Message:
A UU family moves into a new neighborhood. Their little girl finds a new playmate, and they are happily getting to know each other. One day, the playmate says, “We’re Episcopalians, what are you?” The UU child thinks for a minute and says, “I’m not sure, but I think we’re League of Women Voters.”
Person A (Mainstream Protestant Denomination): I hear that you allow all sorts of weirdo in your church. Atheists, Buddhists, Pagans… Person B (Unitarian Universalist): We allow Christians too — we’re very open-minded! UUs are the people who pray, “To whom it may concern….
We all know the jokes, and in spite of the fact that we do generally laugh as we see ourselves in them, it is also the reason that some of us find ourselves tongue-tied when someone asks us “what do Uus believe.” And how is it we can live in harmony with one another, not having a clear concise answer to this seemingly basic question? How is it that we can all have differing beliefs, or non-beliefs about God, and still have respect and love for each other? My conclusion is that it is because of the fact that each of us has agreed to live our lives as best we can by the 7 Principles in support of the 6 sources of our religion.
And now I want to share a true story from a UU minister and author, Sara Campbell. This story touched me in a unique way and I wanted you to have that opportunity too.
Sara says, “I want to tell you about something that happened a few years ago on a Sunday after services. The congregation I was serving then was gathered for a congregational meeting. I was sitting somewhere near the front and someone came and whispered to me that there was a strange man who wanted to see the minister. I knew what that meant: He wanted money, of course, and what better time to be sure to catch the minister at church than on a Sunday morning. I could smell the alcohol on the stranger’s breath immediately. He said, “I want to pray and to turn my life over to Jesus.” Obviously, he didn’t know what kind of church he was in. I explained that, although Jesus was quite welcome in our church, we probably would not be able to meet his needs, and I directed him to another church down the street. “No,” he said. “That doesn’t matter. I just need to be able to pray right now. I have really messed up my life with drugs and alcohol and I want to make a new start. All I need is a place to pray.”
“Well, I said, still expecting to be asked for money, “as you can see, we have a meeting in the church. There really isn’t an appropriate place…” “That doesn’t matter,” said the man. “I just need to pray, now. This is my moment of truth. Now. It has to be now.” “I suppose we could go into my office,” I said, still feeling like the
man had come to the wrong place. As we entered my office, the man immediately fell to his knees and amidst sobs he began praying. About that time, I caught on. He really did come to church to pray. As he prayed, I placed my hands on his shoulders, and when he was finished, I asked him his name and offered a prayer, too, saying his name and asking God to forgive him and to give him the strength to make amends to his family and to change. Then I talked with the man for a few minutes about support groups and drug programs, and he left and I went back to the meeting.
His moment of truth? Maybe so. But it was my moment of truth, too. Here was this strange man wanting to turn his life over to Jesus. Here was a man who came to a group of UUs wanting to pray, of all things. Well, no wonder I was at a loss. How often do you suppose that happens? Anyone who comes to a Unitarian
Universalist (UU) gathering wanting to turn his or her life over to Jesus is likely to get directed to a group of Baptists or Methodists, where we suspect they meant to go in the first place. That was my moment of truth, because in those few moments
when that man was on his knees, I let go of my fears, I let go of my distrust, I let go of my judgments, I let go of my awareness of the tremendous gap there was between what he believed and what I believed. It was, indeed, a moment of truth. It was a moment of presence, a moment of grace, a moment when there was a power at work that brought this man and myself into a common territory—a territory where human souls connect with one another and with the transcendent. I might easily have said to him, “I’m sorry, but your god really doesn’t live in this church, and my god is an all-encompassing principle that has neither gender nor ears.” And the irony is that my expansive cosmic force would turn out to be smaller than his father in heaven. In the moment of truth that was a moment of presence, it didn’t matter. It just did not matter. His god, my god, our god, no god. It did not matter.
What do you say when someone asks you… “So what do Unitarian Universalists (UUs) believe in?”
Sometimes Unitarian Universalists are unsure about how to explain their religion to friends, relatives or coworkers. Here are some responses to consider and to help you develop your own: Rather than saying, “I’m a Unitarian Universalist because I can believe anything I want…”, I suggest saying that Unitarian Universalism is a faith tradition (or religion), which encourages each individual to develop a personal faith. It draws from many different religions, in the belief that no one religion has all the answers and that most have something to teach us. From Christianity we take the teachings of Christ. From Buddhism we take the power of meditation. From Judaism we take the belief that working together we can achieve peace and justice. From Native American and other earth-centered traditions we take respect for the earth and reverence for natural cycles.
Unitarian Universalism is a way of being religious rather than embracing a specific religious doctrine. For us, religion is an ongoing search for meaning, purpose, value, and spiritual depth in one’s life. We believe that individuals are entitled to make their own search, and that not all persons are going to share the same beliefs. We believe there is wisdom and value in most all religions, but that no one religion has all the answers. We believe in an inner harmony that will lead to ethical action.
Explain that Unitarian Universalists believe in individual responsibility to search for and form their own beliefs and as a result many of them may believe different things. Explain that what holds UUs together is not common belief, but common experience, a common approach to life. Unitarian Universalism has seven guiding principles, rather than a creed. Instead of trying to sum up the philosophical/theological/historical nature of Unitarian Universalism in a few words, share what YOU like about your church, why you go, and what excites you about it.
Unitarian Universalists believe in loving our neighbors as ourselves, working for a better world, searching for truth with an open mind, using reason to help us explore religious ideas, and granting everyone the right to choose their own beliefs. We believe in the Golden Rule, in improving the world we have rather than living for the uncertain possibility of a hereafter, in searching for truth with an open mind, in using reason to help us explore religious ideas, and in granting everyone the right to choose their own beliefs. I am grateful to Sara Campbell for sharing her story and I appreciate her approach to talking with others about our religion.
And in closing, I want to share an excerpt from a sermon by Scott Alexander a UU minister for 25 plus years.
“Being a UU is not about single-handedly rising to the level of noble saint-hood—like UU Clara Barton founding the Red Cross in the Civil War, or Theodore Parker protecting runaway slaves with his loaded pistol, or Rev. James Reeb dying in the streets of Selma. It’s about being a caring, authentic person—living the beliefs and values that grow in your life’s center.
I close with an affirmation from the Unitarian Universalist church of Greensboro, North Carolina: Being a Unitarian Universalist means taking personal responsibility for your own religious life. No one will try to remake you religiously. We won’t offer you “final and absolute truths” or rigid dogma. Instead, we try to provide a stimulating and congenial atmosphere in which you may seek answers…in which you may ask new questions…in which you are free to discover the best that is in you. We reject the idea that a book or institution is superior to the conscience and intellect of a morally responsible person. We affirm that your spiritual well being is yours to determine.
Amen.