Hey, if this is your first time here, subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

No, that’s not a typo. UU = Unitarian Universalists which happens to be the kind of church I’ve been going to for the past month. (Yes, I go to church. You wanna make something of it?)

You’ve gotta understand, a heathen like me going to church is a big deal. I grew up in the Bible Belt and was brought up in the Baptist church. When I say “brought up” I mean we went to church whenever we spent the weekend at my grandparent’s house. And I went to Vacation Bible School when I was like 6 but I think that was more of a daycare solution than a religious choice.

Anyway I gave up on God after some things happened in my life that made me feel like He gave up on me. I decided there was nothing in some thousand-some year old book that could explain the things that happened to me. The only Bible that was in my house was the one someone gave my parents as a wedding gift (I told you I grew up in the Bible Belt) and that I ended up with somehow since my parents got divorced.

In my early 20s, I married a Catholic. I went to a few RCIA classes - 2 to be exact - and decided the Catholic church would be better off without me, thanks. When Sissy and Bubba were tweens, I began teaching them about pagan, nature-based religions. I was happy there. Holidays built around the changing of the seasons, the changes in our lives and our physical bodies, things I could see and touch gave me reason to believe and to celebrate.

So I’ve considered myself pagan for about the past 7 years or so. And in some ways, I still am. But I also like what other religions have to offer. I am intrigued by Christian mystics, especially Hildegard of Bingen, and a book by a Buddhist nun changed my life and aided me in my recovery process that began 2 years ago. With so many interesting belief systems out there, choosing was difficult.

But lately Princess has been asking about God and church and stuff. I already knew about UU and had considered going to a UU church in Omaha for a while. So I finally said “Ok, let’s go!” And we went.

I’ve been going every other weekend since September 7th which, coincidentally, is kind of the start of their ‘new year’ at this particular church. Princess loves Sunday school, Sissy and her boyfriend have gone with me the last 2 times, and Bubba the self-proclaimed atheist has even said he likes going.

Tonight I went to an informal education session called “UU and You” where the minister, the director of the membership committee and a couple of other volunteers talk to new members about what UU is, how the church operates, etc. We all introduced ourselves and described our religious backgrounds. There were former Lutherans, Presbyterians, Catholics, Baptists… Of course, I had to be a smartass and say I was a dyslexic insomniac agnostic that lays awake at night wondering if there really is a Dog. If I’d used that joke at any other church, I would’ve had several sets of wide-open eyes and dropped jaws facing me, but not this place.

I have to admit, I’m getting pretty comfortable there. I like what they stand for. I like the atmosphere. I like the causes they support. I like the people. I like the fact that there is clapping and laughing going on. I really like it all.

Of course, some hard core Christians will still think I’m a heathen and that UU isn’t a (McCain airquote) real (end McCain airquote) religion but that’s their issue, not mine. It works for my family just fine.

Just to give you an idea of what UU is all about, here are their seven principles:

There are seven principles which Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote:

• 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.

Now that’s what I’m talking about!

Your ad here, right now: $0