Unitarian-Universalism and Humanism

I was introduced to Unitarian-Universalism by a small congregation in central Illinois, The Decatur Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship. It was a congregation that reflected the national UU membership - there were Christians, Pagans, and a significant portion of humanists.

I enjoyed my time there learning about Unitarian-Universalism. I was married by the minister there and another (subsequent) minister of the same congregation performed a "blessing ceremony" for my son. It was very nice to find a religious congregation so welcoming to a "non-believer" and it was my family's spiritual home in our early years of being a family.

But all the time I was there I was conscious of being a humanist who happened to be a Unitarian-Universalist. There were some divisions between humanists, Christians, and others in the UU congregations - each group having some interests that were in conflict with the others. There was little sense of what it meant to be Unitarian-Universalist without a qualifier (at least with me - I cannot speak for everyone in the congregation of course). A crack in that appeared when President William Sinkford came to visit our congregation for an anniversary celebration. Sinkford was emphasizing the use of the "language of the sacred" in our congregations at the time and, as I had at that time become the president of the congregation, I was expected to say a few words at a gathering regarding the anniversary at which he appeared. I spoke on my feelings as a humanist about "language of the sacred" and my feeling that he was onto something important for us. I didn't really know what that something was yet, however.

What I did know was that I felt something was lacking in my self-image now as a humanist UU. I loved Humanism - still do - but I had come to recognize that I loved it as a philosophy, not a religion. There is nothing wrong with that, philosophy is a great thing and an important part of life. It was that I was interested in having a religion too - one that would be compatible with my Humanism, but would be different from it. That "language of the sacred" thing was connected somehow. But what it that meant for me would have to wait for a short while. I wouldn't start to sort it out any further until I had arrived in Houston.