Posts tagged Unitarian Universalism

This morning I visited a Unitarian Universalist church with my girlfriend. She was raised in UU churches, but I’ve only been to one other UU service besides the one this morning. I was surprised by the size of the congregation, and by the wide range of ages represented. The service was nice. A fellow played kind of New Age music on an amplified acoustic guitar. Everyone turned to their neighbors and said hello. The kids came to the front and heard a story before they went to their Sunday school. The minister gave a fine sermon about the feeding of the five thousand, punctuated by jokes that got the congregation (including myself) laughing heartily. We sang some hymns. They passed the plate. Visitors were welcomed and some words were said about the congregation and about Unitarian Universalism.

I enjoyed it. Very different from the quiet formality of a Zen temple, which is what I am used to, and which I am not seeking these days.

After the service, there was a social hour and as Jaime and I were getting some coffee, a gentleman chatted us up, saying hello and welcome. He had the UU logo embroidered above the breast pocket of his shirt, and hanging as a pendant froma  chain around his neck. I told him that I had never been to the church before, and that my exposure to UU congregations is minimal. “Oh, well, I love this church! I’m involved in many of our programs. Unitarian Universalism is a very intellectual, non-mythological sort of religion, you know.”

My god,I thought to myself,that sounds just awful!

No myth? Intellectual? What about the spirit? The heart? The body? The subconscious? Mystery? Magic? Enchantment? Ritual? Love?

Of course, our intellect needs nourishment as well as our hearts and souls, but intellect does not bind a community together, does not turn hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. Nor does our intellect alone lead us to experiences of the divine. For such projects, we need more than our intellects, and we certainly need myth.

It was an odd encounter for me, and I think the gentleman’s statement was inaccurate - I doubt that UUism is primarily characterized by intellectualism, and there was plenty of myth in the service I had just experienced - and betrays a rather limited understanding of the spiritual life. But, that’s where he’s at, and that’s exactly where he needs to be. The sad part is that there are so many of us like him (I used to be like him, and I still am in many respects, I am sure). Stuck in our heads. Living in a disenchanted world.

(I’m listening to a playlist of whale songs on Spotify as I type this. The image is a stained glass window created for Westside UU Church in Fort Worth, TX - not the place I went to this morning - by Eric Stevens.)