 

[Maize]

Do UU believe in a Higher Being?

As with most (if not all) questions of theology my answer will be: Some do, some do not. We do not have a defined doctrine of God. We are free to develop individual concepts of God that are meaningful to us. We are also free to reject the term and concept altogether.

Most of us do not believe in a supernatural, supreme being who can directly intervene in and alter human life or the mechanism of the natural world. Many do believe in a spirit of life or a power within themselves, which some choose to call God.

 

[urnotme]

Interesting!
So Truth as we know it or think of it is not Absolute? It changes over time.

What changes it?

If truth is not absolute there is no such thing as truth. Facts will change but truth but truth either is or it is not.

 

[Maize]

If truth is not absolute there is no such thing as truth. Facts will change but truth but truth either is or it is not.

I would say that our perception and understanding of that absolute truth changes, and can never be fully known (at least on in this lifetime).

BTW, Happy Birthday!

 

[loriersea]

If truth is not absolute there is no such thing as truth. Facts will change but truth but truth either is or it is not.

Not necessarily. My favorite color is green. That's true. That doesn't mean it's absolute truth. Some truths are subjective rather than objective, and obviously a subjective truth is not going to be absolute.

I have some UU books for my son, and there are two stories that come up several times in them that I think get at the UU idea of truth, at least as far as truth about divinity is concerned. One is the story of the blind men and the elephant, that you've probably heard. Several blind men are out walking and they come upon an elephant, which is an animal they have never encountered before. One feels his tail, one feels his tusk, one feels his trunk, one feels his side, and they all come to entirely different conclusions about what exactly it was that they just encountered. The other story is of the Queen of a village walking down the street wearing a beautiful hat. After she passes by, the people standing on the right side of the street insist she was wearing a red hat, the people standing on the left side of the street insist she was wearing a blue hat, and the village ends up splitting into two groups, that war for years over whether their Queen is Red-Hatted or Blue-Hatted. Later the Queen returns and, seeing her head-on, the people realize that her hat is blue on one side and red on the other. The point of both of those, I think, is that we are simply not in a position to fully understand God. We can understand parts of God, and we can get glimpses of God, but they are incomplete, and as such as cannot come up with a total picture of who God is.

Saying that different religious traditions all have some insight into God is NOT the same as saying that all religious traditions are right. After all, each of the blind men got something right about the elephant, but they were wrong in their conclusion about what they encountered. The people of the village were partly right about the Queen's hat, but they were also partly wrong. So, the idea is NOT that all religious traditions are right, but that all could have insight into God but are necessarily incomplete.

 

[urnotme]

Sure. This is what I said in this thread.
Services often begin with the lighting of the chalice-the symbol of Unitarian Universalism. Brief words of reflection are usually read as it is lit, inaugurating the start of the service.

We sing from our hymnal Singing the Living Tradition, which contains a wide range of traditional and contemporary songs, using gender-inclusive language. Many congregations have choirs.

Many congregations reserve a time in their services for lighting "Candles of Joy and Concern" or "Candles of Community." Members are invited to come up from their pews and light a candle at the front of the church to honor an event in their lives, to share an idea, or to ask for the thoughts and prayers of the community.

After the service, most congregations sponsor "coffee hour"-a chance for people to socialize informally and to discuss the worship service.

Who or what do you pray to and what do you worship?

 

[Maize]

Who or what do you pray to and what do you worship?

Meditate might be a better word to use than pray. Most Sunday services have a time for meditation, often preceded by spoken words from the minister. In a theistic congregation, prayers will be addressed to a deity; in a humanist congregation, prayers will take the form of personal reflection and meditation. This will vary by congregation.

We are not required to worship anything or anyone. Although some churches do refer to their Sunday services as worship services (our Christian tradtion showing through).

 

[Druweid]

I'm still having my morning coffee... you'll have to tell me what UUE stands for first. :o

Actually, I'm not sure. I seem to remember some years ago being in a UU church, but seeing "UUE" on some of the literature. Is there, or perhaps was there, an Evangelical UU church? Then again, I may not be remembering correctly.

 

[Maize]

Actually, I'm not sure. I seem to remember some years ago being in a UU church, but seeing "UUE" on some of the literature. Is there, or perhaps was there, an Evangelical UU church? Then again, I may not be remembering correctly.

Could it have been a UUF? Which would be a UU Fellowship?

While there are some self-described Evangelical UUs, but they differ quite a bit in approach from what you would think of as an Evangelical Christian.

And no, there is no Evangelical UU church. Proselytizing is not on our menu.

 

[hartlandcat]

Might you possibly mean the UCC (United Church of Christ)? I understand that it's quite liberal, but it's an American denomination so I can't offer any further comment. I heard that there are some shared UU and UCC churches in America.

 

[Maize]

Might you possibly mean the UCC (United Church of Christ)? I understand that it's quite liberal, but it's an American denomination so I can't offer any further comment. I heard that there are some shared UU and UCC churches in America.

That may be. We do work closely with the UCC on certain things and I would feel quite at home in a UCC church. In fact, I moved states last year and was worried I wouldn't be able to find a UU church in my new area. I did (a quite wonderful church at that), but if I hadn't I would have looked up a UCC church to attend.

 

[Maize]

Could it have been a UUF? Which would be a UU Fellowship.

Before it is asked, I'll go ahead and explain the difference between a UU church and a UU Fellowship.

Unitarian Universalism is "Congregational" in Polity. What that means is that each church is independent of the denomination, free to choose its own leaders, ministers, liturgy, worship topics, and within large boundaries, policies and procedures. Each church could even choose to leave the UUA if it wanted to. The "Congregation" is the basic organizational unit within the UUA, and makes decisions for itself. The denomination cannot order or dictate to the member Churches, as in essence, the denomination works for the member churches. (Sometimes they forget this, and need a little reminding). This is part of why each UU Church/Congregation/Society/Fellowship etc. is unique in its character, style, structure, etc.

UU Churches are a lot like protestant Christian Churches in structure and style. They have a minister (often several) and a very protestant Christian church facility. They tend to be the larger UU Churches, and are a bit more formal in style. They usually are very well organized, and often have long histories (though not always).

A Fellowship is, well, different. Often, they are Lay lead. They do not have a Full time UU minister, or even a minister at all. They are generally smaller, and fiercely independent. Services are planned and presented by members, members serve as "Lay ministers" for weddings and other such life ceremonies. They generally have smaller "fellowship halls" but sometimes meet in rental spaces. Sometimes they develop into UU Churches, but not always.

 

[Druweid]

Before it is asked, I'll go ahead and explain the difference between a UU church and a UU Fellowship.

From the desciption you give, yes, it must have been UUF. I simply remembered incorrectly. Still, the question led to the right answer. Very kewl. Thank you!

-- Druweid

 

[Rochir]

As with most (if not all) questions of theology my answer will be: Some do, some do not. We do not have a defined doctrine of God. We are free to develop individual concepts of God that are meaningful to us. We are also free to reject the term and concept altogether.

Most of us do not believe in a supernatural, supreme being who can directly intervene in and alter human life or the mechanism of the natural world. Many do believe in a spirit of life or a power within themselves, which some choose to call God.

Hmm, that's what I thought.

In that sense, do you think it is appropriate to call UU a philosophical movement rather than a religious one? Since one of the main things that for me make something a religion (some sort of supernatural entity) is mostly lacking?

Do UU celebrate any kinds of "services"?

 

[Rochir]

In 1961 the Unitarians and Universalists merged in the US. There has since been some Unitarians who want to hold to the more traditional (Christian) view of Unitarianism, but it is a small movement.

Au contraire! There are strong communities of Christian Unitarians (to which I count myself) mainly on the east coast of the USA, and also in Europe. King's Chapel Congregation in Boston, Massachusetts is the oldest American Christina Unitarian congregation and going strong!

But I would agree that Christian unitarians may be more represented in Europe than in the USA. However, to call them a small movement is not a true representation of their numbers, I believe!

 

[Maize]

Hmm, that's what I thought.

In that sense, do you think it is appropriate to call UU a philosophical movement rather than a religious one? Since one of the main things that for me make something a religion (some sort of supernatural entity) is mostly lacking?

Well, I don't think you need a belief in the supernatural to have a religion, the Buddhists have shown us that. In dealing with beliefs and theology, it's important to note that UUism is a way of being religious rather than a religious doctrine. For us, religion is an ongoing search for meaning, purpose, value and spiritual depth in one's life.

Do UU celebrate any kinds of "services"?

Well I described our Sunday services earlier so I guess you're asking about special days/holidays?

Birth, marriage, death - we mark all of these occasions with ceremony. These ceremonies are not considered sacraments. The minister tailors each service to the people personally involved, so that the ceremony will be especially appropriate to them.

The type of ceremony varies by congregation; there is no officially sanctioned induction ceremony. Two or three times each year, many congregations conduct an informal ceremony as part of a Sunday service in which new members are formally welcomed to the church.

We celebrate holidays such as Christmas and Easter. The difference may be that we tie these holidays more to the changing seasons than we do to traditional Christian themes. They are honored as celebrations of the winter solstice and the spring equinox -- the hope and promise symbolized by the lengthening of the daylight hours in December, and the renewal of life in spring after the winter season of darkness.

The traditional accounts of the birth of Jesus and of the Resurrection are sometimes included in these celebrations and cited as myths which contain a positive message about human life. The birth of a child, for example, represents the hope and promise found in each new life. The crucifixion and Resurrection are symbolic of how new life can emerge even after a time of pain and suffering. As with the Bible itself, these stories are not taken literally but for what they symbolically tell us about human life.

We celebrate Easter as the return of spring and the renewal of life; in this respect we draw more on the pagan rather than the Christian origin of this holiday. The New Testament accounts of the Resurrection may be cited as a symbol of the strength, power and renewal of life. We do not accept the idea of a physical resurrection.

Also, it varies from congregation to congregation, but will we celebrate and recognize holidays and holy days of other religions as well. Though practices vary in our congregations and change over time, UUs celebrate many of the great religious holidays. Whether we gather to celebrate Christmas, Passover, or the Hindu holiday Divali, we do so in a universal context, recognizing and honoring religious observances and festivals as innate and needful in all human cultures.

 

[Maize]

Au contraire! There are strong communities of Christian Unitarians (to which I count myself) mainly on the east coast of the USA, and also in Europe. King's Chapel Congregation in Boston, Massachusetts is the oldest American Christina Unitarian congregation and going strong!

I stand corrected then! Thank you for the information. I am aware of the Unitarian history in the North East, but I didn't know it was still much of a factor today. I will read more about this.

 

[Catholicism]

In my travels across various religious forums on the internet, I frequently encounter people who have either never heard of Unitarian Universalism or if they have they've been given incorrect/incomplete information.




So, here's your chance to ask anything about Unitarian Universalism!




p.s. I have no wish to debate and I will not respond to rude or inflammatory comments about my religion, I will simply ask that a moderater delete them. So, let's please all be nice.




Shalom.

What is there profession of Faith? What do they believe? What are the specific things that every one of it's members must believe, to be able to truthfully be able to tag UU to their beliefs?

 

[Maize]

What is there profession of Faith? What do they believe? What are the specific things that every one of it's members must believe, to be able to truthfully be able to tag UU to their beliefs?

No, there is no profession of faith.

We covenant to affirm and promote:

• 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.

But individual freedom of belief is paramount in UU.