411 - [Oh My Deity of My Own Choosing]
Despite the fact that today has been horribly disheartening and infuriating as far as Christianity goes, the religion did breed something worthwhile.
I was looking on the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington website, and the more I looked, the more excited I got about it. I mean, I'm talking excited almost to the point of tears. I feel like I might have found my home. The few pictures that they do have makes it obvious that a lot of them are total hippies, haha. They make sure to try and avoid using the term "God." They honor the Day of the Dead, Divali, and even DARWIN (heeeey alliteration). The minister is a woman, recognized for her great advances in anti-racism and community service and as an author of fiction, whose "interests range from Bikram and hatha yoga to Buddhist study and practice to hiking and travel." They have a Sunday school for children grades K-8, but instead of calling it that, they prefer to title it "Religious Education." They hold pagan ceremonies through CUUPS (Covenant of UU Pagans) and have a summer camp called Camp Lack-a-Dogma. They believe in being as active as possible with community service and social justice. Their symbol is a flaming chalice, "symbolizing the spirit of [service and community and compassion] captured in a single vessel." They state that they stopped considering themselves a religious group, replacing that with the idea that they're now more a group of religious people. Prior to each Sunday morning service they have sitting meditation followed by yoga. They say that they don't rely on the Bible any more than they equally rely on poetry, current events, pop culture, and other sacred texts. I got a little concerned when I read that you couldn't believe in absolutely anything to be a member of the congregation, that they were not tolerant of those that worked against their seven principles. But then I read them...
I think I'm going to try to get everyone to go with me this coming Sunday morning (11 am) - wink wink nudge nudge. I'm interested in the homily that they're supposed to engage in ("The Bible of the Blues": A musical, literary and spiritual survey of blues music.) and I need to attend a service that I can write 5 pages about for my class. I've previously been so let down by "churches" and I'm just really hoping that this one doesn't turn out to be as much of a disappointment as those in the past.
Here is the website, you should definitely check it out if you're considered a heretic like me: UUCL.org. And this is a video from the UUA:
I was looking on the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington website, and the more I looked, the more excited I got about it. I mean, I'm talking excited almost to the point of tears. I feel like I might have found my home. The few pictures that they do have makes it obvious that a lot of them are total hippies, haha. They make sure to try and avoid using the term "God." They honor the Day of the Dead, Divali, and even DARWIN (heeeey alliteration). The minister is a woman, recognized for her great advances in anti-racism and community service and as an author of fiction, whose "interests range from Bikram and hatha yoga to Buddhist study and practice to hiking and travel." They have a Sunday school for children grades K-8, but instead of calling it that, they prefer to title it "Religious Education." They hold pagan ceremonies through CUUPS (Covenant of UU Pagans) and have a summer camp called Camp Lack-a-Dogma. They believe in being as active as possible with community service and social justice. Their symbol is a flaming chalice, "symbolizing the spirit of [service and community and compassion] captured in a single vessel." They state that they stopped considering themselves a religious group, replacing that with the idea that they're now more a group of religious people. Prior to each Sunday morning service they have sitting meditation followed by yoga. They say that they don't rely on the Bible any more than they equally rely on poetry, current events, pop culture, and other sacred texts. I got a little concerned when I read that you couldn't believe in absolutely anything to be a member of the congregation, that they were not tolerant of those that worked against their seven principles. But then I read them...
- The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
- Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
- Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
- A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
- The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
- The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
- Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
I think I'm going to try to get everyone to go with me this coming Sunday morning (11 am) - wink wink nudge nudge. I'm interested in the homily that they're supposed to engage in ("The Bible of the Blues": A musical, literary and spiritual survey of blues music.) and I need to attend a service that I can write 5 pages about for my class. I've previously been so let down by "churches" and I'm just really hoping that this one doesn't turn out to be as much of a disappointment as those in the past.
Here is the website, you should definitely check it out if you're considered a heretic like me: UUCL.org. And this is a video from the UUA:
Click to view