What are the benefits of being a UU? (Jesus, ritual)

[Mr Spinkles]

On which is the one true religion: "Hmm, I dunno...well it's definitely not the Unitarians. If it's them I'll eat my hat!" ~Homer J. Simpson

I believe there is a Unitarian Universalism (church?) here in Oxford. I've often considered going to it sometime, just to check it out and see what it's all about.

So what are the benefits of being a UU? When do you go to the, er, "building", and what do you do when you get there? Is it a good way to get involved in community service? Is there anything I can enjoy/do by being a UU that I can't enjoy/do on my own?

Basically....what am I missing? Pitch me UUism!

[Sunstone]

I second Mr. Spinkle's questions.

[Scuba Pete]

Being a UU means never having to say you're sorry!

I mean that too! There is no wrong belief for a UU. Sure, bigotry and hatred are frowned upon, but there is no church canon forbidding it!

In some ways, it is the purist of the "protestant" churches. It teaches you to rely on NO ONE for the truth. You yourself must decide what is right for YOU and you aren't allowed to decide for anyone else! You can be a dyed in the wool Christian or an atheist and still fit right in. Sort of like a physical RF forum, but in real time.

[robtex]

UU is a research mechnism and institution. Something everyone on here is already interested in (hence their presense here). The talks, and I say talks cause it is much more causual than a traditional Christian sermon, are on various beliefs including secular humanism. As a matter of fact from an atheist point of view it is really the only church that we will fit in as an atheist because the general idea in the UU is that man is there to help man and nature. There is no prayer no dogma no doctrine. Lots of candle lighting instead. The two things consistant about the UU is their push for humanitarian efforts and their belief in humanity co-existing despite differences in belief. I have since, my finding UU, which was about 3 years ago found more than a few atheist UU's and a ton of agnostic UU's .

I have come to see UU as a vessel to find's own spirtuality and the members of the UU helping each other. If you look at the relationship the UU's have formed on here it is very typical of UU's everywhere. Mutual cooperation for a common search. Netdoc's comment actually about it being "like a physcial RF forum," is so very true. It is just people researching the religions ideas and notions out there and bringing them to a collective light.

The UU's themselves have a very small hierarchy with religious minister's who have to be educated just like other religions and than everyone else. The atmosphere is very causual overall in most UU churches and most of the UU jokes posted in the UU section are actually pretty accurate. There is no discrimmination between men and woman which gives it a unique flavor in the world of modern religions. Since it is more about searching for one's own truth there is no push to make it "a big part of your life" as I have seen over and over in Christian chruches in the Bible belt. You give it its due course with your fellow UU's and move on till next week. But if you have a bigger hunger it is there because of the number of people in it.

There is no official text to read from, but instead various writings by various spirtual leaders past and present. One day could be a sermon on Jesus and the next a talk about Gandhi. The overall push politically can be stereotyped as humantiarian and equality in nature making it very akin to secular humantarinsm which is what many atheists gravitate too.

I would have to confess in all honesty there are two things I don't like about UU in general. I am not a big fan of the singing and sometimes some of the sermons can be very metaphysical bordering on hockey from my observation. But that is part of UU too....freedom in how one expresses their beliefs and a broad range of beliefs even if others find them hockey.

As a footnote many people do shift their beliefs in UU. And that is one of the best things about it. Because it is a medium to explore ones spirtuality as one gains knowledge and information ideas shift but a shift of faith in UU is just that...a shift in faith not a loss in faith.

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by Mr_Spinkles

On which is the one true religion: "Hmm, I dunno...well it's definitely not the Unitarians. If it's them I'll eat my hat!" ~Homer J. Simpson

Look here.

Originally Posted by Mr_Spinkles

So what are the benefits of being a UU? When do you go to the, er, "building", and what do you do when you get there? Is it a good way to get involved in community service? Is there anything I can enjoy/do by being a UU that I can't enjoy/do on my own?

Basically....what am I missing? Pitch me UUism!

You're only missing something if you feel your missing something.

I went to UU five years ago. By then I had looked into and rejected numerous religions and had basically resigned myself to practicing alone. So I didn't go in looking for anything spiritual. I went because as one person, I found it too easy to disengage from community. I had gotten to the point where I was donating 5% to causes, but I couldn't seem to ever make the time to volunteer; or it would just slip my mind altogether. One of the things that UU is known for is social justice work. So I thought I'd put myself in an environment where I'd be reminded on a regular basis.

UU is congregational - each congregation rules itself - so there is a lot of variance from one UU congregation to another. The UU church that I currently attend is much more "religious" than that which Robtex describes or the fellowship that I attended in NY. So as I told Huajiro, if you don't like one, try another. It's almost like dating - you're looking for a relationship with the congregation.

Despite our much celebrated religious diversity, the one thing that all UUs have in common is that we are all humanists. Whether we are atheist or Christian, we all believe that on earth it is up to humans to do the work of justice. We may argue with each other about the fine points of christology (at least at my church we do) but no one disagrees about the rightness of volunteering for the voter registration drive, the community soup kitchen, the community youth club, Habitat for Humanity building sites, ... Ideally, the goal isn't to get everyone to agree about ideas, but to agree on actions and to learn to respect each other despite our different views.

To answer your Qs, we go on Sunday mornings, along with the rest of America. And the structure of the service is very much like a Protestant service,usually for an hour, with hymns and a sermon. Except that you're unlikely to see a cross. Our symbol is the flaming chalice, which comes from the underground reisistance to the Nazis during WWII. We light chalice to represent the dignity of the human spirit. Depending on the congregation, you probably won't hear the word "God" and certainly won't hear "Christ." Our hymns are amusingly secular. The sermon is always something that anyone can relate to, regardless of belief. Why do we sing hymns and have moments of silence and listen to sermons? Because it builds community. Because it reminds us of what we believe in (values, not deities).

UU is for the person who values community but can't be told what to believe or expected to conform. We find our common idenity in our chosen shared principles, not by more external things like race, creed, gender and/or sexual orientation. Asside from the scientific community, it's the only place where I've ever felt that I belong.