Unitarian Universalism

[IcyPatriot]

What exactly is this and how is it a church if it is comprised of non believers.

Sounds like it's just a meeting place for some uber liberals to feel good about themselves?

United States

Main article: History of Unitarianism
In the United States, the Unitarian movement began primarily in the Congregational parish churches of New England, which were part of the state church of Massachusetts.[24] These churches, whose buildings may still be seen today in many New England town squares, trace their roots to the division of the Puritan colonies into parishes for the administration of their religious needs.[25] In the late 18th century, conflict grew within some of these churches between Unitarian and Trinitarian factions. In 1805, Unitarians gained key faculty positions at Harvard. In 1819 William Ellery Channing preached the ordination sermon for Jared Sparks in Baltimore, outlining the Unitarian position. The American Unitarian Association was founded as a separate denomination in 1825.[26] By coincidence and unknown to both parties, the AUA was formed on the same day—May 26, 1825—as the British and Foreign Unitarian Association [27]
In the 19th century, under the influence of Ralph Waldo Emerson (who had been a Unitarian minister)[28] and other transcendentalists, Unitarianism began its long journey from liberal Protestantism to its present more pluralist form.[citation needed]

Unitarian Universalism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[IcyPatriot]

Many Unitarian Universalists choose to turn away from our Christian roots because of experiences we are very uneasy with or troubled by. While this reaction is understandable, it strikes me that it is not ultimately healthy for a religious movement or for any of us as individual searchers.

Why?

Ignoring Jesus’ teaching and influence distorts our own past and heritage, which is deeply steeped in Christian origins. Furthermore, as Unitarian Universalists, we seek to build a religion based not on nay saying or rejection but rather on a positive, life-affirming message.

And finally, Jesus is still worth hearing out. I can think of no more misunderstood and misjudged figure. I find him more compelling and inspiring as a human being who suffered and loved and claimed that no one is perfect but God than as the magical entity some of his most devoted followers worship.

It is equally ironic that this prophet of liberation and spiritual freedom, who said that the poor shall inherit the earth, is misunderstood by people attracted to the free faith and justice-seeking tradition of Unitarian Universalism.

The Faith of a Unitarian Universalist Christian - UUA

 

[DarrylS]

I am proud to have chosen UU as my religion just over 3 years ago.. at the beginning of each service it is indicated that we are the voice of liberal religion in South County. Service is our prayer...

There is no specific doctrine and we draw from a variety of sources for inspiration... Buddha, Judaism, Christianity, Taoism, Pagan and many other sources. I attend services with many different types of people.. Jewish, Catholic, Baptist and just about every other denomination.. including people like me who drifted away from religion for a long period of time, due to disenfranchisement with their previous religion.

I sometimes get confused when we have advent wreaths, celebrate Christmas and Easter... but overall it is about the coming together of many like minded people who share their diversity into something meaningful.

This year the annual convention will be in Providence at the end of June and UU's from all over the country will attend... and spend a lot of money.

When I was in grad school in the early 80's used to commute with a woman who was born into this religion and she used to stop at the Arlington St. UU Church Bookstore, we would talk about UU and she described it as the "Burger King" of religions, "have it your way"...

I am very proud to be a UU and a member of my congregation, and have attended more services in the past 3 years than I did in the previous 40 years... very seldom do I miss a service and am involved in a variety of activities in that church.

Our church has always been led by a woman, so there are a lot of "feminine" influence in what we do...

One of my favorite parts of every service is the choir, as they sing traditional songs as well as the unexpected... a couple of times they broke into "Allelujah" by Leonard Cohen and lately have been singing a lot of South African songs in honor of Mandela... I hum.

This is the church of John Quincy Adams, John Adams, Ben Franklin, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Adlai Stevenson, Daniel Webster, e.e.cummings, Frank Lloyd Wright, Vonnegut, Thoreau, Pete Seeger, Longfellow, Susan B. Anthony, Florence Nightingale, Louisa May Alcott, Albert Schweitzer, John Dewey, Emerson, Alexander Graham Bell, Samuel Morse, Linus Pauling, Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Charles ****ens the list goes on and on.

Try it you might like it..

 

[IcyPatriot]

Very interesting ...

much more a church is comprised of it's people than a religion as we usually use the word. Churches like Catholic one are falling apart because people go to mass but really are not part of the church community like they were in years past. Seems the more innovative religions are thriving because they look at it as a community ... the church is the people not the building.

 

[DarrylS]

Since becoming an UU I have never been told what not to do, they suggest that I lead a good life, continue to explore my spirituality and help others...

 

[RI Patriots fan]

I am proud to have chosen UU as my religion just over 3 years ago.. at the beginning of each service it is indicated that we are the voice of liberal religion in South County. Service is our prayer...

There is no specific doctrine and we draw from a variety of sources for inspiration... Buddha, Judaism, Christianity, Taoism, Pagan and many other sources. I attend services with many different types of people.. Jewish, Catholic, Baptist and just about every other denomination.. including people like me who drifted away from religion for a long period of time, due to disenfranchisement with their previous religion.

I sometimes get confused when we have advent wreaths, celebrate Christmas and Easter... but overall it is about the coming together of many like minded people who share their diversity into something meaningful.

This year the annual convention will be in Providence at the end of June and UU's from all over the country will attend... and spend a lot of money.

When I was in grad school in the early 80's used to commute with a woman who was born into this religion and she used to stop at the Arlington St. UU Church Bookstore, we would talk about UU and she described it as the "Burger King" of religions, "have it your way"...

I am very proud to be a UU and a member of my congregation, and have attended more services in the past 3 years than I did in the previous 40 years... very seldom do I miss a service and am involved in a variety of activities in that church.

Our church has always been led by a woman, so there are a lot of "feminine" influence in what we do...

One of my favorite parts of every service is the choir, as they sing traditional songs as well as the unexpected... a couple of times they broke into "Allelujah" by Leonard Cohen and lately have been singing a lot of South African songs in honor of Mandela... I hum.

This is the church of John Quincy Adams, John Adams, Ben Franklin, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Adlai Stevenson, Daniel Webster, e.e.cummings, Frank Lloyd Wright, Vonnegut, Thoreau, Pete Seeger, Longfellow, Susan B. Anthony, Florence Nightingale, Louisa May Alcott, Albert Schweitzer, John Dewey, Emerson, Alexander Graham Bell, Samuel Morse, Linus Pauling, Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Charles ****ens the list goes on and on.

Try it you might like it..

Make your own God in your own image.......it must be nice to never be challenged by the God you make.

 

[DarrylS]

Make your own God in your own image.......it must be nice to never be challenged by the God you make.

Expected response.... nobody is right, if everybody's wrong.

 

[RI Patriots fan]

Expected response.... nobody is right, if everybody's wrong.

Very convenient.

Now you can let your politics be your religion.

Have it your way.

What a perfect religion for someone following the Progressive faith.

 

[everlong]

There's a UU church in Braintree that had on their outdoor signage "All denominations welcome including tinky winky".

Tinky Winky was the teletubby who was supposedly gay for those who don't now. They get my vote for the best Christian religion.

 

[everlong]

Now you can let your politics be your religion.

Ironic since your politics follow very little of Christ's teachings.

What a perfect religion for someone following the Progressive faith.

What a perfect reply from the regressive.

 

[DarrylS]

Very convenient.

Now you can let your politics be your religion.

Have it your way.

What a perfect religion for someone following the Progressive faith.

Your politics are your religion..

I never criticize someone's choice, as the bible told us do not judge, lest you be judged...

When is the last time a Unitarian Minister was involved in molesting a child or was involved in a banking scandal???

 

[RI Patriots fan]

Your politics are your religion..

I never criticize someone's choice, as the bible told us do not judge, lest you be judged...

When is the last time a Unitarian Minister was involved in molesting a child or was involved in a banking scandal???

What a hypocrite lol. You judge the Catholic church ad nauseum.

As for your church:


Unitarian Universalism Has A History Of Clergy Sexual Abuse And Misconduct. . .

But don't take my word for it U*Us. . .

Take the word of U*U minister Reverend Lynn Strauss of the Unitarian Universalist Church Of Rockville Maryland, as written in her comparatively recent Sunday sermon titled 'Clergy Sexual Abuse and Misconduct 2010'. Here are a few highlights from that sermon that U*Us would be well advised to pay heed to -

"We too have a history of clergy sexual abuse and misconduct. Our Association, for too long, also refused to see and respond to the truth of abuse of power by some of our ministers."

"If a minister was accused of sexual misconduct, he (it was almost always a he) he was merely transferred to another congregation…to another district. And no healing or opportunity for truth telling was offered to the women or to the congregations that were harmed."


The Emerson Avenger: Unitarian Universalism Has A History Of Clergy Sexual Abuse And Misconduct. . .




"However, a dramatic rise was noted between 1984 and 1994 when there
were 22 complaints of clergy “ethics issues” Thirteen of these incidents took place between 1990
and 1993 according to John Weston, Settlement Director for the UUA.15"



http://www.uucollegium.org/Research papers/07paper_Rahman02.pdf

 

[DarrylS]

What a hypocrite lol. You judge the Catholic church ad nauseum.

As for your church:


Unitarian Universalism Has A History Of Clergy Sexual Abuse And Misconduct. . .

But don't take my word for it U*Us. . .

Take the word of U*U minister Reverend Lynn Strauss of the Unitarian Universalist Church Of Rockville Maryland, as written in her comparatively recent Sunday sermon titled 'Clergy Sexual Abuse and Misconduct 2010'. Here are a few highlights from that sermon that U*Us would be well advised to pay heed to -

"We too have a history of clergy sexual abuse and misconduct. Our Association, for too long, also refused to see and respond to the truth of abuse of power by some of our ministers."

"If a minister was accused of sexual misconduct, he (it was almost always a he) he was merely transferred to another congregation…to another district. And no healing or opportunity for truth telling was offered to the women or to the congregations that were harmed."


The Emerson Avenger: Unitarian Universalism Has A History Of Clergy Sexual Abuse And Misconduct. . .




"However, a dramatic rise was noted between 1984 and 1994 when there
were 22 complaints of clergy “ethics issues” Thirteen of these incidents took place between 1990
and 1993 according to John Weston, Settlement Director for the UUA.15"



http://www.uucollegium.org/Research papers/07paper_Rahman02.pdf

More on Robin Edgar the author of the Emerson Blog..she describes herself..

An Eclectic Eclipsologist, The "Eye-in-the-Sky" Guy, Shamelessly Syncretistic Urban Shaman by way of Synchroni-City and other Revelatory Experiences. The originator of World Day of Conscience. You, and every other human being on this planet, are invited.

What motivates Robin Edgar...

In 1992 I underwent a profound revelatory experience of God which revealed that the total solar eclipse "Eye of God" is a "Sign in the Heavens" that symbolizes God's divine omniscience. You may read about what Rev. Ray Drennan of the Unitarian Church of Montreal contemptuously dismissed as my "psychotic experience" here: http://revelationisnotsealed.homestead.com - This revelatory religious experience inspired me to propose an inter-religious celebration of Creation that would take place whenever a total solar eclipse took place over our planet. You may read about what Rev. Ray Drennan and other leading members of the Unitarian Church of Montreal falsely and maliciously labeled as a "cult" here: http://creationday.homestead.com - I am now an excommunicated Unitarian whose "alternative spiritual practice" includes publicly exposing and denouncing Unitarian*Universalist injustices, abuses, and hypocrisy. The Emerson Avenger blog will serve that purpose for me and hopefully others will share their concerns here. Dee Miller's term DIM Thinking is used frequently and appropriately on this blog. You may read more about what DIM Thinking is here - http://www.takecourage.org/defining.htm

It is interesting that both articles speak in generalities, and lack any formal charges... even more interesting is that neither article mentions any charges being filed... and neither speaks to cover ups by higher ups... so you compare raisins and grapefruits, encourage you to keep on googling as there has to be something out there somewhere in some blog by some anonymous person...

It is what it is, I am a Unitarian.. and not much can change that.

The dichotomy of what the catholic church preaches and how it is interpreted by the "faithful" is never more obvious... what Mahatma Gandhi said is never more relevant...

“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

 

[RI Patriots fan]

It is interesting that both articles speak in generalities, and lack any formal charges... even more interesting is that neither article mentions any charges being filed... and neither speaks to cover ups by higher ups... so you compare raisins and grapefruits, encourage you to keep on googling as there has to be something out there somewhere in some blog by some anonymous person...

It is what it is, I am a Unitarian.. and not much can change that.

The dichotomy of what the catholic church preaches and how it is interpreted by the "faithful" is never more obvious... what Mahatma Gandhi said is never more relevant...

"Talk show host Oprah Winfrey is revisiting the case of Mack W. Mitchell, the ousted Unitarian minister convicted and jailed in the early '90s of raping a Tibetan teen -- one of three young women he brought to the United States from refugee camps under the guise of a new life in America.

The show's theme is children being sold into sexual slavery, according to Ubersox. A broadcast date has not been set.

Meston is the only one of the three girls who testified against Mitchell, now 69. He had lived on Crawford Street in Northborough and was the pastor of Unitarian churches in Westborough and Northborough.

Mitchell's story made headlines in 1992, when he was accused of bringing three Tibetan teens from refugee camps to live in his Northborough farmhouse under the pre of saving them from poverty, educating them and introducing them to a new life in the United States.

Instead, he was charged with raping and molesting them. He later was convicted and served prison time."



Oprah' to retell disturbing tale of minister's raping of teens - www.phayul.com

 

[DarrylS]

"Talk show host Oprah Winfrey is revisiting the case of Mack W. Mitchell, the ousted Unitarian minister convicted and jailed in the early '90s of raping a Tibetan teen -- one of three young women he brought to the United States from refugee camps under the guise of a new life in America.

The show's theme is children being sold into sexual slavery, according to Ubersox. A broadcast date has not been set.

Meston is the only one of the three girls who testified against Mitchell, now 69. He had lived on Crawford Street in Northborough and was the pastor of Unitarian churches in Westborough and Northborough.

Mitchell's story made headlines in 1992, when he was accused of bringing three Tibetan teens from refugee camps to live in his Northborough farmhouse under the pre of saving them from poverty, educating them and introducing them to a new life in the United States.

Instead, he was charged with raping and molesting them. He later was convicted and served prison time."

Oprah' to retell disturbing tale of minister's raping of teens - www.phayul.com

Keep googling there has to be more out there... I will take the high road, and be content in my belief system...

Just think if the Catholic Church had one episode and no coverups...

 

[RI Patriots fan]

Keep googling there has to be more out there... I will take the high road, and be content in my belief system...

Just think if the Catholic Church had one episode and no coverups...

LOl....."high road" You couldn't find the high road even if you had GPS coordinates.

Your "church" is literally less than 1/1000 the size of the RCC so of course there are going to be far fewer examples.

 

[DarrylS]

LOl....."high road" You couldn't find the high road even if you had GPS coordinates.

Your "church" is literally less than 1/1000 the size of the RCC so of course there are going to be far fewer examples.

The Resident Conservative Catholic continues incessant babble...

“The faith becomes ideology and ideology frightens, ideology chases away the people, distances, distances the people and distances of the Church of the people,” Francis added. “But it is a serious illness, this of ideological Christians. It is an illness, but it is not new, eh?”

Faith passes, so to speak, through an alembic (distillery) and becomes an ideology. And ideology does not convene. In ideology there is no Jesus: his tenderness, love, meekness. And ideologies are always rigid,” the Pope said.

“In every sense: rigid. And when a Christian becomes a disciple of ideology, they have lost the faith: they are no more a disciple of Jesus, they are a disciple of this attitude of thought, of this…” And for this reason Jesus says to them: ‘You have taken away the key of knowledge

 

[RI Patriots fan]

The Resident Conservative Catholic continues incessant babble...

Speaking of babble....right on cue.

 

[oldrover]

Someone said the Unitarians are folks who don't believe in God, but need a place to go on Sunday morning. LOL

 

[RI Patriots fan]

Someone said the Unitarians are folks who don't believe in God, but need a place to go on Sunday morning. LOL

Unitarians believe in God alright. The problem is that their God looks at them in the mirror each morning.

"Have it your way"