Walking Together - Feb. 2007
I grew up in the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus, Ohio, which was originally a Unitarian church and was so humanistic that there was rarely any mention of God on Sunday morning, let alone Jesus Christ. Indeed, when I gave my valedictory sermon before going off to seminary, I had intended to close with something to the effect “Dear friends, we are going our separate journeys and God knows when we will meet again.” But I looked at my friends of the First Church, and sensed that would be inappropriate. And so I said inanely, “Who knows when we will meet again?”
Now, I carry with me a strong sense of myself as a Unitarian. It is expressed in our fourth principle of a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. It values the intellect and believes that we can all learn and grow intellectually psychologically and spiritually. As William Ellery Channing (The Founder of American Unitarianism) might have said, we believe in the perfectibility of all human beings. But there was something missing in this Unitarian rational way of thinking and believing for me.
Later, I discovered something of the Universalist spirit in my ministry in a little country church called the East Liberty Church in Clarklake, Michigan not far from Jackson. I came to that church at a time of transition in my life — having left a previous church under pressure, lost my mother, and ended a marriage.
I found in the religion of Universalism our first principle, that is, we affirm the worth and dignity of every person. It was expressed on a wood plaque over the altar of the church, “God is Love.” I came to that church in pain and found people who were kind, reached out and supported me. It was an important time in my life.
We are blessed with both the spirits of Universalism and Unitarianism. We are a religion of the heart and mind. At this time of our transition, I hope that we can avail ourselves of both. If we can do that, if we can value all people and seek to comfort them in their pain as in the spirit of Universalism and seek to identify problems and solve them with a clear mind as in the spirit of Unitarianism, then we will grow strong. But more importantly, Emerson will still be our special home of our faith. - Rev. Harold Beu
Now, I carry with me a strong sense of myself as a Unitarian. It is expressed in our fourth principle of a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. It values the intellect and believes that we can all learn and grow intellectually psychologically and spiritually. As William Ellery Channing (The Founder of American Unitarianism) might have said, we believe in the perfectibility of all human beings. But there was something missing in this Unitarian rational way of thinking and believing for me.
Later, I discovered something of the Universalist spirit in my ministry in a little country church called the East Liberty Church in Clarklake, Michigan not far from Jackson. I came to that church at a time of transition in my life — having left a previous church under pressure, lost my mother, and ended a marriage.
I found in the religion of Universalism our first principle, that is, we affirm the worth and dignity of every person. It was expressed on a wood plaque over the altar of the church, “God is Love.” I came to that church in pain and found people who were kind, reached out and supported me. It was an important time in my life.
We are blessed with both the spirits of Universalism and Unitarianism. We are a religion of the heart and mind. At this time of our transition, I hope that we can avail ourselves of both. If we can do that, if we can value all people and seek to comfort them in their pain as in the spirit of Universalism and seek to identify problems and solve them with a clear mind as in the spirit of Unitarianism, then we will grow strong. But more importantly, Emerson will still be our special home of our faith. - Rev. Harold Beu
posted by Dave Hogg at
7:59 PM
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