My Journey to UUism

I was thinking about Chalicechick’s poll question when I was reminded of my contribution to a service at my church about a year ago. I spoke about how I came to be a Unitarian Universalist and why I became a member of our church. I’ve been meaning to add it as an entry to my blog, so here it is:

I’m one of those people who feels as though I’ve been a Unitarian Universalist all my life, even though I only found Unitarian Universalism about 10 years ago. When asked I generally catagorize myself as an agnostic mystic with Buddhist and earth-centered leanings. I find that when in the presence of strict atheists my mystic side comes out in protest, but when in the presence of very religious or spiritual folks, my agnostic side gets quite uncomfortable. I need as much theological breathing room as possible which is one of the reasons I’m a Unitarian Universalist.

My discovery of Unitarian Universalism was the result of a long process of growing away from the faith I was raised in and searching for my spiritual home. I grew up in a United Methodist church in the Washington, DC area. I was very active in my church growing up in the choir, participating in church services as an acolyte and proudly becoming a full member of my church through the confirmation process at age 13. However, as a teenager my questions become a serious obstacle to my belief and my religious identity. As I grew into adulthood, I had stopped attending church regularly and found other philosophies and spiritual practices such as those of Taoism and of Native Americans that really resonated for me. I tried to reconcile the faith of my childhood and family with my doubts and the new ideas I was encountering. By the time I took a Philosophy of Religion class as Cal State Long Beach and read Bertrand Russell’s essay, “Why I am not a Christian,” I was ready to fully acknowledge that I no longer identified as a Christian. But what was I? An atheist? An agnostic? I continued to explore other spiritual and religious views, especially earth centered spirituality. Ironically, it wasn’t until I was researching humanism online that I discovered Unitarian Universalism. The principles and purposes resonated immediately for me and I felt like I had finally found my spiritual home. I looked up the closest UU church and was delighted to find one here in Long Beach.

When I came to this church, I somehow knew that I had found the place where I could plant the seed of myself… that undeveloped potential I carried around… I had this vision of planting myself in the fertile ground of this church community. And I found that my instinct was right… here I have had the courage to take on roles I would have avoided through much of my life. I was nervous and full of self-doubt, but believed that here I could reveal the parts of myself I was meant to explore… develop into the person I was meant to be.

For me this involved taking on leadership roles. I found that I was someone who has a high tolerance for process… you could say that I even enjoy the dance. We’ve made a place where different opinions are welcomed… where dialogue is encouraged… the dance that follows can be energizing and at times frustrating… I may get a bit tired and sometimes it seems as though the dance is going in circles… but I again hear the call of the music of our faith and with a deep breath I return to the dance… ever grateful for this fertile ground and the growth I have experienced. I may not always know where this dance is taking us, but that is the mystery of life, isn’t it?