Introduce yourself here!

Here's a separate topic for introductions of members of the UU Readers group. If you're a member of a UU congregation, let us know! Or whatever else you want folks to know.

I'll start, I guess.

I'm a member of the Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma, California. I've also gone to a number of other UU congregations in my UU career, starting with the First Unitarian Church of Oakland. That was followed by the Napa-Solano UU Fellowship, then by the First Universalist Church of Denver, then the Santa Cruz UU Fellowship, and the UU Congregation of Marin. I co-founded UU Petaluma with seven other perhaps insane folks in 2002.

I look forward to hearing from more people--it's embarassing to be the most recent poster on these topics....!

Okay, I'll be second.

As I said in an earlier post, I'm not really a UU. I was raised Congregationalist, that's United Church of Christ, a very liberal Protestant denomination, but I was never a believer, not in any real sense of the word. I always really liked our church, and the people there, and the things that got talked about. But I always thought the Bible was really just some nice stories, and I thought everyone else thought that too. It wasn't until high school when I realized other people really did believe, in the miracles and the resurrection and in God too, and didn't think everything was just a nice myth that taught you how to act. So, I mostly stopped going, because I felt it would be unfair and fraudulent.

Around the same time I became very critical of religion in its more fundamentalist forms, especially because it's at the heart of so many oppressive policies and political movements these days. This made me a very angry person when it came to religion, sort of reverse-evangelical. My live-in boyfriend, who's also a nonbeliever but much more mellow and accepting, started giving me a really hard time about how I really just didn't understand religion, and its beneficial aspects, and what it provides people with. So I wanted to address this, and soon became drawn to Unitarian Universalism.

So at this point I've read a bit about it, and sort of did the "but that's pretty much what I already think!" thing. The only problem has been that I've been travelling all summer, so I haven't gotten to attend any fellowships or anything. I'll be moving back to my usual school-year location in another week or so though, and one of my major plans is to start going to the congregation there and see if it's as good a fit as I think it will be. Anyway, that was super long, but I didn't want to leave ddodd as the only one...

Hello group. I just joined LibraryThing and this group last week, after seeing the group mentioned on a UU LiveJournal group blog. I am a fairly new UU, after being a Methodist as a kid, and being a Presbyterian most of my adult life. I am a member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta. We are in a transition period now, and looking for our next Senior Minister. As part of this transition process, we will be doing a book study of "The Almost Church" by Michael Durall, which I am co-leading. Mr. Durall will also be visiting UUCA in October. I just finished reading his book last week.

Jim

Hi all. I've never actually joined a congregation, kind of hung around the edges, first of First UU in Pittsburgh--I spent more time with the Young Adults group, actually--and now First UU in Syracuse. Now that I have UU friends with a car, I might attend more often--if I can make myself wake up on Sunday mornings!

My name is Alex Mead. I am a UU Author from the UU Church of Buffalo, NY.

I heard about this list through a UUPA listserve (Unitarian Universalist Polyamory Awareness).

I have written several books that deal with UU and/or polyamory. I self publish all of my work. So far my most successful books have been my two part series of novels called Relations. Relations: McEmpire and Relations: SMASH YOUR TV!

They're available from AMProSoft Books.
http://www.AMProSoft.com/books

:)

Hi all!

As I was saying on the Message Board, I'm sort of a "lapsed" UU -- I have this annoying habit of going to congregation for a few weeks, then burning out and going without for a long while, until the hunger rises again. (And now I'm living in a state where UUs are only 1% of the population, and the nearest congregation is an hour away. Yike.)

That said, I consider being a UU part of my identity, and I feel like my life is informed by UU principles. I like being able to look to the list of values, and feeling at home with all of them. I'm not always so good at living up the the highest ideals, but I figure we're all works in progress, right?

Anyway, it's good to have found a community of fellow travellers. :)

Hello~

I'm not sure if I belong here - I identify with a lot of what I've read about UUism, but I haven't had a lot direct experience with it at all. I'm definitely interested in learning more about it, and maybe attending services at the local congregation in the near future.

Hi Jim,

How is the book The Almost Church ? Having attended services at several different congregations, I frequently wished for more animated speakers. While at GA, I met some UU ministers, and one talked about being at a congregation that had a reputation for dismissing ministers - Ouch! Then reading thru some past GA workshops online led me to realize this was Not that uncommon. I look at members from the various congregations I've attended, and I see a lot of introverts (myself included), and I remember that it is really easy to criticize and tear leaders, rather than support them. Anyways, (I'm probably off on a tangent), I'd be interested in hearing about the book, as well as the author's talk if you attend.
Cheers!
DesertOwl

I'm a member of the DuPage UU Church of Naperville Illinois and live in Aurora Il.

I'm almost a grew up UU -- started attending a UU church at twelve with a friend whose parents were UU.

Hi, All!

I am the CYRE Chair at the Unitarian Universalist Community of El Paso, TX. I am one the rare few who actually grew up in the church. I left it for many years, though, and came back when my son needed to develop a sense of community.

I have been adding books to my catalog half as a project for a Library Science class, and half because I'm addicted (ok, maybe more than half because I'm addicted :-)

Alexandra
Out of Lascaux

Hi,
Fairly new to LibraryThing. Depending on how you count I'm third or fourth generation UU, but was raised unchurched because we were abroad & there were no congregations within reach. Was very active in LRY in its final days. Have been a member of CLF, and congregations in Palo Alto, CA; San Francisco; St. Cloud, MN; and Monson, MA. I've tagged as Unitarian Universalist the books in my collection which are explicitly UU (hymnal, meditation manuals, etc). Just begun the tagging process really; after feverishly adding most of my books I appear to have run out of steam a little (that and, self employed, I realized the end of the month approaches and I really have to get some paying work done if I want to, well, get paid). Have considered a "UU author" tag, but so far haven't implemented.
-Hillevi.

Hey ya'll. I'm a lifelong UU living in Minneapolis, St. Paul, where I am part of the amazing congregation of Unity Church Unitarian, which has become a big part of my life. However, I am from Albuquerque, New Mexico and the First Unitarian congregation! I'm always on the lookout for books of spiritual poety.

Hi all, and thanks David for the invitation to post an introduction of myself to the group.

I'm a nearly lifelong UU (began attending in Detroit in early elementary school). Am now a third yr MDiv seminarian at Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, as well as a member of the board of the UU Legislative Ministry California, which is statewide. I'm a member of two congregations: a founding member of the UU Community of the Mountains in Grass Valley, California, and a relatively recent member of the UU Church of Berkeley, in Kensington. Some years ago was a member of Sierra Foothills UUs in Auburn, and before that, of Cedar Lane Unitarian Church in Bethesday, MD.

Haven't done any tagging yet; am still in the process of inputting our huge (well, seems like a lot of books to me) library into the system in order to have a complete list. I still have a ways to go. It's fun to see who all else is in the group and what their collections include. Happy reading, everyone. "So many books, so little time" (I have the t-shirt).
--Yvonne

Howdy-

I'm in about my tenth year as a member of All Souls UU Congregation in New London, CT. Our congregation is a pretty dynamic group and is rapidly growing and about to move into a newer, bigger building. We love our minister (and we loved our previous full-time minister until she wanted to relocate one more time before retiring).

We're also a very musical group with everything from Bach to the Dead finding its way into our services and celebrations. We do a lot of hugs, too (have you seen the YouTube "Free Hugs" phenomenom of late ... if the poor guy would have shown up at our place with his sign, he would have instantly had about two dozen hugs in the space of 47 seconds).

(As I type this, I realize we sound like a bunch of friggin' hippies ... hmmm...)(well, most of us aren't, but, well, uh, come to think of it....)

Our congregation is fairly involved in the Social Action scene (a very welcoming congregation, habitat for humanity, working homeless shelter and meals, peace vigils and demonstrations, environmental action, etc., etc.) ... but we could always do more (there's so much to do, to be sure).

I, myself, was raised Lutheran in Indiana, but eventually joined UU around 1970 (Norwich, CT Church). Been on many committees (including President) over the years, but my real joy is singing in choir and sitting around the old UU kitchen table talking with my good friends.

Some of the things that I've believed over the years and said from the pulpit as short messages (no sermons, just Unitarian sound bites here) can be found in my dusty, little-used archive (just in case you're suffering from insomnia).

So, I guess that's "who I am" in a nutshell?

Douglas

"In the end, only kindness matters."

Hi all,
I heard about this site from a UU friend who knows my love of (addition to?) books. We run an annual fundraiser book sale for our congregation, the Unitarian Church of Montclair (NJ).

I love to read poetry, memoir, literary fiction, spiritual things of all kinds. I also belong to a book club at our church, and we are just finishing Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny - Growing up in the Shadow of Saddam Hussein by Zainab Salbi, the founder of Women to Women International (www.womentowomen.org). We chose it without knowing that UUs helped get this amazing organization off the ground. I highly recommend it!

ANd, for vonnegrrl, I recommend Radiance by Barbara Crooker. Beautiful, rich poems of everyday life.

Laura

Anyway, I look forward to future conversations. As to

Hey, folks. Good to see you all.

I've been UU since birth, basically. My folks are both birthright Episcopalians who had some major doctrinal and personal problems with that specific church, but felt finding some religion to bring my brother and I up in was vital. So, they chose a UU church.

My brother's now gone on to become a Quaker, and I'm still a UU, pondering (vaguely, down the road) going off and getting an M. Div. Mostly for purposes of pastoral counseling-- I'm finishing up my undergrad degree (...at 33) in counseling, but I could wibble on for a long period of time about what else I want to do inside and with the UU Church.

I was and I guess officially still am a member of the Dedham church (in Massachusetts, that is), and I'm hovering around the edges of Theodore Parker in West Roxbury, trying to get up the momentum to join there.

I read a bunch of SF & fantasy, some mysteries and horror, religious and spiritual stuff, history, psych stuff, random feminist stuff, blah de blah etc and so on.

Hope to talk to you more as time goes on!

My story is the opposite. My mom was raised Universalist (Franklin, MA) and my dad a nominal (northern!) Presbyterian. They were married at her church, and promptly converted to Episcopalian shortly thereafter, so my brother and I were raised that way.

Hi everyone,

I just found out about this site, directed here by a distant UU cousin of mine in response to my having lost my entire theological library in an all consuming fire in my congregation's meetinghouse. And of course, it was not indexed and uncatalogued! Had I done the Librarything BEFORE the fire, filing an insurance claim would have been so much easier!!!

My religious background is a mismash. Suffice it to say there are United Church of Christ, General Conference Mennonite, Quaker, humanist and Buddhist influences in it, and I am now decidedly a Unitarian Universalist. Actually, I have been that for nearly 20 years.

~Jim

Greetings to all!

I'm Suzanne Reed from the First Unitarian Universalist church of Nashville, and I'm just now getting around to really browsing this site.

My husband Arnie and I joined the UU church in 2004, which has been one of the greatest sources of joy in both our lives. We have just completed a year and a half of service as the vice chair and secretary, respectively, of the GLBT+Friends group, and are RE teachers for the kindergarten & preschoolers. Arnie is a professional keyboard player here in Music City, and plays in our congregation's rock band.

I was raised Southern Baptist, and was never, ever comfortable in that faith. It never made sense, and questions were NOT allowed. Finding the UU church has been such a relief, as well as a tremendous blessing. I can't imagine my life now without this aspect! Community is truly a gift, and I had no idea until I joined FUUN.

Peace to all!
Suzanne

Greetings,

I am a third generation UU born in West Virginia, moved to Oklahoma as a teenager and now attend First Unitarian in Oklahoma City. I currently serve as the Youth Coordinator there.

I read a little bit of everything but have decided to only catalog books that have made a significant impression on me - at least for now. So many of my books are in storage, even this may prove difficult.

So, I will add a few at a time and eventually you will know more about me.

Ann

I'm somewhat of a lapsed UU. My family attended Shawnee Mission Unitarian Church (Shmuuch) in Kansas when I was younger. When I was a teen I attended the youth group at Alls Souls UU in Kansas City with a friend from my high school. After college I attended Shmuuch for a while and there I was introduced to Paganism. I still did things with the Shmuuch but also participated with a Pagan group. My dh and I moved to Cali and did check out the UU in Petaluma I think? but never became active.

I live in Lawrence, KS now and we have a fellowship that's pretty active. I just can't seem to get myself inspired to church on Sundays. I feel selfish of my time. I did enjoy the few services and talks I went to.

I knew there had to be a UU group here! I just found this by doing a search in Groups, in reaction to a new UU group being opened this morning by a L.T. newbie (who I figured had not searched the groups before opening up a new one). I posted a message over there inquiring if her intent was to set up a new group or not, with a link to this one, and figured that I might as well join up here while I was at it!

I am somewhat of a "lapsed" UU'r ... we used to attend 2nd Unitarian in Chicago, which we really loved from a theological perspective, but had to leave when the political climate began to feel more like a weekly Socialist Workers Party meeting. I only wish we could find a new congregation that wasn't so full of neo-Stalinist wannabes.

Both of my daughters were "welcomed" (what's the UU equivalent of Baptism?) into 2U, and we miss it a lot, but had to walk away from it.

I also tried hooking up with CFUU (the Conservative Forum for Unitarian Universalists), but found that strangely infested by Bible-thumping Xtian fundamentalists, and thereby not exactly being the theological haven that 2U had been.

I keep hoping that somewhere out there there's a UU congregation that's sane on both the theological and political fronts!

Hello. I am brand new to Librarything, (read about it in the NYT) but have been a UU since 1969 and am very active in our local congregation in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

I have listed only my favorite (almost entirely) fiction books in librarything so far - and usually only one book per author, although of course I have read several by my favorites.

Probably my all time favorite book is Prodigal Summer, by Barbara Kingsolver. Also, I own some of the books I have listed , but not all of them. Don't know if doing it this way will give good results, but that's what I'm doing right now. I have read many of the UU books listed and led a discussion group a couple of years ago on Lifecraft.

Currently I am "retired" from 16 years as executive director of the YWCA and am working (playing) part-time as assistant manager of a fair trade store. My main role in our congregation this year is being chair of the Adult Religious Education Committee, which has been a great learning experience.

I live in northeast Iowa, near Garrison Keillor land, and I have been married for 38 years to my college prof. husband who is very good looking, and we have (of course) two very above average adult sons. One is living in Brooklyn and the other lives in UU Mecca, Boston.

Have any of you read "What Terrorists Want?" by Louise Richardson? Very insightful book. Richardson will be here this spring at a conference at our local university, the University of Northern Iowa. Highly recommend the book.

Cheers -
Pam

I am not at the moment affiliated with any church or fellowship, but I was a member of the unitarian fellowship in Lafayette, Indiana 1955-61, and the Unitarian church in Hartford Ct. in the 60's. I am a secular jew, uncomfortable with the 'chosen people' attitude, and too agnostic for most churches and synagogues. I used the Unitarian church and fellowship as places to raise my children since i couldn't in good conscience teach them judaism.
However, everyone always considered us jews, and our minister called us the "jewish unitarians". Lapsed catholics weren't called 'catholic unitarians' but then catholicism isn't an ethnicity like being an ashkenazi jew which even has genetic components-Tay Sachs disease, breast cancer, etc. I live in upstate new york in summer, and the tampa bay area in winter. I can't seem to get organized to find a church and get there on sunday since I dont need to take my kids to sunday school. I've been ecumenical about my husbands;my first was a secular jew, my second was a lapsed catholic, and after he died I married a lapsed protestant. I spent many years just singing in church choirs and oratorio societies- mostly in episcopal and congregatonal churches, but some synagogues, and some independent choirs. I guess Bach is my religion.
If there is a UU out there in Poughkeepsie or Clearwater, who wouldn't find my irreligion offensive, I could use a buddy and a church.

Greetings, Fellow UUs!
I am a member of The Fourth Universalist Society in the City of New York. I've been a UU for 2 1/2 years; brought up Roman Catholic but left that behind decades ago. I'm on the Board of Trustees for the Fourth Univeralist and really enjoy the involvement with the community. Additionally, I'm an ordained Interfaith minister (not UU) and commercial airline captain. Some combination, huh? I look forward to participating in this group. My Personal Website

Hello everyone!

I'm a member of The Unitarian Church of Staten Island in NYC. I have identified as UU for 2 years and have been hanging out with UU congregations/fellowships/churches since my sophomore year in college (1998). I was brought up Catholic but have not identified as such since I was 18 (now 29). I look forward to meeting other fellow UUs and especially any poly or latino/a UUs.

:)Paola

Greetings UUs! I belong to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Catawba Valley and am a new member of Library Thing. UUs are a bit scarce in North Carolina, so it's great to be able to chat. As I mentioned in my profile UUs have the best yard sales for bookhunting.

I'm a non-member of High Street U. U. Church in Macon, Georgia, in the fine U.U. tradition of non-joiners.

OTOH, with superb religious education, I made sure that my three step-children attended. And as students in Oklahoma County, OK and Bibb County, Georgia, made sure that they attended "Our Whole Lives."

It's appropriate that High Street appropriates the Washington Library's parking lot during services.

The book I'd reccomend for U.U.'s is from a non-U.U. author:
Brother to Dragons by Robert Penn Warren.

After joining Librarything, and rooting through varous libraries, I guess I am a UU groupie. We are affiliated with our sixth UU congregation, the Arlington, Texas, UU Church. However, it is really a fellowship. This is our third fellowship--the others being El Paso, and Galveston. The three churches, Eugene, Oregon (Carl Nelson minister), Mount Vernon, Alexandria, Virginia (Dave Bumbaugh, minister) and Corpus Christi (Jim Dace, Minister). My "default religion": what today is labeled "New Age", however initially, it was Califonia cult; my wife's, a lapsed Southern Baptist. I presently preside over our congregation's Sunday School Gang, where we are going through. The Teaching Company's lecture series, "Emerson, Thoreau and the transcendental Movement" followed by a series on existentialism.

Hello, I'm a member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington (UUFH) in Huntington NY (Long Island). We're a church not a fellowship but one that continues to "have issues" with the term church. How UU is that! I am as close to a lifelong UU as one can get, I guess, but have not been as active recently as in the past. I have been a member of LT for a few months now and am addicted. UU's love to read and communicate - this is a perfect medium for us. Let's "talk" often.

Hello, I became a UU in grad school, when Ed Harris was minister of the UU congregation of Urbana, Illinois. Then for a long time I was a member of the church in Bloomington, IL. Was secretary of the Board at one point. When we moved to Arkansas at the end of the 1980s, I never felt much connection with the Little Rock UUs. Now we are in the Midwestern corn fields where the closest UU church is more than a 90 minute drive one way. I grew up in the UCC, but not the Congregationalists; rather the former German Evangelical Synod of North America--that's "Evangelical" in the German sense of Evangelisch or protestant, not evangelical in the modern American sense. My Christianity began to weaken badly in high school. Reading about neo-platonism in college killed any remaining faith I had. Once I realized how Christianity had developed much as all human cultural movements evolve, I could no longer find a reason to accord it any special status. I do not have much of a spiritual sense, although I try to honor a universe much greater than I will ever be able to understand. So my reading is mostly history and current affairs rather than "spiritual."

Hi and warm greetings from cold South Dakota. I am fairly new to LibraryThing and a new member of this group. My religious roots are UCC, with a short diversion through Mormondom, and now attend a local Presbyterian church (the most liberal institution in the area--the nearest UU congregation is 175 miles away!). My membership resides with the Church of the Larger Fellowship, UU. I would like to attend GA this year in FL, but have not decided yet. Maybe with the tax rebate...

I enjoying reading a variety of topics, but find most of my reading revolves around my work--I am a school librarian, and work part time as a public librarian as well. So I read a lot of YA and student fiction.

Right now I am reading Deer Hunting With Jesus and find it to be an interesting take on class in America--humorous and sobering at the same time.

Hola, y'all!

Time for the obligatory introduction. I'm a religious educator who generally reads over 100 books a year--only in the last couple of years have I started keeping track of them. Lots of young adult lit, some UU/curricular stuff, and then whatever I find on the paperback exchange or at the library.

Also, I'm using this site for the wrong reasons--I don't keep the books I read!

Hello,

I belong to the UU Church of Arlington, Texas, joining about 7 years ago. I speak from their pulpit about 8 times a year. I teach high school full time and college three-quarter time. I love reading Emerson, Thoreau and Tillich for spiritual enrichment. Thanks to you, I think I'll be getting into additional works as well. Thank you for forming this group.

Hi,

I'm a member of Northwoods UU Church located in TX at the The Woodlands.

I'm one of those people that was pretty much a UU their entire lives and didn't know it. I grew up a non-practicing Christian, never even read the bible until my mom started taking my brother and me to church sporadically in middle school.

My own journey has spanned Wicca, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity, finally alighting on a blend of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity of my own making, with a little theosophy thrown in for good measure.

I never really felt at home in any church or religious group until I went to a service at the University Unitarian Church with my aunt yesterday, and felt immediately at home.

Welcome Child_of_Light. I realized I was a Unitarian 25 years before I ever darkened their doorway. Our spiritual journey reminds me of a joke, which is a good thing. I've always found Unitarians to be much more light-hearted than other faiths which seemed to have too much damnation and not enough love.

How many Unitarians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? None, since there are multiple ways to the light and all are equally valid.

Have a wonderful day!

Hello UUs on LT,
Good to know you are here! I heard about LT from my daughter who also loves BookMooch. She must get and send two or three books a week! It has been fun and interesting to go through all my boxes and shelves of books. I am a member of the Shoreline UUC just north of Seattle in Washington State. Looking forward to hearing what you all are reading.
All the best,
Barbara Cornell

Hi everyone-

Glad to find the group. By way of introduction, my name is James & both my wife & I are UU's. We are both members of Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
of Lafayette, LA. Its a small group but we really enjoy it every time we go.We became official members only a few years back but we were actually married fifteen years ago by a UU minister in Rockville, Md. Weird how that worked out. lol

Anyway, I'm looking forward to future discussions.

- James

Came to UU while still a Believer, and I was called to the Indifference of Truth, to the fact that Truth does not have to be believed, or even known, to exist.

Son of missionaries, lost all belief that there are any Believers -- having seen many saints tested and all are found wanting. The problem of course, is that Belief is not actually possible. It is like asking a dog to give us Ten Commandments.

I intermittently attend the lovely congregation in Costa Mesa, California.

Now all I have is a suspicion of Truth, and what I suspect is that whatever Truth is, it is tolerant of error, and the Church which is the most tolerant, is the closest to the Truth. Pretty simple to come to UU, since its doctrine is the most inclusive, the most tolerant of others' good faith beliefs.

Now I suspect that most people, almost everyone, and certainly everyone who actually cares about the Truth, is a closet Unitarian Universalist. I am an evangelist of liberal religion. I give witness to Mormons and Fundamentalists. I take sacraments to the Atheists. I pray for the useful idiots and saints. My angular gyrus, the place in the brain where metaphors live, is regularly crucified, and either forgetting or forgiving, rising again.

We must share some astonishment that the UU Church is not large, not the largest. This must be one of the mysteries. I look forward to sharing.

Unfortunately a great many UU congregations are largely geriatric. By the time, in life, that many people decide that they are Unitarian Universalists, they are well along the "life narrative". Although my spouse and I are now in our mid-seventies, in the 1960s, when we were in Eugene Oregon, we affiliated with the Unitarian congregation there (Minister Karl Nelson). We did this primarily because our first born son was approaching the "social interaction" stage. at 3 years old, and we were anticipating a future where he might want to "blend in" with peers (possibly even Baptists) and we did this to "vaccinate" him. This proved invaluable when we finally settled here in Texas, surrounded by Christian fundamentalist Republicans. Since leaving Eugene Oregon, we have experienced a total of six UU congregations, each of which are peopled with aging members and declining membership. When we were members of the Mount Vernon UU, Alexandria, Virginia, UU congregation (Minister Dave Bumbaugh), a good many of the members were also Reform Jewish or lapsed therefrom. In that proselytizing is not our "thing", I would posit that any growth, in our present society, is quite bleak. See "Bowling Alone" by Robert D. Putnam.

I belong to First Unitarian Society of Denver and we are growing with lots of children. At least it seems like a lot. Other Denver area churches are growing too. I don't think we are down and out yet.

First Unitarian Society of Denver? That appears to be a "fellowship"; In our tour through various Unitarian congregations (3 of them are fellowships), the one, here, in Arlington, Texas, claims to be a "church", however, its size, and lack of a minister, definitely categorizes it as a "fellowship". Apparently, this "false designation" is required by "Texas statutes" to experience a tax exempt status. How does the state of Colorado look on your classification?

Also. a"church" designation must enable us to not be confused with the "Unity Church" by those "gentiles" seeking a "spiritual" home.

Hi I go to a UU church in Macon, GA and have been going to Unitarian churches regularly since middle school as my mother is also a Unitarian.

How large is the Macon congregation?

around 100 people, its not that big. Although there are tons of churches in Macon for people to go to so some people that might attend a UU church go to some of the more liberal churches in the area.

With just 100 people, are you able to support a full-time minister?

sorry its been so long. Yes we do have a full time minister, we also have a teaching minister although I do not think he (the teaching minister) is really paid by the church. I think that since the cost of living is really low in Macon it helps with the church being able to afford someone.

Hello,
I am the unofficial librarian of the UU church of Sharon, MA. I've been a lifelong UU myself and am currently a member of my church.

Hello.
I am a member of the UU Church of Annapolis. I am retired and studying Philosophy at UMBC.
I just joined LibraryThing recently after my daughter told me about it. she is geting her masters in Library Science.

Hi! I'm a member of Jefferson Unitarian Church in Golden, Colorado. I sing in the choir, chair the Music Ministry group, mentor 8th graders in Coming of Age, and I'm also on staff (administrative asst.).
I found LibraryThing while searching for a book our Interim Senior Minister, David Sammons, wrote called The Marriage Option. After of course jumping on the opportunity to catalog all my books, I found this UU group. Perfect!

How large is theJefferson Unitarian Church in Golden, Colorado. congregation?

Welcome, Rona!

It hath been 5 decades of unity in the UU, to be celebrated at this year's Big Tent Meeting in June 2012. Hope all the UU's come out of that closet that pretends to be Druidic Judaic Buddhist Catholic Protestant Islamic Mormon.

I sat next to a Believer. After unrelenting prodding, at the extremity of his insistence, I revealed to him that I was not only an unrepentant sinner, but the worst of the species: I was not only an atheist as to his god, but I positively despised such a god. If his god existed, it should be ashamed of itself and I would not forgive it. If there was heaven, I would shake its golden dust from my sandals and take my place among the suffering sinners for my eternity.

But I smiled gently into his dismay. I invited him to add the greatest of all jewels to his crown, and "warn" me. For a Believer has only to warn those who have fallen away, so as to achieve further elevation in the hierarchies of heaven.

"For your own assurance," I said, "Give me a warning". He looked startled.

"Warn me!" I said. "But be specific. Recall that I am a righteous man. I struggle to avoid false pride and hypocrisy, and I treat others as I would be treated. What outcome awaits me that a god worthy of worship has prepared for me?"

The Believer did not relent. He eagerly stepped up to the bait of self-aggrandizement, and warned me of eternal damnation. He assured me, apparently without a hint of self-awareness of the irony, that my destiny would be made unpleasant at the hands of a god willing to torture a righteous man for the sin of refusing to worship at the feet of a torturer.

{Thanks for sharing (!)}

Dear Friends & Losers:

Guest what? The Rapture happened and you missed it. But I didn’t. I’m facebooking you from heaven right now. I’m here and you’re not.

At 6:00 pm on May 21, right on schedule, I ascended in a brilliant burst of rainbow light. I rose up, smelling suddenly like lilacs and red velvet cupcakes. Bingo, just like that. Up, up I went. Angels sang. Trumpets blared. I found myself all glowy and wearing a white silk caftan. And all you losers, you spiritual dwarfs, you remained stuck down THERE.

As I soared skyward, I was sure that I would be joining tens of thousands of other superior holy beings like my good self, but alas, no. It was just me, some old saints and a few random Buddhists. No popes, members of congress or basketball stars. I thought -- what the hell??? Could I be the only truly fabulous glorified one? Well, apparently so.

But here’s the wacky deal. It’s not just that I made it to heaven. All you dunderheads are actually in hell and you don’t seem to know it. That’s how stupid and blind you are. You still think you are living on good old planet earth, dancing with the stars, but no such luck.

Think about it. If you lived on a good planet, would half the population live in abject poverty on less than two dollars per day? Would four billion people not have heath care or justice or basic housing? Would you allow 35,000 children to die every single day of preventable illness? Would your leaders spend trillions on weapons and bombs and almost nothing to cure malaria or AIDS? In a an intelligent world, would human beings spend ten times more money on eye make-up than on eye care? In a sane world, could Michele Bachmann actually become President of the United States? Not a chance.

You don’t live on earth, my religious midgets. You live in an insane asylum in hell. You created these circumstances and you seem to enjoy it – at least some of the time, especially when Oprah gives you a car, or your favorite team wins one of those game played with a ball. What’s up with that?? Some of you fly in your private jets and hang out in your gated mansions, but more and more of you suffer through your life. You are not your brother’s keeper. You don’t seem to care what happens to each other, except for brief moments during star-studded telethons for disaster victims and afterwards you forget the crisis even happened. Haiti -- been there, done that. Short attention span, celebrity worship. You are more concerned about how your underarms smell than you are about climate change.

It’s obviously hell, my friends. I would say “Get used to it,” but you already have.

So, anyway, if I have one post-rapture message for you, it’s that you might have another chance. You missed this latest ascension, but there’s another one being promoted for next year, 2012 – all this stuff about the Mayan calendar and the end of the world next Christmas. I am sure there will be another round of media frenzy, but probably less billboards and subway ads. The new agers just don’t have the big media budgets like the evangelicals. But don’t miss this opportunity. You might get another shot at heaven, or at least the chance to change your hell into something e a bit more workable.

But we shall see, won’t we? I am not holding my breath.

Hello Rona, I am a member at FUSD. We hear you have a new minister now. We also hear that she seems open to doing things with our congregation. So I will keep an eye out for you this year. Welcome.

60> You must have really good internet service up there.

For those, who have hang-ups with the "concept" of "Liberal Religion" Amazon.com has the following available:
The Education of God: Voices of Liberal Religion - by David Bumbaugh

Since becoming a born-again existentialist, I would maintain that Emerson's "Transcendentalism, of the 19th century has mutated into existentialism (e.g. Paul Tillich). However, there are those, who apparently are not quite certain as to how existentialism might pertain to their life-world, For them, I recommend that they might read Existential Psychotherapy by Irvin D. Yalom (Dec 8, 1980), which is also available on Amazon.com.

Hello all,

I am the minister serving the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Midland, Michigan and a long-time bibliophile. It will take some time to get everything up and loaded, but LT is a nice activity when I'm taking a break from sermon writing.

I just finished a book, Sauntering: Wandering the Path of Mystical Omnitheism, which is available through Amazon. So, feel free to visit my author page. I look forward to interacting with fellow book lovers.

Rev. Jeff Liebmann

Welcome, Rev. Jeff!

Hi I'm Bobbe Anderson, currently at Bridgewater Massachusetts UU Church. I started out at the UU church of Canton, then moved to Unity Church in North Easton, Ma. Took a break for several years, then decided that I need to go back. Did some church shopping, and I'm here now, but I haven't become a member yet. Want to make sure that I've really landed first.

I found out about UUism when I had my first child, and the grandmothers believed it was necessary for her to be baptized. When I found out what that was all about, I wasn't a fan but they weren't to be denied. I showed up at All Soul's in NYC where I was living at the time, and when I asked about my daughter being baptized, was told no. As I was walking away, the wonderful woman behind the desk told me that UU don't believe that the baby had any sin to be washed away. They wanted to welcome a child and bring them in to the community. Yep, I became a UU at that very moment. When I join my first congregation, my Uncle, the family's genealogist pointed out that I was related to one of the first members of the Canton UU Church. So, I guess you could say that it's in my blood!

Hi. I'm Sid Martin. I belong to All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, OK. I serve on the Newcomers Board, the Care Team, and the Library Committee. I have a Master of Theological Studies degree in Biblical sutdies form Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa. I recently published a book entitled Secret of the Savior: The Myth of the Messiah in Mark. I hope you will add it to your library.

Hi, Group - I'm Peter Newport, a UU minister lately, with my wife, the Rev. Patricia Hart, co-minister of our church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I am presently sliding into something like retirement, rerganizing my library, downsizing, taking pictures, thinking about the future - stuff like that.

I've got a big library that I don't want to cart around any more, crates of books that I will may never look at again, that are going to go on sale through Amazon. Pour through my library, if you will. If you see anything you like, let me know. Let's make a deal.