Sunday Services

If you’re coming to a Unitarian Universalist service for the first time, you may find it very similar in some ways to the services of other religions you may be used to.

Services here last an hour, there is a podium from which a minister usually speaks, and the congregation sings hymns. But there may be much more variety and participation from the congregation in a UU service, especially at SCUU.

The sermons we enjoy each week tend to focus on community, spirituality, family, personal growth, and helping to find a harmonious path through our modern discordant world.

We preach no strict dogma, and welcome people who consider themselves Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Pagan, atheist, or of any other viewpoint. We find that when we bring all of these perspectives to the Unitarian Universalist table, we all grow.

Unitarian Universalism

Unitarian Universalism is a liberal, creedless religion with Judeo-Christian roots. It teaches tolerance and respect for other religious viewpoints. Members frequently come from other religious backgrounds, and the denomination and its members are noted for service to the community, the nation and the world.

Unitarian Universalism has a long heritage that goes back hundreds of years to courageous people who struggled for freedom in thought and faith. Unitarianism and Unversalism started as separate movements beginning in the 1500’s emphasizing a search for religious truth and a tradition of inclusiveness. In this country, congregations date back to the Massachusetts settlers and the founders of the republic.

In 1961, Unitarians and Universalists merged to form the Unitarian Universalist Association, and today there are more than one thousand congregations in the US and Canada.

The members covenant to affirm and promote these seven guiding principles:

1. The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
2. Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in the congregations;
4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
5. The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within the congregations and the society at large;
6. The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all;
7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Some historical figures associated with Unitarian Universalism are John Adams, Louisa May Alcott, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Beatrix Potter, Albert Schweitzer, Walt Whitman, Frank Lloyd Wright and Whitney Young.

For more information about Unitarian Universalism, visit the Unitarian Universalist Association web site.