The Flaming Chalice (ritual, Earth, attend, church, spiritual)

[Smoke]

I really like this one:

[jerzybg]

ilithu, Thank you for the explanation.
Maybe, there are some members of UU Church in Poland
and I will do my best do see their ceremonies.
all the best

[jerzybg]

It's me again,
Do you use any paintings, sculptures to decorate your church buildings inside?
Are they only Christian type or belong to other religious traditions?
Any photos of interiors of your buildings are welcome.

[MaddLlama]

As I said, I don't know whether all UUs do this. But the UU congregation of which I was a part in Stony Brook NY also lit their chalice for services, and they were much more secular than my current church.

This is sort of off topic, but I wanted to ask you about this.

The UU church in Stony Brook was the only one I've ever attended (and unfortunately couldn't be there for more than a few months since I moved down to Long Beach). What about the church in comparison to others makes it secular, and is this unusual for UU churches?

[Green Gaia]

Originally Posted by jerzybg

It's me again,
Do you use any paintings, sculptures to decorate your church buildings inside?
Are they only Christian type or belong to other religious traditions?
Any photos of interiors of your buildings are welcome.

It varies greatly from congregation to congregation.

[Green Gaia]

Originally Posted by MaddLlama

What about the church in comparison to others makes it secular, and is this unusual for UU churches?

I know you weren't asking me, but I think I can explain. There is little set framework for a UU congregation although you will see similarities among all of them. The congregation is made of of individuals who decide for themselves what programs and ministries to offer. So if you get a group that leans more towards secularism (atheists, humanists, etc.) then of course your congregation is going lean that way. These tend to be (in my experience) the more politically active congregations as well.

But the opposite is true as well. If you have a group that wants to explore the spiritual and mysteries and to do that through established and new spiritual practices, then your congregation will offer more opportunities for that.

[MaddLlama]

Thanks Maize, that actually helps me out a lot.

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by MaddLlama

This is sort of off topic, but I wanted to ask you about this.

The UU church in Stony Brook was the only one I've ever attended (and unfortunately couldn't be there for more than a few months since I moved down to Long Beach). What about the church in comparison to others makes it secular, and is this unusual for UU churches?

Ha! I used to attend the UU fellowship at Stony Brook. They called themselves a fellowship, not a church, at least while I was there, which is one of the ways in which they were more secular than the UU church I attend now.

Given that about 45% percent of UUs self-identify as humanists I would doubt this is unusual. Tho that number may have changed as it's based on a survey that's several years old and at least anecdotal evidence tells me that the younger people who are being drawn to UU now are actually more interested in exploring spirituality than the older UUs who joined in the 60s, 70s, 80s...

If memory serves me, there's a UU congregation in Huntington, tho that would still be a long drive for you.

[MaddLlama]

I actually don't live on the Island anymore, I live upstate in Orange county. There's a Fellowship in Poughkeepsie that I might go to. Is it a safe et to assume that if it calls itself a "Fellowship" rather than a "Church" that it's more secularly oriented? Not that I mind, just curious. I chose this particular one because they are the only one within 50 miles with a CUUPS chapter.

[Green Gaia]

ML, here is a thread that explains the differece in a Fellowship and a Church in UU congregations.