Unitarian Universalist- Part 2

"We share no common cultural or theological background; there is no magical formula that originally awakened the spiritual consciences in all of us. Nevertheless, our testimonies all reflect a clear and common focus- a thirst for knowledge and the use of reason, inextricably linked to the necessity for authentic spiritual growth. At times these stories echo and reverberate with each other, reflecting parallel lives, but for the most part, they weave a web that transcends its universal strands. This network of experiences enriches and is enriched within the context of Unitarian Universalism."
Ervin Barrios and Julio Noboa, editors of Jornadas Espirituales Latinas (Latino/Latina Spiritual Journeys), a pamphlet my friend handed me while we were talking outside the sanctuary entrance. ( I'm interested in Latin American culture and want to become proficient in Spanish.) I smiled at the pamphlet and stuck it in my purse, only to pull it out Monday while spending about an hour in a waiting room and actually look over it. What Barrios and Noboa said about the UU emphasis on reasoning and its ties to authentic spiritual growth struck me. That emphasis on intellect and growth is one of the things I enjoyed about the UU church during my short time there.

Visit to the UU, take two:

First observation: Wow! There was a lot of diversity in age and gender. I really was unable to look at someone and say "Yeah, that looks like a typical Unitarian Universalist" because the range of types of people was large. I guess people didn't look as "meditating, artist, vegetarian type" (haha) as they did to me before (but it is quite possible that where I'm located has a lot to do with that, also possible that now I'm more that type of person- even went through a brief vegan stage- than I was at the age of 14, so I don't find that strange anymore).

Second observation: Wohoo! They used coffee mugs instead of paper cups!! They also recycle bulletins (which my home church does as well). Green consciousness! Also, the sanctuary was decorated with several paintings of nature.

Third observation: There were more people there than I expected to see, but still not a ton. I'm in the midwest. Unitarian Universalists are few and far between here. There were about 60 people (and there is an earlier service, so there are more of them- haha, "them").

Onto the service... which, in its structure, was very much like many churches I've been to.

They began with a gathering song, which I believe is the same every week. It's a traditional Navajo prayer:

Ancient Mother, I hear your calling; Ancient Mother, I hear your song.
Ancient Mother, I feel your laughter.; Ancient Mother, I taste your tears.

Welcome and announcements... then we sang "For the Beauty of the Earth," an old Protestant Hymn... Then, the lighting of the Chalice. A flaming chalice is the symbol of the UU church. As Wikipedia puts it, "There is no orthodox interpretation of the flaming chalice symbol. In one interpretation, the chalice is a symbol of religious freedom from the impositions of doctrine by a hierarchy and open to participation by all; the flame is interpreted as a memorial to those throughout history who sacrificed their lives for the cause of religious liberty." The 2 rings around the chalice represent the joining of the beliefs of Unitarian and Universalism.



Next came the children's message (one of the most impressive children's sermon's I've seen- the reverend orally told a Balinese folktale, Gecko Cannot Sleep, much in the same way it would have been told hundreds of years ago. This folktale was about the interconnectedness of every creature on earth, which tied in very well to the adult sermon)...

Then, the offering. I was happy to hear the reverend tell visitors to let the baskets pass by them.

I found the "Sharing of our Joys and Sorrows" portion of the sermon interesting. If people did not care to share with the entire congregation what they were going through, they could walk to the front of the church and light a candle in silence, sort of quietly lifting their need before the congregation.

I was most impressed with the reverend. She was extremely articulate, intelligent, warm, and well-read. People and traditions that contributed to and were alluded to in the sermon included: Ursula Goodenough (Cell biologist and writer), philosopher John Dewey, St. Francis of Assisi, Descartes, Wangari Maathai (Kenyan Nobel peace-prize winning Environmental Activist), Adam and Eve, plus the Navajo and the Balinese. It is clear to me that UU's consider no one text perfect and sacred, but rather view all religions and cosmologies with an anthropological appreciation, borrowing the "sensible" from each and using those parts to improve this world, and also to address questions about an afterlife and personal well-being, but mostly paying attention to the tidying up of our earthly selves and of the world we currently live in.

The culturally popular, postmodern belief that you should follow whichever path you feel is right, as long as you don't push it on others is one that I've made fun of for a long time and viewed with contempt. The rational part of me wants to know which one religion (if any) is true, then go with that line of thought, not waste my time studying a bunch of religions (and only on a superficial level- not actually embracing all parts of that religion [because, most likely, if you were to, you would find that they cancel each other out and cannot be embraced simultaneously]) that aren't true. Man, I'm good at writing run-on sentences! But, it seems that UU's encourage religious literacy more so than they encourage religious belief. It is okay to find holes in religions, and it's also okay to find strength in religions. There is no dogma. You don't need to adhere to any set of beliefs. It's just a place where humans from different backgrounds can enter into religious, scientific, historic, humanistic, and philosophical dialogue. It is a place that provides community to the freethinkers who don't adhere to any religion in particular as well as a place for those who lean more closely toward Buddhism, Christianity, Sikhism...

I think drawing inspiration from the countless cosmologies that have existed over time and some of the ones that exist today is great. It connects you to humanity at large. Whether the religion(s) was (were) created to answer some of the basic questions any religion addresses, but has/have mostly been "proven" false (you really can't prove any religion false because proving is part of the scientific process and faith cannot be brought into that) or the religion(s) is/are one(s) that stand(s) to reason, if you can draw joy, peace, and kindness from believing in it/them, by all means, believe. I am so obsessed with THE truth (you can blame that on my Christian upbringing or my rational nature), however, that I don't think I could embrace conflicting cosmologies as my world view. Maybe you can only "believe" in parts of all religions if you don't really believe in any of them. If you recognize them as created structures and just take the parts that have worked for people before. I think if I came back to UU (which I see as entirely possible), it would be because of the encouragement to believe what you will and contribute to the congregational dialogue.

Gahhh, this has gotten long! The sermon was actually about the sacredness of the earth and about how we need to tend it lovingly. I found it easy to recycle and not litter, but at the same time, not engage in any real environmental activism in my Evangelical Christian belief. After all, souls need to be saved and people need to be fed- those needs come first. And what good is it to clean up the earth when Christ is returning soon and God will restore the earth on his own? An attitude like that is what makes a lot of religious people not care enough about the environment. Their focus is so on the afterlife, their investment solely on the soul, that taking care of what we see right now seems to matter little in comparison. And if Christianity is true, then I can completely see that a place where souls will rest for all eternity would be a more important focal point than this place we reside in for, in comparison, the blink of an eye. But, what if what they're banking on is not going to happen? What if Jesus is not returning and there is no heaven and hell? If nothing comes after we die, we had better work on making our small lives meaningful and doing what we can to change the world for the better. Our world is, after all, the only powerful (divine?) force we can see right now, and it is our home. At one point, the reverend had us all close our eyes and picture our favorite place in nature. This was mine:





See how happy it made me? :)

How can beauty like that of Malin Head, Ireland not make me love this earth and want to improve it? Then again, many Christians would say, "How can a place that beautiful not have a Creator?"

Wrapping up... I enjoyed the UU. The acceptance of people from all backgrounds, the encouragement of curiosity, the progressive nature, the nondiscrimination... I liked it.

After I got home, my mom asked me which church I visited. I had considered making up a Christian church, just because I knew that she would be afraid for me if she knew the truth, but I just couldn't lie like that. When I said, "Unitarian Universalist," she inhaled sharply, looked away, then said, "You know, I've been praying that this church visiting thing doesn't make you stray." That broke my heart a little. I just had to force a "I'm fine, Mom. Please don't worry about me." and walk away, afraid to think about when I'll actually tell her and my father where I'm at.