My 1st experience at a Unitarian Universalist church

[shirlene29]

Im not gonna read all that...I'll pretend i have better things to do...but i thought the universalists unitarians got swallowed up by another organization?? maybe that was only locally

I tried to buy a piece of property from them years ago and it got all screwed up because it had sloppily changed hands too many times...the title search cost me three grand...
I really wanted that place bad, thier attorney was a moron though and said it was unsaleable.

and yeah, I researched them when I was trying to negotiate with them..I liked their ideology

 

[musclemom]

The right spirit was there, just dressed in bad lesbian sense of fashion. Kinda hokey and nerdy. Lovable, but no modern pulse though the message is still progressive.

Well, I have to be honest, you're going to find that in any institution, including paganism.

For a spiritual tradition to remain viable, there has to be a degree of dynamism, but you still need to hold onto the traditions, and those traditions become hokey. You update shit too much, it loses the meaning, the feeling, the spirit of the thing.

Staying abreast of the times simply for the sake of being trendy is a guarantee fail because the trend WILL eventually become passe.

Look at it this way, Wiccans celebrate the wheel of the year. Half of those sabbats are centered around harvest festivals which basically have ZERO pertinence for most people in our modern culture, but we still honor the spirit of those festivals and find ways to make the celebrations pertinent for our times, beyond honoring the ancestors.

One of the comfortable things about an institution and tradition is that it is memories/echoes of times gone by. It's a safe place.

Just my take on it, I've never belonged to a conventional church or even been a christian so I could be totally off base, too.

 

[b0und]

Hmmm, I don't know if we have these Unitarians here in Australia. Maybe I could check them out. Sounds like they would welcome a know-it-all humanist.












b0und (not only know-it-all, but know-it-all-better )

 

[Oceano]

Yeah, I gave you plenty of chum to gorge yourselves on. Ha ha.

On one hand, the church has to reflect what the "clientele" are comfortable with and many churches have a traditional service and a more modern service to cater to younger and older. It's not about the "marketing" to "sell" church. But, like a product, any church interested in keep the next generation interested will evolve naturally according to the members and the leadership. A church that is wanting to keep every age interested will offer a venue for the younger people to express themselves in different ways which usually is reflected in the music choice.

It's not a church that has a sense of being up to date, so those age groups are not represented well there. It's like going to your lesbian grandma's Lutheran church. The people are nice and trying to do a good thing, but they are comfortable with their style and don't seem interested in updating the external things since the tenets are eternal and universal.

They're good people- just their style is so ironically UNprogressive when their message is still very much PROgressive.

At my church I get the impression people see it as a duty to go and are generally happy to get out of there. What age are you btw, late teens or early 20s? (if you don't mind me asking)

Oh, and "femmy" means he was sensitive, soft spoken, gentle, maybe he tilted his head as he spoke. He talked like a GIRL!!! Oh, puuhleeze. We have gender stereotypes and don't pretend we don't. I don't think there's anything wrong with all the shades we come in. Many people blurr the lines between the gender polars and I think that's just being human. It IS what it IS and it's okay to call someone by their most pronounced physical traits. It makes me laugh when someone won't tell me someone is Asian or Black because we're suppose to be "color blind". There's nothing wrong with our uniqueness. PC PC PC crap.

Btw, femmes kinda turn me on in fact. - but that's another tangent....

maybe u is lez?

 

[Underwraps]

Per Shirlene's post: I have no clue, but sounds like that local church had a money mess in it's background. I bet they had trouble making the mortgage?

Per MM- How ya doin' woman? - Yeah, the balance between tradition and keeping things dynamic is a tough thing to maintain. I definately sense these older folks are forging their own ideas, but in a safe familiar form. It's like if the wheel ain't broke, don't fix it, but they don't see their wheels are made of wood vs rubber and would move faster with some change.

A new epiphany: They are overly intellectual.

Spirituality has inner and outer forms and each affects the other. A good rockin' uplifting song is like a natural high that feeds the seed of what I have growing inside me. The best unitarian church experience for me is a U2 concert. Frickin' Bono is a master of feelin' good vibes and at "One" with your fellow human beings. I get all misty at some point somewhere at one. That's how I was hoping to feel and maybe they do have their moments, depending on the guest speaker or performer. I'm sure it's the type of church to have African drums come in and such. I'll be visiting awhile just for the learnin' and community. But, I've learned in past mistakes to first pay my dues before trying to get people to take on new ideas and change and tell them what to do.

Yeah, any organization has to have a regular fluid way of doing things, but they can't lose sight of the fact that people are of all ages and they are missing a huge segment of the population that ironically is at the age where they are questioning the most, seeking, and also have the most energy. With what unitarians can embrace, their rooftop should be coming off the hinges with ideas and vitality- like a U2 concert! : ) There's nothing holding them back, but their own creaky ideas of convention. How ironic!

Bound- I'm sure Aussies have Unitarians.

Btw, they're very gay friendly too and not just gay friendly, it's part of the agenda. They are to gay issues and tolerance what the Black churches in the south were to the U.S. Civil Rights movement.

I wish them luck on that, but history has shown, even though homosexuality has and always will be part of the variety of human kind, they will always be marginalized because they will always be a minority. Royalty of the past and entertainers could be gay, but regular every day Tom, Dick, and Harry getting married, adopting kids, pushing strollers down the street, kissing in public (saw this lately at a TGIF), getting divorced, etc.... Well, who knows? Maybe someday...

 

[Underwraps]

At my church I get the impression people see it as a duty to go and are generally happy to get out of there. What age are you btw, late teens or early 20s? (if you don't mind me asking)

I grew up in the 80's. So, describe YOUR church to me. What's it like? Traditional? Modern? Charismatic? Dry? Where I often visit, sure, there will always be bored teens who had no choice but to go where parents bring them or they are there and happy b/c their friends are there and to hell with the churchy stuff. There will always be that resistance. But, overall, people look happy to be there. It's friendly, positive. It's still hard chore on doctrine though. They want visitors to feel comfortable, but true believers and members to feel challenged.


maybe u is lez?

Ha ha. No, soft men are just far less intimidating and my personality type is submisive and supportive so I can't handle overly dominating types. That's why a lot of "femmy" guys date old country Asian women. By contrast, they make them seem masculine!

 

[Oceano]

I grew up in the 80's. So, describe YOUR church to me. What's it like? Traditional? Modern? Charismatic? Dry? Where I often visit, sure, there will always be bored teens who had no choice but to go where parents bring them or they are there and happy b/c their friends are there and to hell with the churchy stuff. There will always be that resistance. But, overall, people look happy to be there. It's friendly, positive. It's still hard chore on doctrine though. They want visitors to feel comfortable, but true believers and members to feel challenged.

It's traditional. Stone-built, fairly cold, wooden pews. Church takes place on Sunday morning and lasts for about 45mins. It consists mostly of hymns, usually the same hymns every week, the sermon last about 6-8 minutes (the best part), then it's over and everyone seems happy at the end. To me it all seems processional, not very interactive, but I think most are ok with that. In all, it's always been what it is, it's not something that enthuses me massively. Then again it's easy, hardest part is being bothered to go on Sunday morning.

Ha ha. No, soft men are just far less intimidating and my personality type is submisive and supportive so I can't handle overly dominating types. That's why a lot of "femmy" guys date old country Asian women. By contrast, they make them seem masculine!

'Old country Asian women', is that like aged Asian women that live in rural areas?

 

[PICK3]

It's traditional. Stone-built, fairly cold, wooden pews. Church takes place on Sunday morning and lasts for about 45mins. It consists mostly of hymns, usually the same hymns every week, the sermon last about 6-8 minutes (the best part), then it's over and everyone seems happy at the end. To me it all seems processional, not very interactive, but I think most are ok with that. In all, it's always been what it is, it's not something that enthuses me massively. Then again it's easy, hardest part is being bothered to go on Sunday morning.

Do these zealots ... I mean participants have get togethers to serve the local community?

 

[nimbus]

how often are you in chuch?

 

[needtogetaas]

Is it a sin to go to church with the express intent of scoring poon

Its is most certainly not a sin and in fact its the 11th commandment bro of my book bro. Ye shall score the best and most slutty slam pig poon in church... I mean for example check out the torpedo tits on this chick ^^^^^ My god what a blessing...



BTW Bitme we missed you bro, welcome back. Its ok to use your normal account bro no ones going to ban you again man.