Lessons from Unitarian Universalists

The world is a better place because of Unitarian Universalists.  I love them, generally and specifically.  In my spiritual journey from Christianity, through atheism, humanism, Buddhism, and back to Christianity, I spent four wonderful years embraced by a Unitarian Universalist congregation. They tended the sick and the dying, fed the homeless and the hungry, and offered a place of loving acceptance to those who couldn’t find it elsewhere.  UUs really mean it when they sing, “We’ll build a land where we bind up the broken.  We’ll build a land where the captives go free.  Where the oil of gladness dissolves all mourning…”  They really mean it, and they put their words, actions and money to work to accomplish it.  

Tonight, I attended the memorial service for the minister of my former church.  Honestly, I can tell you, that if I can do one fraction of the good in my life that Georgette Wonders did in hers, I will count my life a success. Through her love and guidance, I found my own faith.  When I left the church, I told Georgette that without the open, nonjudgmental theology of Unitarian Universalism, I could never have walked back into a Christian church.  She laughed and said, “We were your gateway drug.”

As fulfilled and happy as I am in the Episcopal tradition, tonight I think of the lessons I learned from my UU friends.  I am sure there are other places to learn these lessons, but I learned them through chalice lightings, sharing of joys and sorrows, and singing Spirit of Life.  I learned them with the Unitarian Universalists.

• People can worship, work, and love together, even if they disagree on fundamental truths.  Focus on the common threads and the work to be done.
• There might not be an answer for everything.  Sometimes, asking the right question is as close as you can get.
• Face your fears honestly and walk through them with the help of your friends, friends who will call you on your bullshit and keep loving you anyway.  Admit what you’re terrified of, and get real with it.
• Stand on the side of love, no matter what.  And, stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.
• There are multiple truths to the universal question.  Honor other people’s perspectives.
• Bad things happen, we are all a little broken, and we all need love.  
• There is no need to explain “God’s plan” in the atrocities of the world.  Get to work helping people.
• Life is a blessed mystery.  As Georgette used to say, “Whatever is going on here, it isn’t what it seems.”