After reading through the posts, and your tag line, I got to wondering if the UU church isn't as much the problem as it is that it is that, a church. You clearly state that your an atheist. And though the E church does not reguire any belief in any specific god, I am wondering if that is part pf the problem for you personally. I know that I am a very rational person (its what drove me from Christianity to UU) then any church who relied on traditons of faith might be a problem wfor me if I was not a person of fiath. possibly church as church jsut isnt for you.|Maybe jsut a few like minded friends who believe in justice would serve you just as well.

For me, I sometimes too have a hard time with differnt things. Last weeks talk was about Moses and folklore and honestly I found it too simple. I already knew the stories, already believed them to be sacred myths and really didnt get challanged in either my thinking or my actions.

I do though love being a part of a community and that is what I miss most about the Christian church-- carring, support etc. I find some of that at the UU.

Does it meet every spiritual need I have? No, but it does nicely fill in some gaps. Its educates me, mateks me more loving and tolerant, lets me experience things I would never had experienced before (dances of universal piece, Buddist Relics) and I can freely take anyone there without fear of judgement.

Is it the perfect church for me. No. You? Doeantt sound like it.  So you need to decide what you want and get it. i will stay with the UU for what it offers and love it despite, or perhaps because of,  its inperfections.

May 14, 2011 -- 3:21AM, DotNotInOz wrote:

Since any church's website puts its best foot forward, you're correct that you can't tell much at all from its website.

However, take a close look at the photos of churchgoers.  Notice how few darkskinned people there are? I'd bet they assembled every one they could get to be able to show that many. You're probably looking at all the minority group members that church has unless I miss my guess. Source:  uucfl.org/newcomers/index.shtml.

Very few UU churches are less than 80% white. The ones I've belonged to were nearly 100% white even though the population of the city of the last one was about 25% black. In that church, only  one multiracial family came to church regularly. As far as I know having gone to service nearly every Sunday for a full year, the few other blacks attending were visitors--who never returned.

I don't think it's that we are so racist, I think it's that UUs are so intellectual in a New Englandy way, and there just aren't that many people of other ethnic groups who enjoy intellectual New England flavored. 

and if we weren't predominantly one flavor, who would feel at home?  Isn't that true for all churches (temples, synagogues, meeting houses, etc.)?

If you mixed all flavors of ice cream together you would end up with an unappetising grey glop.  Maybe that's what we are trying for -- grey glop.  ( We seem to have achieved grey glop spiritually, but are still pretty New England flavored in our culture. Maybe that's it....)

I had a friend who was raised Jewish who said, "If they just lighted more candles, I would be a UU."  What is it we are missing to make you feel at home? 

Hey, Dot, can I ask what church you currently attend?

Apr 5, 2012 -- 9:27PM, micah68 wrote:

Hey, Dot, can I ask what church you currently attend?

The Church of the Horizontal. < sassy grin >

I'd describe myself as areligious at the moment.

Sorry it took me several months to respond. I don't check in on this board nearly as often as I once did.

Aug 14, 2011 -- 11:06PM, Glynlaura wrote:

After reading through the posts, and your tag line, I got to wondering if the UU church isn't as much the problem as it is that it is that, a church. You clearly state that your an atheist. And though the E church does not reguire any belief in any specific god, I am wondering if that is part pf the problem for you personally. I know that I am a very rational person (its what drove me from Christianity to UU) then any church who relied on traditons of faith might be a problem wfor me if I was not a person of fiath. possibly church as church jsut isnt for you.|Maybe jsut a few like minded friends who believe in justice would serve you just as well.

For me, I sometimes too have a hard time with differnt things. Last weeks talk was about Moses and folklore and honestly I found it too simple. I already knew the stories, already believed them to be sacred myths and really didnt get challanged in either my thinking or my actions.

I do though love being a part of a community and that is what I miss most about the Christian church-- carring, support etc. I find some of that at the UU.

Does it meet every spiritual need I have? No, but it does nicely fill in some gaps. Its educates me, mateks me more loving and tolerant, lets me experience things I would never had experienced before (dances of universal piece, Buddist Relics) and I can freely take anyone there without fear of judgement.

Is it the perfect church for me. No. You? Doeantt sound like it.  So you need to decide what you want and get it. i will stay with the UU for what it offers and love it despite, or perhaps because of,  its inperfections.

Thank you Glynlaura for your mature post.  If we are looking to worship in an incubator atmosphere of specific understanding, there is no room for further understanding.  A really nice man sitting next to me admmitted that his god was of the horned version.  The only horned version that I was familiar with was the red devil who was all about destruction which is soooo on the other side of the coin from the seven principals.  I decided to shut my attitude up and listen as he described his belief system.  There has since developed a deep respect for each other and other descriptions of the diety within.  As different services on Sunday pay homage to different understandings, I do not participate because of full knowledge or understanding of that belief system but I DO participate because we are of the interdependent web and I am still opening my brain to varities of God within all.  Thanks again.