2-9-14 Religious Education

The road to living a well-balance life where faith and spiritual growth are an active aspect of our own lives has been challenging lately.  We are Unitarian Universalists as most of you know.

“Unitarian Universalism, or Unitarianism, is a liberal religion characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning".  Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed, but are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth. The roots of Unitarian Universalism are in liberal Christianity, specifically Unitarianism and Christian Universalism. From these traditions comes a deep regard for intellectual freedom and inclusive love, so that currently individual congregations and members actively seek inspiration in and derive spiritual practices from all major world religions. The theology of individual Unitarian Universalists ranges widely, including Humanism, Atheism, Agnosticism, Pantheism, Deism, Christianity, Judaism, Neopaganism, Buddhism, and many more.”

Currently we are in search of a good match for our family.  We are temporarily attending the UU Congregation at Montclair.  It has a great Religious Education program for little A so we are enduring the 45 minute commute each way on Sunday mornings.  What we love about UU's religious education program is that they...

“teach that no one person, philosophy, or religion holds all the truth. We respect the diverse paths of religious experience and celebrate the diversity of humankind. We teach the inherent worth and dignity of all beings, so we work for justice, equity, and compassion in human relations. We teach that we are all moral agents, capable of making a difference in the world, challenging structures of social and political oppression, promoting the health and well-being of the earth. We take seriously the Golden Rule and the conviction to let our lives preach louder than our words.”

Here is the children's version of the UU Principles:

    Each person is important
    Be kind in all you do
    We're free to learn together
    We search for what is true
    All people need a voice
    Build a fair and peaceful world
    We care for Earth's lifeboat

Flounder is enjoying teaching the pre-K class on some Sundays.   Hairpin is looking forward to volunteering as well.  The hope is that we grow together as a family.  So as we search for our niche in the UU world, we will try our best to not remain stagnant in our quest.