On Sunday, I will be officially joining the Unitarian Universalist congregation I've attended as a visitor off and on for the past 15 years - since college, basically. I grew up Episcopalian. and I have also done quite a bit of personal study of Buddhism, so I sort of consider myself a Christian-Buddhist. I'm a big fan of the JC (that would be Jesus), so I definitely continue to include the Christian part of my belief system and heritage in my spirituality, particularly as it relates to Christ's social gospel. And although I've basically fought the idea over the years that the UU church is where I belong, I've finally surrendered to it.
Having grown up in a church with a lot of structured ritual and liturgy, I have really struggled with the lack of those elements in the Unitarian Universalist tradition. As a cradle Episcopalian ( I was christened, confirmed, married, and had all four of my children christened in the Episcopal church), I do love me some incense and Book of Common Prayer with my weekly worship, thank you very much. I also love beautiful, old, traditional-looking church buildings, with stained glass. I like taking communion, and I like kneeling while I confess my sins. I don't really get any of that in my worship as a UU - or very much of it, anyway. And for many years, I focused primarily on what I found myself missing when I attended UU worship, as opposed to everything I was gaining.
But as I have grown older, and have become more aware of and comfortable with my own belief system, I also knew with increasing certainty that my own religious convictions are most in sync with those of the UU tradition, which the church articulates thusly:
- 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.
Unitarian Universalism (UU) draws from many sources:
- Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
- Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
- Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
- Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
- Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.
- Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.
These principles and sources of faith are the backbone of our religious community.
I also found, as I sampled different local churches (mostly Episcopalian) in recent years, trying to find my own spiritual basecamp, that although I discovered some congregations I really liked a lot, I still found myself sort of dreading the hassle of getting up and going to church on Sunday morning, rather than looking forward to it. I have always intended to make regular church attendance, along with active involvement in a congregation, part of my family life, but to be honest, my efforts have been pretty hit-or-miss. My three older children have all attended an Episcopal School for elementary and middle school, so I felt good that they were getting plenty of churchin' at school, and in recent years, their father has become more involved in his Episcopal church, and he takes the children with him to services pretty much weekly. But as far as getting a religious grounding from me, or committed family involvement in a particular congregation, well, I've really done a pretty poor job.
Then something terrible happened that crystalized my understanding that I am a Unitarian Universalist. Back in July, the UU church I have attended sporadically for more than a decade was brutalized by a gunman, who burst into the sanctuary during services, killing several people and wounding others. Many of my friends and neighbors were inside the church that morning. The man who is accused of this terrible crime allegedly expressed in writing, and verbally his desire to attack the church specifically due to the congregation's liberal religious tradition and activism. I covered the story as it unfolded in my job (at that time) as a local news producer, and I remember having a sudden certainty that day that I am indeed a UU - that these people are my spiritual brothers and sisters, and that I needed to go home to my church.It was the closest thing to a personal religious revelation I've ever had.
So two weeks later, I began attending services weekly, and taking my three youngest children with me (H. is old enough to decide for himself whether he wants to attend services with us). Suddenly, I realized that I wasn't dreading the hassle of getting an entire family up and out the door to church on Sundays. In fact, I was really looking forward to it. I started tentatively reaching out to people via the church's e-mail discussion group. Although I am very outgoing by nature, I have always, for some reason, found it hard to make new friends at church. But I've decided to make a concerted effort to do so, and I've already met some new people in the congregation. I am casting around for an area of congregational life where I can get involved (given that I have four children and a full-time job), and I plan to figure out a structured giving plan to make sure I am donating regularly. And yep, I am finally actually officially joining the congregation.
I still wish the UU worship service included some of the more traditional elements I miss from Episcopal worship. But on the other hand, I've realized that I was missing an awful lot of things from the UU tradition when I attended Episcopal services. I've decided that I will now bloom where I'm planted, as a UU. And finally making that decision in a definitive way feels really right.
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