My life has been a bit awkward, especially in the
religious sense. My dad was a altar boy when he was young
and now just doesn't even go to a church. My mom is a
fanatic and goes to the Baptist church every sunday, come
rain or shine. When my parents divorced in '91, I had
really messed up emotions and went with my mom and was
baptised 2 years later at the age of 11. Ever since, I've
had a weird feeling about the words the preacher was
saying and it confused me. I'm a learned individual, so
I have seen what other religions practice and
believe. From Islam, to Shinto, to even the lifestyles of
Buddhism, I've studied and they all seem to have the same
thing. They all believe in One God. That is certain. As
to the specifics and other parts, that's where they
skew. They're all from about the same time as well. I
have come to believe that all religions that are based
on a God, even some of the "pagan" ones (no offense
to anyone who practice it) and I want to believe in
that One God, not a narrow minded belief from just one
sect. Look at the Reformation. Luther,on his own, was
able to split the Catholic church and it became
successful not because people hated God, but because of the
Higher-Ups and how they screwed everything up. My Best
Friend is big into Wicca, so he's helped me somewhat,
but I do think that UU may be the one that speaks to
me the best. If this club can help me, I would very
much appreciate it.<br><br>Bandman

Hi Bandman, glad to hear from you!<br>Why don't you tell us a little more about
what you are feeling and what you are looking for in a religion.<br><br>~ Cher ~

i'm been unsure about my religion for a few
months. I just turned 18 in january and I really got a
chance to get away from the baptist church I went to for
years. I realized that all religion was basically things
that man wrote, not really from a higher being. Hope
any of you can help me.<br>Bandman

I believe most of us in the club are fairly new
to UU. Some of the UUs I have met that are
non-theists are not happy that the church quotes scriptures
or makes reference to any of the teachings of
traditional religions. The pagans would also like to hear
more about their earth based religion in the services
and I do agree with the pagans. <br><br>I am not
bothered by the inclusion of the teachings of the
traditional religions for two reasons: first, I believe they
were started by individuals that were the social
reformers of their day and wanted to help people become
better versions of themselves in order to create a more
civilized world. I feel I can gain from their messages.
Also, religion will remain a major social and political
force in the world for many years to come and I want to
be informed about their teachings; especially the
teachings of the ones that are manical in their attempt to
control people by force. If we don't keep the channels of
polite communication open; armed with real knowledge of
their beliefs, then we cannot hope to gain their
respect enough to change their manical views. Certainly,
I know that I can't hope to change the views of an
entire group; but I have talked to people
compassionately on an individual bases and I have seen the light
start to go on and their hearts soften a bit. It's a
start...<br><br>If you want to help in any way, great or small, to
help our world become a better place, then UU is a
good place to start. This is the home of social
activism and they have many wonderful programs you can
become involved with.<br><br> ~ Cher ~

I, being a fellow atheist or non-theist if I am
understanding the usage correctly, have met with no rejection
of my disbelief in the UU community thus far (about
2 weeks). I understand your hesitance though. I
assumed before reading anything about UU, that it was a
religion of any god so long as there was one. I have found
this not to be true. While it may be that the majority
of the congregation you meet believes in divinity of
some form, it is my impression and expectation that
you should feel no greater a minority and no less
accepted than a lone Budhist among Jews or the like. I
have heard it said that the only creed of UU is that
there shall be no creed. In my experience it has been
proven true. Welcome.

Well, I've only known about UU for a few weeks, but I've no problems with
accepting you.  *grin*

I thought I would seek your opinions.
<br><br>First off, are there any "old-hand" Unitarian
Universalists here? Or is this group only composed of new
members? Not that that means your opinions don't count.
Just wanted to know the breadth of UU experience in
the group.<br><br>Settle back. This might be a little
long.<br><br>I came across an entry about Unitarian Universalism
accidentally while following links from an atheist web site. I
was intrigued at first with the idea of finding a
congregation for my wife.* Now I wonder if this might not be
good for myself as well. You tell me - am I in the
wrong place?<br><br>The web site I found the reference
to UU on was an org (Canadian) on religious
tolerance. They indicated that there were even atheists in
UU. I am a hard-core atheist. By that I mean that I
hold to no superstition whatsoever. I don't believe in
gods or magic or astrology or psychic phenomena, etc.
I have been shown no valid scientific evidence for
any of these things. I don't pray. While I believe
meditation may be valid for some, the closest I get to this
is deep introspection. I accept some of the
quasi-spiritualism of things like ki (chi?) when I practiced aikido,
but I considered that to be a mind tool. A good
analogy to help accomplish something. Not a real
manifestation of mystic energy as some seriously
suggest.<br><br>I consider myself a liberal, albeit a practical
one. When I was young I believed in everyone's right
to religious/spiritual self-determination. (I still
do, actually, but I'm quieter about it.) Having lived
through Reagan and ultra-conservative Christian
conservatism the last 20 years has hardened me somewhat. I am
not now as forgiving of other peoples religious ideas
as I used to be. Unlike what I understand the UU
ideals to be, I do not tolerate everyone. Not everyone
allows themselves to be tolerable.<br><br>Reading about
Unitarian Universalism however has made me nostalgic for
the time when I felt better about humanity. Back
before doctors where shot for performing legal abortions
and anti-government nuts were praised because ~where~
they targeted authorities was an abortion clinic.
Before extremists bombed and mass-suicided and took
people hostage. Back before certain people decided that
religious tolerance could be thrown out by an intolerant
majority. People that demand prayer in school because they
feel certain that it will be their god that the prayer
is directed towards.<br><br>I have always believed
that the main draw a church has is one of community. I
did not object when my wife started taking our
daughter to church because I wasn't sure I should isolate
her from others that much. Atheists are not that good
at coming together, socially or otherwise. We're too
spread apart for one thing. For another, many of us fear
our neighbors and hide our lack of belief. A place
where one could talk and participate with others for
noble goals would be welcome.<br><br>So, I ask you,
would ~I~ be acceptable to UU? As an atheist? As a
cynic? As someone perhaps less tolerant than other UUs
of people who insist they have the only right
answers?<br><br>I'm interested in what you'll have to
say.<br><br>*Maybe I'll explain this sometime. (If you guys don't
run me off.) I'll just say here that my wife is not
an atheist but ~is~ very liberal. We moved from
Northern VA to Raleigh, NC. The churches are all to
conservative for her.

Hi Coldje - I found the website for the Unitarian-Universalists:
www.uua.org<br><br>Cher

Cher: Thanks, I shall have to look up the
biography. <br><br>Carmen et al: <br>I too visited my first
UU church just yesterday. I am greatly encouraged in
that the openness, toleration, and affirmation I have
been reading of is expressly observed at least in this
group. It was the first time I have joined a religious
service of my own accord. I have been to Christian and
Catholic services as the willing company of others, but
never as an interested participant. It's invigorating.
I look forward to visiting others and will travel
to the Seattle area this weekend if anyone has a
particular recommendation. <br> <br>Here's a little tidbit I
gleaned from the experience: <br>The minister spoke of
"worthship" or worship as attending to what has personal
value or worth. Somehow it settled me.
<br><br>Cheers,<br>Brian

Call your local UU church for the UU website and
you should be able to get your question answered
through the site. If I can locate my information on the
site, I'll post it for you. <br><br>Take care,<br><br>
~ Cher ~

Hi Carmen, I'm glad you joined us! <br><br>I
agree that time spent in quiet reflection praying or
meditating helps one to arrive at answers.<br><br>The UU
services are interesting...they do vary a bit from week to
week and I think you will enjoy attending.
<br><br>Take care,<br><br>Cher

Forgive me if this is not the place for this
post.<br>I've been a Cubmaster for two years. We've just
started attending a local UU congregation and my kids
just love it. I was pleased to find out that there is
a Boy Scouts of America Religious Emblems Program
for UU called "Love and Help." I'm currently most
familiar with the LDS "Faith in God" and "Duty to God"
emblems. Can anyone tell me where to look for information
so my two boys could earn the "Love and Help" emblem
?

Hi Cher and Brian, I like the discussion you're
starting so I thought I'd drop in and say something.
<br><br>I suppose if someone had to stick a label on me,
they'd consider me an agnostic. I don't believe that
it's possible for anyone to know what the divine is or
what it looks like. I don't know if there's anything
more divine or holy than the way my cat looks at me in
the morning with that "I love you, Mama...now feed
me" expression on her face, and frankly, I don't
think it matters.<br><br>I was not raised as a
religious person (and since I've only gone to two world
religions classes and one Sunday service at my local UU
church, I haven't yet figured out if I'm going to become
one), so I don't have much experience with prayer. But
if I may make a guess, could it be that spending
some time reflecting on a situation (whether it's
through prayer, meditation, or whatever) might allow
one's subconscious to help one arrive at a solution?
<br><br>By the way, in case anyone was wondering, the
classes and service were all quite interesting. Although
it was funny - I attended the Sunday service to see
what a typical service was like, so naturally they
were putting on a play instead. *grin* Oh well, maybe
this Sunday, then.

It was very thoughtful of you to resond. Yes, it
was a question open to all and I apologize for not
making that clear in my posting. I am very interested in
any views, traditional or otherwise, that one
has.<br><br>When I expressed that I think there is a "power" that
has a close and personal connection to us, or rather,
I should have said - a close connection to the the
universe...I am looking at the "power" as something similiar
to a scientist that has created something and has a
genuine care and interest in the outcome, but cannot
manipulate events once the experiment has begun.<br><br>To
answer your question: Why do I pray if I don't believe
it can change anything other than my own mind and
heart and why do I pray if I don't know who or what I
am praying to...The author and poet, Carl Sandburg,
wrote a wonderful biography of Abraham Lincoln and in
it he refers to a time when a member of Congress (I
believe it was) found President Lincoln, an atheist, on
his knees praying in the White House during the Civil
War. The person asked him: "Mr. President, you are an
atheist, why are you praying?" and Mr. Lincoln said, "I
pray when I have nowhere left to go."<br><br> ~ This
is also probably the best response I can give
~<br><br>This is a truly beautifully written book and one of my
all time favorites. It has been a long time since I
have read it and I am looking forward to reading it
again soon. <br><br>Best wishes Brian,<br><br>Cher

Perhaps you were asking someone in particular,
but in case it was an open question I'd like to
respond.<br><br>This is very exciting for me. I've heard of
Unitarianism or Universalism in passing but just started
reading about it tonight. I think you are right on. I've
just never heard it expessed so succinctly. Are there
really others in the world who think this way? (relief)
So here's my thoughts and feelings:<br><br>The only
thing I cannot identify with (and really I identified
more with you than anything else I have read) is that
the something that exists has a "close and concerned
connection with us." I think if anything exists it either
has not power or the concern to be connected to us.
<br><br>On Prayer: I agree that the only "prayer" (thought
or meditation) to any effect is in ourselves.
Therefore I do not pray because I cannot direct the
conversation to any outside force and hope for change.
Wonderful that you accept the functionality without getting
hung up on the details. Still, my question is "to whom
is your prayer directed?" It's the part I cannot get
past. I can process thought in my head or I can
discourse with another person, but I can't just pray
outward knowing that there's nothing in existence outside
myself to receive it.<br> <br>I hail your definition of
God. To me God is like Santa Clause. Forged into
existence by a concensus of recognition, reflecting the
character and its creators, and no less real as an entity
because of its fabrication. We pasted God in heaven and
it stuck, now it's very much there. Appropriate to
our collective human development there was a time
when it was necessary that the thing be greater than
ourselves, existing outside of humanity. I believe we have
passed that phase of development and are too hesitent in
flying free from the security of this nest. I think
humanity would do well to recognize the origin of divinity
in our social and individual conscience. <br><br>I
guess enough for now, are we on any common ground? I at
least enjoyed your query.<br><br>Sincerely,
<br><br>Brian

I consider myself to be a spiritual person who
prays often for self-guidance and the needs of others;
at the same time I do not believe in the concept of
"God". I realize that my prayers are probably not really
changing anything in the world as I would like to believe
they are. Rather, they are changing me and guiding me
toward acceptance and tolerance where needed and moving
me generally toward a positive and happy course in
life.<br><br>I really consider "God" to be a hope-filled
concept; man-made, to serve the emotionally fragile,
though intellectually superior animal that humans became
through evolution. Yet, I believe there is something that
exists that has a close and concerned connection to us.
<br><br>It would be wonderful if you would share your
beliefs and thoughts about this with me.<br><br>Cher

I have found the first thing you will find is
that UU is a very open minded religious path.
Religious Path being a very broad Term when referring to
UU. Thats not to mean that it is not religious, it
is. But in being religious UU respects the indivuals
views and ideals and this is what makes UU very
appealing.<br>They are very understanding.

Hi there.  I'm interested in UU.  What would you say is most important thing to
know when first starting out with uu?

well this place is jumping. <br>Lets start some posting and get this place
going<br>Who's got some quiestions, and who's got some anwsers??

A great resource I have found is the UU
Association page at <a href=http://www.uua.org
target=new>http://www.uua.org</a><br><br>There is alot
of information there including how to locate a local
church ,books, a msg board and alot alot
more.<br><br>Come back often

Thank you very much!

Hi,<br><br>You can call your local Unitarian
Church for information. I have recently joined a
congregation and a book that was suggested to me is: "Our
Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism"
by John A. Buehrens and Forrest Church. I have not
read it yet though, but I am attending the newcomers
classes which are great. Please don't feel like a fool
showing up for a service; they have members that greet
visitors and they are happy to answer questions after the
service. The services tend to be unique from week to week
and the emphasis is always on guiding you to become a
socially just and responsible member of society. They are
a liberal, accepting, and welcoming group.
Although, I have heard that each Church tends to be unique
and you may want to attend several Unitarian churches
before deciding on the one that meets your needs. Have a
happy spiritual journey and I would be more than happy
to assist you in any way I can.<br><br>Cher

Hi. I don't know if anyone here can help me or
not, but I was wondering what's the best way to learn
about your religion? Is there a book you could
recommend or should I just show up for church services?
What are your services like? I'd feel like a fool is I
just showed up not knowing anything. Thanks.

Vous êtes unitarien? vous êtes francophones ou
francophile? "UU en français" est un club Yahoo conçu pour
vous! Vous y trouverez des traductions de textes (dont
l'énoncé de principe de l'UUA), des images, des personnes
qui partagent votre foi et votre langue.
Inscrivez-vous maintenant: c'est gratuit, pratique et
rigolo!<br><br>Au plaisir de vous rencontrer virtuellement... ou
qui sait, de vous voir en personne!

Well it's about to be a new year and hopefully it will be better than the
last.<br>I wish everyone the best and hope we can get this club off the ground

no it's not just for pictures.<br>like the msg
onthe main page says<br>"Here is a place for Newcomers
to Unitarian Universalism to come together , Share
information and help each other."<br>so lets start chatting
folks and sharing info.<br><br>I look forward to
readnig more.

Hey Bearcloud,<br><br>Is this also a talk board
because I thought it was made to post pictures. I have no
way to scan a picture in here, not that Im sure I
would hehe, but is it for pictures
only????????<br><br>Sherry

lets start some posting here folks toget it going

Well someone said we need a place to post pictures well here ya go.

Welcome, This is the Yahoo! Message Board for Newcomers2UU community.