UU Churches: What are they like?

[janasmama]

I'm curious. I know I could go and check one out but I just don't know what to expect.

I recently moved to more of a liberal area and we have a UU church down the street. It looks very busy.

I want to know what it's like though. Do they read from the Bible? Is there a worship time? If so, what type of songs are sung....is it worshiping Jesus or God?

Tell me anything else that you think may be helpful.

Thanks.

[Bluegoat]

I'm not UU, but I gather that they can vary quite a bit. My boss, who was UU, told me once that the church she attended had changed quite a bit over the years. At one time the service had many Christian elements and was closely tied to both the traditional Universalist and Unitarian traditions, from whence it came. Then they pretty much got rid of anything relating to Christianity, and then she noticed years after that that they started singing traditional hymns again, but no Bible.

[Summertime Mommy]

we visit a uu church fairly regularly. here it is set up like a normal church, but there is no real "prayer" the preacher gives a sermon about morality or findingyour own path and there is normally singing but the songs vary wildly from christian hymns to contemporary pop music. about a quarter of the way through the service, the kids are called to the front for a story related to the theme of the service, then they go to religious education (the content varies between uu congregations) and the actual "sermon" begins once the kids are squared away.

[wombatclay]

Here's the official UU website. There's lots of info! This bit (the principles of the faith) and this (the basic "worship" pattern) may answer some of your current questions. And this is the order of service from my local UU group... they have a nice site.

Like pp mentioned, each UU church has a different flavor... there is no specific sacred book, creed, doctrine, or list of do/do nots that each church community must follow. Outside of the principles and sources, each community has a lot of freedom to follow the desires of their members.

Living for many years in New England I visited a lot of UU churches. Some were very straightforward "protestant christian" in flavor with organ hymns, pews in straight lines, readings from the bible, sermons given from a pulpit, even christian symbols in the church hall. Others were similar to open meditation services with soft instrumental music, people sitting in circles or in more "open" seating arrangements, meditation times, and readings from world literature & poetry. Some communities are strongly pagan in flavor with seasonal rituals, others are more humanist, some strongly buddhist in tone, etc. Really the interests and focus of the congregation drive the shape of the service and the type of music/readings/activities since members select their ministers and are very involved in shaping the weekly services.

The UU congregation we attend now is a balance of buddhist, humanist, and pagan. There are a lot of children so there's a very active RE program. There is an organ and pews, but the pews are built in a circular shape surrounding a raised platform (no real "pulpit") and the music varies a lot week from week (there's a musical college near here and we get a lot of student performances). The minister is buddhist and that influences a lot of the readings he selects, but the minister here doesn't always "do" the sermon and when others give the sermon the readings get pretty varied. I know there have been readings from the bible but probably not more than once in the last year? Some hymns do mention god or a creator but I don't think Jesus has ever come up in the music, though I know he shows up in sermons now and then. Like today's sermon was a discussion of non-violent civil protest and Jesus was mentioned along with Ghandi and King and a few others (I was watching littles and missed a big chunk of sermon ). But the divinity of anyone is up to the beliefs of the individual member.... the UU church doesn't have an official stance on the nature of the divine so you're unlikely to find a congregation that routinely discusses Jesus. (though as I said, every congregation is different!)

Anyway, there are several "UU mama" threads around here, and the main website has a ton of info! I hope some of this helps, but if you have other specific questions please ask. Also, most congregations are very welcoming of visitors so you may want to just stop by one weekend...

[Callimom]

Our church is a lay lead congregation (no minister on staff). The services are varied and depend on which pod is putting on the service. Last week was a session about music and worship and we were lead in some african drumming and dancing by a guest speaker who talked a little about her spiritual path and how dance and music are so essential to it. It was overwhelmingly beautiful.

We have a number of pagan, buddhist and humanist services, along with many about social justice, peace and environmental issues and how those play into our life choices and our spirituality - especially as related to the 7 principles of UU.

Our service on December 21ist was a celebration of Winter Solstice. The Hymn sing on Christmas eve included a version of Silent Night that was non-Christian. We ended singing And so this is Christmas/Give Peace a Chance by John Lennon.

We have a book of services that has a number of "hymns" in them but few are Christian based. Prayers are multi-faith or non-demonimational. There are symbols which have connections to a number of faiths - candle lighting, a chalice etc.

This year the Children's Spiritual Development program is based on world religions and will culminate in a play the kids are writing along the theme of peace and religion. Part of the program includes speakers from a variety of faiths and some field trips to various houses of worship and other faith services.

Two years ago the kids studied the role of science and faith and did an amazing play about Darwin (we didn't attend then but we have seen video and photos).

hth
Karen

[Sunflower223]

I've gone to UU church a few times. It is the only church I have ever attended so it's hard for me to compare. DH who grew up in the Baptist church, says it is very different which he enjoys, but he, like I, feels out of place. The congregation is only about 25 people, very few children (all much older than min), and about half of the congregation are my former professors (it is directly across the street from my U). There are some Pagans, some Buddhists, it is mostly atheist. We have a hymnal but no bible. The minister has two sermons a month, the other two sermons are lay sermons, anyone can chose to administer them as long as they give note a month before. There is always a song in the beginning, then a story with the children, then the actual sermon begins. It is typically about finding yourself, or your own path. The idea of UU church appeals to me greatly. All of the churches are different and I would be willing to try another.

[wombatclay]

All of the churches are different and I would be willing to try another.

Yup, that's the hard part... I remember as a kid (my parents are catholic) that when we were on vacation we could always just visit the local catholic church and get more or less the same "stuff". Same hymnal, same readings, same order of service, same sit/stand/kneel, same words, etc. But with a Unitarian congregation you just never know! It may be something that really resonates, or you may feel like you've wasted a morning.

We were lucky to mesh with our local congregation since they're the only UU group here. When we lived in Boston I think we visited 4-5 congregations before finding one we both liked.

[Adele_Mommy]

You have already received several great replies and I will second pretty much everything previous posters have said. I would add that you should check whether the local UU church you are considering visiting has a web site. Most do nowadays and a church's web page will give you more information about this individual UU church, as well as basic useful stuff like service times and how people dress and what the kids are doing in RE.

[sadean]

I agree with what other have said about evey congregation being different. Some congregations are more christian, some are more buddhist, wiccan, or humanist. Ours is humanist moving toward pan-theist. All I can say is that this is our (general) order of service:

*Opening words (minister or layperson)- Generally something somewhat related to the sermon. Not usually from a religious text.
*Hymn/Music
*Words of Wisdom from the World Traditions (could be from any religious tradition but again somewhat related to the sermon)
*Youth Story/sermon, after which the kids go to Religious Education (RE) class.
*Candles of Joys and Concerns
*Hymn/Music
*Sermon-Our minister relys on many religious traditions, including christianity to form her sermon.
*Collection
*Hymn/Music
*Closing Words
*Adjorn to the lobby for coffee and conversation


Does that help?