Why I Jointed USH

HAVE YOU BEEN THINKING OF JOINING USH?

You can get more information about our church at the Welcome Table in the lobby or the Visitors' Table in Fellowship Hall during coffee hour after the service, or call the church office (233-9897).

Here are a few statements from those who have joined and wanted to share their reasons for doing so:

Why I decided to Join the Unitarian Society of Hartford

In these times of electronic communication you may have stumbled upon this page looking about for religious opportunities in the greater Hartford Connecticut USA area. This web site will convey something of the dynamic and diverse group of individuals who make up our Society. Come look us over. We always welcome visitors and maintain a religious educational program appropriate to parents searching for a more diverse and accepting religious education than they may have experienced themselves at an early age.

Here are some reasons why others have joined our Society. The statements are real and the names have been removed for privacy.

Reflections on Unitarian/Universalism

From my first encounter with Unitarian/Universalism I knew that it offered me the best path to discovered religious truth and spiritual awareness. We all begin the search for our truth at different ages and stages, and Unitarian/Universalism accepts the uniqueness of individual experience, reason and the capacity for growth as fundamental to that search. One can appreciate the symbols and significance of other religious traditions while insisting upon "free and responsible search for truth and meaning" for oneself, a search in which one is not constrained by religious absolutes and "revealed " truth. For me, Unitarian/Universalism is the religion of the present and future.

Participation in the Unitarian/Universalist community gives me the opportunity to explore new ideas and to share feelings and experiences with valued friends who have also chosen this life-affirming path.

I Joined at a Time of Many Changes in My Life

I joined the Unitarian Society of Hartford in November of 1994. It was a time of many changes in my life, and I knew that it was also time to make official what I had known for years - that I was a Unitarian Universalist.

I had only been attending the Meeting House for a few months before I joined, but I had been attending my grandparents UU church in Brewster Mass. since I was a young girl. Whenever I was in a Unitarian church, I knew that I was in my spiritual home. Attending a UU service , wherever it was, always felt so good and so "right".

In 1997 my husband joined the Meeting House and in 1998 our two children were both dedicated at the Meeting House. We attend regularly and I am at the currently the chairperson for the Membership Committee. I can't imagine our life without the Unitarian Society of Hartford, nor can I imagine us being anything but a UU family. The people at the Meeting House have become our community and the spiritual principals are the foundation of our life.

Both of our children identify with being UU and have life long memories of the Meeting House. Whether it's building gingerbread houses at the Festival of Lights, lighting the chalice, singing in choir or hearing the congregation sing "go now in peace" - I am thankful that these are their earliest memories of church and I know that they will hold them for years to come.

I was drawn by the Society's openness and commitment
to supporting one another

I'm young and gay - not a common demographic among church-goers. So when I felt the need for a quiet space in my life for reflection and spiritual renewal, I was drawn by the Society's openness and commitment to supporting one another's individual paths of exploration, growth, and social responsibility, not to mention the opportunity to sing in the choir! But I also increasingly appreciate very much the sense of belonging to a community from which I continually can draw comfort and new learnings and to which I have the opportunity to contribute the same.

Why I am a UU?

In college in the early 60's, I thought a lot about religion, including reading the existentialists. Not only was my theology expanding but the mainline churches I was used to were not supporting civil rights aggressively enough for me. So for a long time as a young adult, I had no church. Wanting a religious home for our children in the mid 70's made us look at the UUs in Manchester, CT. I was looking for a church that was closest to my primary values of openness of mind and heart including nontraditional ways. I became very committed to and involved in serving the then young UUS: East community. My experience led to my own career later in organizational development. But later after a divorce, I felt a tug from my spiritual life. I didn't want to go back to traditional Christianity but I didn't know what going forward from UU Humanism would look like. I wasn't sure I still fit with the UU's theologically. In 1994 I came to USH, at first mainly for community of shared values. I again got involved with social justice and community building. However, I wanted to directly share the exploration of a spiritual path with other UUs as I was doing with our Spiritual Autobiography group. I began supplementing my spiritual growth with nondenominational programs outside the church.

What the Unitarian Society of Hartford means to me:

Several things at USH have satisfied my need to share exploration of the spiritual journey in the last two years: the Small Group Ministry, certain Adult Program classes, the poetry group, conversations with Terasa and my own offering of Spiritual Direction here at the Meeting House. I had to let go of some roles for a while and take a leadership sabbatical, while I focused on my own inward journey. I feel more supported in this inward work at USH than I have before and for this I am very grateful. I am interested in models of faith development and feel we need to continually explore our human potential to expand consciousness. I think many traditional activities such as “Lectio Divina” and Centering Prayer can work in a modern context. Also there are many new approaches which help people explore inwardly such as meditation, journaling, and Body Focusing. As I move to a new place with my inward work, I expect USH to also help me join in outward focused activities to help others. This is the strength of the meeting House to me – we provide help with the inward and outward activities a person needs to grow, in order to find meaning in our own lives and to offer meaningful action to others. And we do this as we build community together on all levels.

How Do You Know You Are a Unitarian?

"How, just how did you know?" I asked.

"Oh, most unitarians just 'are' but do not know it," she replied with her knowing smile.

Yes. At first, the setting, the absence of all the "I grew up with traditions that are required in religion much like the decorations necessary to transform the naked Christmas tree" created a void that I could not quite grasp, much less understand. Time was required for me to see beyond those decorations to the beauty of the tree in its "naked" self.

Coupled with time was the need for education. My extensive background in comparative religions had long ago begun to challenge the tenets of my traditional church, but I placed these doubts on my personal shortcomings. After all, these traditions worked so well for others - - best to remain quiet and to conform.

As time passed, I continued to gaze in awe at a sunset or the beauty and the miraculous design of one lone rose petal. I walked the meadow, literally chasing a butterfly only to find myself in a state of sheer, transforming bliss in the moment ...all the time recognizing a great presence that, for me, could never be shut inside a box of rigid tradition or ritual.

Social and cultural inequities angered me. Why did people judge without knowing? How could any sound human opt for war instead of peaceful resolution? Did anyone else find the inspiration in the writings of Emerson or Thoreau? Less is more when shared. Knowledge, understanding, love and respect for other people are key elements for any group gathered in the name of "religion."

So, I return to the unitarian community. With each return to worship I find the answers from people for whom I have searched most of my life.

I Felt That Church Should Not Be Something
Merely to be Endured

I grew up Roman Catholic and used to come away from mass feeling empty. I felt as though I was just preached down to, that I was guilty until proven innocent. I could not buy into that. After our first daughter was born (and baptized in the Catholic church), I remember feeling like her ceremony meant nothing and was just plain stupid. I felt that church should not be something merely to be endured, but something that should be looked forward to and celebrated. So I bought a book of religions to try and find what I was looking for. The religions were listed in alphabetical order, so I was near the end of the book and losing hope of finding something when I stumbled upon Unitarian Universalism. Something just clicked. My husband and I started attending services and have been members now for 2 1/2 years. When our twin daughters were born, they were dedicated in the meeting house. The ceremony had meaning and was important. Instead of cleansing sins that didn't exist, it celebrated their birth and welcomed them into the community. I really felt a sense of warmth in the entire sanctuary that day. I also love the religious education program and how it teaches our daughters about being good not for fear of going to hell, but because it's the right thing to do -- be a productive member of society, accept people for who they are, be open minded to different ideas and other perspectives. There's no room for prejudice here and everyone is made to feel like they matter. That's what we should all get from our chosen religion and that's what it means to me and my family.

I Spent a Good Deal of Time Wondering What Other Churches Were Doing

As a lifelong UU, I spent a good deal of time wondering what other churches were doing, and why we had to be so different as to always be misunderstood by our neighbors and classmates. Were we Christians? Were we even Protestants? Why did there have to be so many religions if there was only one God? Or was there even THAT God anymore? As UUs, I don't think we were taught enough about what we were ... and perhaps too much about what we weren't. I had to grow up and come back to appreciate what we were.

The reason I visited this particular Unitarian Meeting House was because the building intrigued me. Even from the air its shape was immediately recognizable as a Hartford landmark. As I drove past the Meeting House to take my daughter to her piano lessons at Hartt School of Music, I promised myself that one day I would come on a Sunday and sit in the back row, so I could see what was inside, yet escape before I was signed up to do something. I found the round sanctuary inspiring and womblike. That Sunday, Jon Luopa was reviewing his first year as minister ... with such a piercing tone of honesty and human feeling that I found myself completely overwhelmed. I came away feeling that either I had always misunderstood the UU faith, or had miraculously grown into it.

I guess it was the Catholics who said "give me a child until they are seven ..." but I certainly didn't think this could hold true for Unitarian Universalists. Was UUism still relevant, as it had been in the days of Emerson and Thoreau and Channing? Yes! There is a certain brand of social courage which has always been part of our faith ... which causes today's UUs to want to send supplies to innocent Iraqis and become Welcoming Congregations, just as our founding fathers once spoke so openly for birth control and against slavery. And an appeal to our reason as if it was one of our deepest human gifts, and not something to be dismissed as merely secularism or lack of faith.

It wasn't long after that first visit when my husband and I joined the Unitarian Society of Hartford. I don't sit in the back seat anymore, nor have I tried very hard to escape participation in this most rich and deepening experience.

On Being a Part of the USH Community

The truest sense of belonging to this community is reserved for those who choose to attach not only their hearts but also their hands to our collective passions. By becoming involved, an individual builds valued new connections to others, is strengthened by those connections, and feels a part of something larger than themselves. Opportunities for contributing abound, whether one chooses to be part of a social or service group, committee, task force, governing body, or classroom. As we participate in the health of our community, so are we nourished. With every group or committee I have joined at the Meeting House, my attachment to this place is strengthened. The personal ties lend special meaning to all our team efforts and serve as a source of joy and support that extends well beyond the margins of church pursuits.

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Let us know of any comments, errors and corrections - thanks (revised 3/05/07)