Being a Unitarian-Universalist

At todays service, held on the last day of April at the Unitarian Universalist Society in Schenectady (where I have been a member for over forty years), it was New Member's Sunday. Ten new members had joined the soceity and were officially welcomed by the congregation with joy and gratitude. While virtually all other churches had lost members, it was gratifying to see that we had added and not lost members. There are several reasons why I think we have gained new members:

1) Unitarian Universalists believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person.
(2) They believe in justice, equity and compassion in human relations.
(3) Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in others is a basic idea.
(4) Another basic idea is a free and responsible search for truth and meeting.
(5) Another basic tenet is the use of the democratic process in our congregation and in society.
(6) The goal of world community for Unitarian Universalist is peace, liberty and justice for all.
(7) Finally, there is respect for the interdependence web of all existence of which we are a part.

I was brought up Catholic during which time I was indoctrinated into a set of beliefs I was told to believe in. I didn't like the idea of being told that these ideas came from God and were to be accepted without question. So, at age fifteen, I announced that I wanted to explore all of the world religions before I chose one that I could believe in. This announcement was not taken kindly by my godmother who'se duty it was to see that I remain in the fold.

By making my prouncement at age 15, I didn't know about the regulations you had to fuilfull before being acknowledged a Unitarian. One of my godsons, whose father we brought up as a Unitarian, described what he had to do before he was accepted into the Unitarian Universalist religion. He said he had to explore, over a year's time, all the world's religions and then, in a formal essay, he had to write an essay why he wanted to become a Unitarian. (To be confirmed in Catholicism, you went to a Sunday school for several months to study the Catechism to learn what Catholics believed in and what you needed to believe before being confirmed). Quite a different approach.
This is a long blog and I will end it by saying that some of you who read my blog may wonder what Unitarians believe in and wonder how it was that I chose to become a Unitarian. Who knows: if you do not have a religion, you might want to explore what Unitarian Universalism is all about. For me, it is a place I consider my "second home" where I have met many fine persons I call my friends.