Interesting statistics. We do need to become better at getting people to stay, but I don't know exactly how we can do that. Probably a lot of people don't stick around because, as I know you know from personal experience, it can take a while to understand that UUism actually does stand for something.

I have perceived, in the short time that I have been a UU, that UUs seem terribly afraid of anything that might make them at all doctrinal or creedal. This might not make me the most popular UU on the forum, but I don't think we should be so scared of it. I don't mean we should adopt doctrines or creeds. I just think we should make it more apparent that we stand for something. I think our principles should be a larger part of congregational life (which will in turn make them a larger part of our personal lives); while they needn't become "doctrines" they can be promoted as what a majority of our faith feels to be good principles. I don't know, that's just the first thing that comes to mind.

I remember talking to one friend who said she didn't really like Unitarianism (by which she meant UUism, I'm assuming) because it seemed too wishy-washy, because she thought that if you believe something, you should just say it. After all the criticisms of John Kerry along the lines of "flip-flopping" positions, I can see why this might be a major turn-off for the people in this country.

The way I see it, we live in a religiously free country (at least hypothetically). Citizens in this country can already believe whatever they want...they don't need a religion to tell them that. I don't think that our religion should be afraid of saying, you know what, no, we don't believe you can believe anything. We do believe in love, compassion, reason, freedom, justice, interconnectedness, etc. The beliefs that we list don't have to be directly spiritual (in fact I think if they were, that's when I would say we've gone too far and become creedal).

I'm just kind of rambling so I'll stop. But I do think this is something that has to be talked about. Maybe at GA. If we want to grow - hell, if we want to survive - we have to show the world that we do in fact stand for something. What is it, exactly? That's something we need to discuss.

-McKenna

Namaste McKenna,

You may think that what you wrote would make you unpopular amongst UUs, but I think that would only be the case for those who are very new to UU. After the initial rallying cry to freedom subsides, many UUs that I've talked to find that it's not enough to just reject someone else's faith without asserting something positive. That gets old real fast. Which is why people leave. How do we get through to people that instead of leaving, they actually have the option to stay and contribute, to help build a religious tradition that reflects their own values?

I was one of those people who thought that UUs could believe whatever they wanted, and frankly that never interested me. Even when I was in my rebellious, question-all-authority phase, I thought that UU was too fluffy. I always said that if I had to be "something" then I guess I'd be a UU, but then why bother? The first Sunday that I visited my current UU congregation I attended an "introduction." Someone there remarked that she liked UU because you could believe whatever you wanted, and I was just in the middle of rolling my eyes when the minister gently said that she didn't agree. That UU allows us the freedom to believe whatever your conscience tells you that you must believe. That was the first time I ever thought maybe there was something worthwhile here after all.

The problem is that we, more than any other faith tradition (I think) have such a high number of new-comers. That's great in that we're attracting new-comers, but that means that we constantly have to help people through the initial phases of rejecting their old religions before we can get to the constructive work of building our own faith. As you said, people are so afraid of any kind of definitude that ministers find it difficult to talk about anything deeper than platitudes. (Not impossible, but difficult.)

You're right, we need to find ways to help people get past anti-faith position that comes from hurt and give them the tools to express their own faith which is nourishing and affirming. Religion is not a "finished product" that you either "take or leave." It's a work in progress and we are the crafters, building on the legacy of our forebears and adding our own voices.

A friend and I taught an ASD class (Adult Spiritual Development = Adult Religious Education) last term where we went through each one of our seven principles and pulled out the values that underly those principles. our common values. People who took the class, mostly new to UU, unanimously said it was helpful. And even tho Kat and I (yeah, her name is Kat too) are relatively more well versed in talking about UU values than perhaps the average UU, we also found the conversations immensely rewarding. I would strongly encourage all congregations to do this.

McKenna, are you going to GA? I'll be there, tho it is now probably too late to pass each other contact info, as the conference starts tomorrow. I will have internet access. If you see this in time and want to get in touch there, PM or email me. Or look for me in the Global Warming workshops. I will be trying to make that a priority.

-kat

Kat,

Thanks for your perspective! I'm glad to know I'm not alone in this feeling. I think you ask some good questions...how do we get people to stay around?

I think your ASD class sounds amazing. More congregations should have these types of classes. I've also thought that a class that focused on studying the Bible, not as the word of God but to try to understand the moral message behind it, would be interesting. In addition I've heard of congregations doing "Build Your Own Theology" classes, which also sound interesting. More of these types of "classes" might help people to move past the phase of simply rejecting other belief and instead finding their own.

I know this is a difficult phase because I've been going through it the past few months. I constantly catch myself thinking about why another religion is wrong instead of trying to figure out what I actually believe. And I don't even come from another faith background...I can't imagine how hard it is for people who are leaving behind the religion they were raised to believe.

Unfortunately I will not be at GA but I can't wait to hear all about it! Hopefully this issue will be addressed there Smile

-McKenna

Growing our denomination, and affiliated churches is no small undertaking. We must not be lead to the assumption that the powers that be in Boston can be the be all and end all solution. Congregational growth must be planted at the congregational level. Individual churches should grow out of a desire to
be a beacon of divine love, transformation, healing, hope, and inclusion, and not out of a desire to grow for growth's sake. If we grow for numbers sake then we are neglecting our other areas of our churches as worship, spiritual development, and yes, evangelism bearing witness to our faith and with zest. I've noticed in my experience too many of our co-coreligionists are seeming to harbour anti-Christian, or anti-theistic sentiments that were developed as a result of being raised in Evangelical, Fundamentalist, or Conservative Catholic tradition and a faith as a monolith perception. We must show that Christianity is not
the sole possession of Conservative Catholics, Evangelicals, and Fundamentalists that progressives and moderates have a voice in this tradition too, and that God and matters of faith are much more open to interpretation. Without Christian Universalists or Unitarians like myself, there would be no modern day Unitarian Universalism (at least one we would recognize) From the moment these people come in I recommend churches set up a "Coming to Terms with your Religious Past class" that helps people come to terms with their religious upbringings, and help them discern what was poisonous and what is beneficial. What was beneficial from their past tradition can be incorporated into their new found faith, and the poisonous can be discarded. Other classes can be included in membership class as Building Your Own Theology, and The Liberal Church. These classes will help them develop their beliefs and what it means to be religious. The Liberal Church class helps them understand the mission, purpose, and method of the liberal church and their freedoms and the responsibilities that go with it. We must also understand as a faith that rather than being a social club or a political party, we unite for the worship of God (however we experience God), and the service of the human family. We are bound by covenant rather than by creed. Just because we don't have a creed does not mean we don't believe in anything. We can believe in that which aligns with our experience, conscience. Baptists call this "soul liberty". We must also stop this faith by negation stuff. Telling us what you don't believe doesn't tell us what you do believe. In that spirit I encourage faith by affirmation what you do believe. We are the church of ALL SOULS but at the same recognizing that we can't be all things to all people. If we don't have a foundation to ground ourselves in that we don't have much to work with. We must ground ourselves in the liberal Christian tradition yet being open to new insights and revelation. As John Robinson, the pastor of the Congregationalists in Plymouth said, "The Lord hath yet more light to shine from God's holy word". Jesus is one of our exemplars but he is not the sole exemplar. The covenant which is recited in a fair number of churches is open to interpretation, and can participate in as much or as little of it as you feel you need. For instance my church's covenant is from Universalist minister Griswald Williams:

Love is the doctrine of this church
The quest of truth is its sacrament
and service is its prayer
To dwell together in peace
To seek knowledge in freedom
To serve humankind in fellowship
to the end that ALL SOULS shall grow in harmony
with the divine- thus do we covenant with each other.

People of lower social and economic classes are God's children too, and should be made to feel comfortable whenever they walk into one of our churches. Some of them don't have much to contribute into the offering so they should feel free to give as the spirit so moves them. If they can't contribute they can contribute through their service to the church, and the larger community. The church is political but it must never be partisan. We are called by Jesus and the prophets to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. From the pulpit we can speak on the issues of the day, question those in power but we must never endorse candidates. We are do do the slow hard turning of reconciliation, of healing, and of charity. Our justice work must be rooted in our inner lives of listening to the "still, small voice". Being religious is a 24/7 action we must not be content with being religious for one day out of our week. We cannot be religious by ourselves, as much as we cannot be human by ourselves. Youth and Young Adults are the lifeblood of our tradition- the future leaders, movers and shakers. If we neglect their needs, we are at risk of becoming irrelevant and shrinking. We should make every effort to develop youth ministries, and activities that would appeal to them. Ministerial formation should be another way of growing our faith. We have it where at least half of our clergy will retire by this next year. We should be assisting our soon to be clergy from the moment they first express interest. I am one of those up and coming clergy, and I will need every bit of support from the congregation, the district, and ultimately Beacon St. Growth of our churches must be based on our most effective churches especially All Souls in DC. We also be willing to do church planting, and ensuring that these churches thrive, and keep close watch on them. As ministers we are facilitators and fellow travelers, our congregants can disagree with us, and will hope to have respectful dialogue, and my words and actions do not speak for the entire church. Inclusion of persons of color should be mindful of culture, and their plight as human beings so should focus on a theology of liberation, and self-determination. Worship should be a mix of the traditional, and the emergent.