Unitarian Universalism services - what can I expect?

I was reading this thread from a non-religious person who wanted to see what church was like and it got me curious. There’s a Unitarian Universalist church not far from my home and I think I might attend services there this Sunday. While I was raised Presbyterian, I have no beliefs in common with a more traditional Christian church.

Are there any Unitarian Universalist 'Dopers around? Can you tell me what to expect at their Sunday services? Do you know if and how widely these services may vary? I live in a mid-sized city if that makes a difference.

A bit of background: my dad was Catholic but married outside the faith before Vatican II (big no-no) and I always thought my mom was Protestant, but I never knew the denomination. They split the difference and sent me off to a Presbyterian church. My mom came from a small coal-mining town and it was with much surprise I learned after her passing that she’d attended a Unitarian church before she moved to the city.

I like the Unitarian Universalist principles, but any “in-your-face” preachiness will send me running out the door. If I can get the Inside Dope before attending services, that’d be a big help! Thanks for helping clear up the mystery!

Bri2k

I’ve been to UU services in several parts iof the country, and — it varies. Significantly with congregation and tradition. Some of the services I went to were practically Roman Catholic Mass, while one I went to in Salt Lake City was practically Protestant – all sermon and hymn-singing. I went to one service that was essentially Wiccan. Unitarian Universalist churches are, i believe, run according to the wishes and dictates of the local community and pastor, and in a group that welcomes in aheists, agnostics, and former everything else’s, that can lead to interesting and highly original results. I was brung up Roman Catholic, and i’ve noticed that, everywhere in the world I’ve been, even if I didn’t speak the language, the ceremony was as recognizable as at home. The RCC is as much a franchise as Mcdonald’s. UU churches are like independent restaurants.

I’d like to know about this as well as I think I need to be more social. This would really help I think, especially since I’m not religious either.

What type of clothing should I wear, I’m pretty sure my skull and cross bone tie is out. Do they pass a plate like in a regular church?

There are two in my area, I just don’t know what to expect any more and I think I’d like to try.

???

I have seen considerable variation from city to city but more variation due to who is in charge of the program. There was a time when one UU fellowship I attended varied greatly from week to week. A jazz concert one week and a lecture on hunger in Haiti the next. Once I attended a community that had a serious secular philosophy lecture by someone from the Harvard Divinity School each Sunday morning for many years. Another place some people just sat around and talked. I rather like UU but, in my opinion, you shouldn’t decide just upon one visit or what someone reports here.

Like CalMeacham said, they vary quite a lot - not only between churches, but different services within the same UU church may be very different.

I’ve been at some that were Generic Christian - that is, they used a hymnal and New Testament, but the words “Jesus” and “Christ” weren’t actually mentioned that I recall; “The Creator” and “God” were used.

In another service, the officiant talked about Faith, and about doing good things for yourself and others, but it was pretty agnostic. She even mentioned something to the effect of “Whatever god or gods you may believe or not believe in”, which drew a chuckle from the congregation, and then talked about how you can hold Faith in something you don’t entirely know if you believe in. Very thought provoking sermon.

In a service I attended once that was run by a practitioner of Feri Wicca, it was seats in a circle and an interesting and unorthodox (by Wiccan standards) calling of the elements by using the symbols within the church. I remember that Fire was the UU flame; I don’t recall the others. She then had us pass around a bowl of beans and take a few, then invited us to ask our neighbors for some of their beans. We could say yes, or no, give them more beans than they asked for, or fewer, or ask them for beans in return. When that was done, she talked about how the beans were an example of how we (each as individuals, but also as a group) share resources, like money and time, and that if they don’t circulate, they don’t do anyone any good. She didn’t call anyone out, but you could see people who had refused to share squirming in their seats just a little bit, and the kids who had decided to pool their beans into a big pile they all “owned” got very thoughtful as they realized they had to figure out how to negotiate group ownership. I sat there with empty hands and realized that if I give everything away, I might be liked, but I have nothing to sustain myself. Another very thought provoking morning, with no overt mention of religion at all.

I think my favorite evening at a UU church was a combined Christmas/Winter Solstice, with a fairly standard Christian Christmas service inside, including a Nativity Play and choral singing, while outside I sat with the Neopagan members of the church, tending a Midwinter fire with the Yule Log - the stump of the previous year’s church Christmas tree. When the Christmas service was over, many of the people who had been inside came outside, and we sang some songs - some pagan, some Christian, and some secular - and shared warm cider and hot chocolate. That night, to me, was the very best of the best.

That’s a beautiful lesson.

There’s a beautiful UU church in the city I work in. I’ve thought about going to a service, but I have a terrible time getting up in the mornings on weekends, even for stuff I’m supposed to. And there’s not one terribly nearby where I live.

The UU church here in town that I’ve attended on and off for years generally doesn’t have any mention of Jesus, Yahweh, God, Mohammad, Buddha or anyone else of that stripe.

Generally services centre on individual members reporting on travels or humanitarian works they’ve done recently, the pastor providing an update on any current humanitarian projects underway locally that people may be interested in - e.g. a few years back a man from El Salvador sought and was granted asylum from deportation due to a mental illness. His family lived locally save for his 2 brothers that were killed back in el Salvador (II) - while ordinarily he would have a reasonable refugee claim (with the two dead brothers) because of his mental illness he was being refused. He hung out at the church for at least a couple of months before everything was sorted.

There will also be sort of an ‘inspirational message’ which I suppose is the sermon, and then at the end there’s coffee and cookies and people sort of mingle and catch up.

Oops, my bad. Turns out members of the Feritrad don’t consider themselves Wiccan at all. That explains that! :slight_smile: My apologies if I caused offense.

As said, they vary a lot from congregation to congregation, minister to minister and region to region. Mine is pretty humanist - but heavily spiritual, with a great choir and an emphasis on social justice. Mine is also a largish UU congregation.

They tend to:

Run politically liberal (i.e. MOST UUs thing Gay Marriage is a “hell yes” sort of thing).

Be very democratic (the coffee committee will choose if you are having French Roast or not).

Respect multiple faiths - and respect may mean “that particular service had a decidedly Christian bent - even within a congregation that leans humanist or pagan or…” A guest minister may come in and preach a very Christian sounding sermon (or a Rabbi or a Buddhist monk). You might have a hymn sing or a Sedar.

Here’s a link to several sermons from the UU church I’ve been to.

Here are ours.

http://www.whitebearunitarian.org/wbuuc/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10&Itemid=38

Victoria is our minister. We are in summer services right now, which is common in UU churches - summer services are usually lighter - i.e. some churches shut down completely for the summer, others have lay speakers.

UUA here - AND Born Again. My sister is Pagan, and her husband Quaker. Both are also UUA. My mother is a retired UUA Minister, and a screaming liberal. Our outgoing Minister was a career Navy vet.
That should tell you something about the flexibility, open-mindedness, and inclusiveness of the UUA.

This!

Congregations search very carefully to find the pastor that suits them - And try them out quite consciously. Thus, each Fellowship will take on the flavor of the community, rather than force the congregation into a mold imposed from above. My Fellowship runs Christian Very Light, with a heaping side helping of “Whatever Feels ‘Right.’” I may be the most conservative member of the Fellowship, and there are a few hard-core granola munchers, but the majority are working-class liberal.
We argue, but we don’t fight.

And yes, we do ‘pass the plate.’