After having spoken with so many other kind and sharing members of the congregation, I was not at all surprised by how welcoming and helpful Reverend James was towards our group of visitors. We walked into the Visitor’s Café, a small room with coffee, cookies, and many congregation members willing to answer questions about Unitarian Universalism, or just chat in general. Recognizing us as a group of students new to the community, Reverend James approached us and asked us questions before we started drilling him. He was interested in where we were from, why we were visiting, what our assignment was, what kind of religion class we were taking, what we thought about the service, etc. After getting to know each other a bit, we began to ask him about Unitarian Universalism: What is the Unitarian Universalist view of Jesus? Of Christmas? What does it take to become a member of the congregation? Does the church have a formal stance on gay marriage and civil rights? What do members of the religious education program study? Of all he told us, I was most interested in the fact that under ten percent of the members of the congregation identify as Christian. It is not a Christian church, he said, but a liberal church with Christians. I never imagined that such a place existed--I always thought that “church” implied Christianity, but learned that that’s not always the case. It’s great that people of so many different religious backgrounds can come together as one group to pray, worship, and celebrate. Thanks to Reverend James for taking the time to answer all of our questions!
Reverend James, like Lauren stated, was very welcoming and helpful. Like all the members of the church, he greeted us with open arms and was genuinely interested in us and our purpose for visiting the church. After hearing Reverend James speak during the service and experiencing the church for about an hour before speaking to him personally, I made judgements about what kind of person he must be to preach in a congregation like the Unitarian Universalist. He seemed to fit my preconceived notions about him pretty well.
While speaking to him he told us about his spiritual journey. He said he grew up in a very evangelical household, Baptist I believe, and went on to become a Zen Buddhist and then went to school in California to become a minister. His personal spiritual narrative enhanced my belief that this congregation really was a place for people on a spiritual journey. It was a place for people who were tired of having other people tell them what they should believe and they wanted a place to figure it out for themselves. It truly is the melting pot of religions.
Not only did Reverend James answer all of our questions, but he also knew that he was not the only one with answers. In regards to the questions about the beliefs of the congregation, he told us what he thought or believed, but then he also told us to go ask other members of the congregation, for everyone felt differently. This was refreshing coming from a Catholic background where the Father of the Church would be able to answer, or thought he could answer, what everyones beliefs were.
Looking back on our conversation with Reverend James, one thing still stands out in my mind. When we asked about the regional differences between Unitarian Universalist churches, he said something to the effect of “well, it used to be a running joke that on the east coast Jesus was optional, in the midwest God was optional, and on the west coast clothes were optional.” I love a Reverend with a sense of humor. If the priests at the churches I had attended as a child would have had this sense of humor, maybe I would not have daydreamed as much. Then again, it was where some of my best ideas for Power Rangers games came to me. I like to think it was divine inspiration.
After having spoken with so many other kind and sharing members of the congregation, I was not at all surprised by how welcoming and helpful Reverend James was towards our group of visitors. We walked into the Visitor’s Café, a small room with coffee, cookies, and many congregation members willing to answer questions about Unitarian Universalism, or just chat in general. Recognizing us as a group of students new to the community, Reverend James approached us and asked us questions before we started drilling him. He was interested in where we were from, why we were visiting, what our assignment was, what kind of religion class we were taking, what we thought about the service, etc. After getting to know each other a bit, we began to ask him about Unitarian Universalism: What is the Unitarian Universalist view of Jesus? Of Christmas? What does it take to become a member of the congregation? Does the church have a formal stance on gay marriage and civil rights? What do members of the religious education program study? Of all he told us, I was most interested in the fact that under ten percent of the members of the congregation identify as Christian. It is not a Christian church, he said, but a liberal church with Christians. I never imagined that such a place existed--I always thought that “church” implied Christianity, but learned that that’s not always the case. It’s great that people of so many different religious backgrounds can come together as one group to pray, worship, and celebrate. Thanks to Reverend James for taking the time to answer all of our questions!
ReplyDeleteReverend James, like Lauren stated, was very welcoming and helpful. Like all the members of the church, he greeted us with open arms and was genuinely interested in us and our purpose for visiting the church. After hearing Reverend James speak during the service and experiencing the church for about an hour before speaking to him personally, I made judgements about what kind of person he must be to preach in a congregation like the Unitarian Universalist. He seemed to fit my preconceived notions about him pretty well.
ReplyDeleteWhile speaking to him he told us about his spiritual journey. He said he grew up in a very evangelical household, Baptist I believe, and went on to become a Zen Buddhist and then went to school in California to become a minister. His personal spiritual narrative enhanced my belief that this congregation really was a place for people on a spiritual journey. It was a place for people who were tired of having other people tell them what they should believe and they wanted a place to figure it out for themselves. It truly is the melting pot of religions.
Not only did Reverend James answer all of our questions, but he also knew that he was not the only one with answers. In regards to the questions about the beliefs of the congregation, he told us what he thought or believed, but then he also told us to go ask other members of the congregation, for everyone felt differently. This was refreshing coming from a Catholic background where the Father of the Church would be able to answer, or thought he could answer, what everyones beliefs were.
Looking back on our conversation with Reverend James, one thing still stands out in my mind. When we asked about the regional differences between Unitarian Universalist churches, he said something to the effect of “well, it used to be a running joke that on the east coast Jesus was optional, in the midwest God was optional, and on the west coast clothes were optional.” I love a Reverend with a sense of humor. If the priests at the churches I had attended as a child would have had this sense of humor, maybe I would not have daydreamed as much. Then again, it was where some of my best ideas for Power Rangers games came to me. I like to think it was divine inspiration.