Blue
Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
About
Unitarian Universalism
The Unitarian Universalist Association
Blue Hills UU Fellowship is part of the Unitarian
Universalist Association, a group of about 1000 churches and
fellowships throughout North America with continental headquarters in
Boston. All UU
societies are free societies, answering to no authority but the local
congregation. The UUA was formed in 1961 by merger of the
American Unitarian Association with its emphasis on the simple unity of
God, with the Universalist Church of America, with its belief in
universal salvation. Both have their roots in Christianity.
Historically, Unitarianism was an alternative to the doctrine of the
Trinity, and Universalism opposed the notion that only an elect few
would be saved. Today, Unitarian Universalism is distinguished not so
much by its opposition to other beliefs as by its affirmation of the
free mind. Read the history of the
Blue Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and how we became part
of the UUA.
The Unitarian Universalist Association has created a variety of pamphlets
that include short essays on UU history, children and religion, UU
perspectives on traditional religious themes, and a discussion of the
reasons that people of diverse backgrounds choose Unitarian
Universalism. This PDF of
100 Questions
about
Unitarian Universalism has a lot of information about UUism.
At the opening of Unitarian Universalist worship services, many
congregations light a flame inside a chalice. This flaming chalice has
become a well-known symbol of our denomination. Read about what it represents.
International UU Principles
We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association,
covenant to affirm and promote
- The inherent
dignity and worth 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.
UU in Brief (Elevator Speeches)
When someone asks us
"What
is a Unitarian Universalist?" we could cite the Unitarian
Universalist
Frequently Asked
Questions
web page, but that's not a very appropriate response in a discussion.
UUA
President William G. Sinkford "always encourage[s] people to work on
their
elevator speech, what you'd say when you're going from the sixth floor
to
the lobby and somebody asks you, 'What is a UU?' You've got
forty-five
seconds." Great idea! Below are some great elevator
speeches
about UU:
- The Unitarian
side
tells us that there is only one God, one spirit of life, one power of
love.
The Universalist side tells us that God is a loving God,
condemning
none of us, valuing the spark of divinity that is in every human being.
- One God, no one
left
behind.
- A Unitarian
Universalist
is a free spirit—free to seek his or her spiritual
truth within a warm and
supporting community of diverse truth seekers.
- We try to leave
the
world a better place than it was when we were born. We don't give
up
on anyone. We see the world and the people in it as one place and
one
family. We connect faith with economics, politics, nature,
technology,
and society. We try to live deliberately and intentionally, as if
the
future depended on it. We see potential greatness in every human
being
in the world and try to elicit it. We hate being part of the
problem,
but love being part of the solution; if enough of us really become good
people,
then the world will become good. We think honesty, integrity, and
activism
are essential for the 21st century. We are staunch individualists—but
we want to build a world community. The world is our home, its
people
our family. If the human race has a future, we must live as if we
believed
it.
- We believe that
your
spiritual life is personal—a relationship between the
individual and deity,
however you define it. Rather than choose your path for you, we
provide
a safe place for you to discover and pursue your own path.
- Most religions
work
to get people into heaven. Unitarian Universalists work to get
heaven
into people.
- Unitarian
Universalism
grew out of Christianity, with the Unitarians believing in the unity of
God and the Universalists believing in universal salvation. We
have
developed into a religion that draws spiritual wisdom from many
different sources.
It is a place where people come together to share and learn from
each
other's spiritual journey. We help each other in our search for
God
or the sacred, even though we realize that each person's vision of God
or
the sacred is different. We believe in the importance of
individual
conscience, spiritually and socially, as well as the responsibility
towards
the community and creation that comes with that freedom.
- Being a UU means
belonging
to a community that accepts and understands doubts of the divine and
the
search for truth without imposing an unrealistic doctrine with a
promise
of unnecessary salvation.
- To my mind, Unitarian
Universalism is an inclusive metaphysical search party.
- Unitarian Universalists
believe that all life is sacred, all existence is interconnected, and
that justice and compassion must be the foundation of our thoughts and
deeds.
- As an institution, UUism
is concerned with this life and what can be done to make it better for
the most people. In the theological or spiritual realm of the
unprovable, it’s do-it-yourself: Your responsibility is to determine
for yourself what speaks to you and what you need to believe.
Links of Interest
