No. 37 To Be a Unitarian Universalist

Facilitator______________
Date___________________

Group Session Plan from FUSN (developed by Bob Zeeb)

Chalice/Candle Lighting

Opening Words:

We are humanists, theists, pagans, lovers of humanity, eco-feminists, agnostics and atheists. We are stripped down Christians, pumped up social activists, UU Buddhists, worshippers of Wicca. We pray and we distrust prayer, we meditate, we chant, we sing. It is a miracle indeed that we can be all these things and yet have a shared history, and shared doubts if not a shared faith. How do we hold this paradox, that we are all one and yet so different? Oh, what is it to be us, to be open to being and accepting us as us?

Check-in/Sharing

Topic/Activity:
For each of us, it means something slightly different to be a Unitatian Universalist. Although we have our shared principles, we also have our personal histories: our unique slant on what it is that brings us together. There may even be particular aspects of being a UU that have a shadow side for each of us, that cause pain or irritation or even shame. For you, what does it mean to be a UU? What is most important? And what does it not mean? What about Unitarian Universalists causes you to hold your tongue or avert your eyes or simply gets under your skin? What makes you feel proud?

Select the topic and location for the next meeting

Check-out / Likes and Wishes

Closing Words:

Affirmation by Scott Alexander
In a world with so much hate and violence,
We need a religion that proclaims the inherent worth and dignity of every person
In a world with so much brutality and fear,
We need a religion that seeks justice, equity, and compassion in human relations.
In a world with so many persons abused and neglected,
We need a religion that calls us to accept one another and encourage one another in spiritual growth.
In a world with too much dogmatism and falsehood,
We need a religion that challenges us to a free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
In a world of so much tyranny and oppression,
We need a religion that affirms the right of conscience and the use of democratic process
In a world with so much inequality and strife,
We need a religion that strives toward the goal of world community with peace, liberty, & justice for all.
In a world with so much environmental degradation,
We need a religion that advocates respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
In a world with so much uncertainty and despair,
We need a religion that teaches our hearts to hope and our hands to serve.