Please review this checklist to see if your beliefs and values are in harmony with those of Unitarian Universalism (UU)1.
If a number of these statements reflect, to one degree or another, your own thoughts and feelings, experiences and searchings, there is probably an exciting place for you in our Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Puna.
• I believe in the right of every person to make his or her own choice about what he or she believes and values.
• I cannot identify my beliefs with any particular creed or doctrine.
• I believe that ultimate truth is an emerging experimental thing, not finished and complete.
• I believe a child should be encouraged to discover religion in his or her unfolding life rather than have it forced upon him or her through a process of dogmatic indoctrination.
• I believe a church can be an effective organization and still urge each member to be her or his free individual self.
• I want a church where people from many religious and spiritual backgrounds -- Agnostic, Atheist, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Mystic, Zoroastrian, etc. -- are all welcomed as full-fledged members without “conversion” or “renunciation.”
• I want a church which speaks warmly of “salvation” in terms of consciousness, self-knowledge, and self-management skills, of character and deeds; where achievement is more dependent on social responsibility and action less than ceremonies, sacraments, catechisms and creeds.
• I believe that people are punished by their sins, not for them, and that the evil people do lives with them.
• I hold in reverence the interconnectedness and interdependence of all creation.
• I believe salvation results from ethical living, problem solving, moral achievement; and aversion to sanctimony and bigotry in all its forms -- ageism, racism, sexism, etc.
• I want a church where I can be free to wonder about -- even doubt -- the existence of a Supreme Being, the nature of the Source of all life, the effectiveness of prayer and meditation, the possibility of immortality, and still be spiritual or religious; a church that calls no honest doubt “heresy” and where “heretics” are welcome.
1 These are some of the questions adapted by Robert Wayne Johnston of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst, Massachusetts, from Jack Mendelson’s “BEING A LIBERAL IN AN ILLIBERAL AGE,” Beacon Press, Boston, 1985.
See also: 100 Questions about UUs- Nashua UU Church
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Puna
SUNDAYS 10:15AM
Eagles Aerie in Kea'au
Directions from Hilo: Highway 11 to Kea'au, then highway 130 toward Pahoa. Turn right at intersection where four lanes converge to two lanes, across the road from the Humane Society.
Meetings consist of a variety of speakers, discussion groups, singing, announcements, sharing of joys and concerns.
Childcare for children 3 and over is provided. We strive to be a growing and beloved community.
As a Unitarian Universalists congregations we covenant to 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 responsible search for truth and meaning.
•The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregation and in society at large.
•The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.
•Respect for the interdependent web of existence of which we are all a part.
The living tradition which we share draws from many sources:
•Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
•Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
•Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
•Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
•Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.
•Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.
For more information, please visit www.uua.org.