Welcome!

The First Unitarian Universalist Society of New Haven
member U.U.A.

It is very natural to wonder, "what do Unitarian Universalists (UUs) believe and what do they do on Sunday?" This is rather difficult to answer. UUs believe that there are many paths to an understanding of the sacred. UUs Strongly doubt that any one person or creed has the final answer. We believe that it is important to have a place where we can support each other on our different religious paths.

UUs may seek an understanding of the sacred through "mainstream" and "other-than-mainstream", Western and "non-Western" religious traditions, philosophy, music, art, and literature, as well as through social action, and our own experience.

You will find much diversity here. For example, Some persons believe in God, while others do not, Many are somewhere in between! You will find that some of us speak of attending services as "going to Church" others insist on using the word "Meeting House", or "Fellowship"

I know that this may be confusing to you, it confuses us too! However, confusing as it may be, embracing the diversity of our beliefs and practices can be invigorating, and sometimes even fun!

Our worship services (or meetings, if you prefer) reflect our diversity. Two services a month are led by our interim Minister. The other services are coordinated by members or guests of the community. Some of these services have homilies or services, while others are mostly ritual. Some draw inspiration from obviously religious traditions, while others are inspired by the religious aspects of philosophy (or the philosophical aspects of religions), politics, or the arts.

Some recent examples include:

• We discussed and meditated on the spiritual aspects of Nature as we experienced them in rivers we have known.
• We have had sermons on lessons from the Hebrew and Christian religious texts
• We have welcomed the seasons through Earth-centered rituals
• We have celebrated Easter
• We have shared the music of other cultures, read poetry, and explored the spiritual dimensions of dance
• We have had sermons on the need for social action and caring for others

Why all this diversity? Well, we feel that the keys of all religions are found, not in any one creed, but in the "common denominators" of moral and social teaching that is universal to all religions. Unitarians tend to view all religions as seeing only a part of the divine, that the human appreciation of the divine is like the old story of the "Blind men and the Elephant":

Three blind men are brought to an elephant, and each is asked what it is. one grabs the trunk, and proclaims it a snake, another grabs the leg and is positive it is a tree trunk, while the third grabs the tail, and insists that it is a rope. They leave the elephant bitterly arguing their interpretations.

This introduction is in no way a complete explanation of Unitarian Universalism. Please talk to us for more info.

FUUS Home page | Introduction | Principles and Purposes
Famous UUS | Directions