Members' Beliefs

One thing that you may notice missing from the beliefs of our church is a definition of spirituality or any religious creed. This is because our members are free to determine their own religious and spiritual beliefs for themselves. This does not mean that we are free of religion and spirituality, however. In our congregation we have Christians, Jews, Humanists, Buddhists, Spiritualists, Pagans, and people for whom a label cannot adequately describe their beliefs – and there is room for your beliefs, too.

On this page some of our church members share their beliefs, giving you an idea of the variety of spiritual approaches included in our congregation.

I believe that we are spiritual beings having a human experience.

I believe that where we have come from is where we are going to, and that this journey in between is a gift.

I believe in unlimited potential and infinite possibilities.

I believe in intuition and feelings and beauty and nature and the invisible.

I believe in stillness and the empty space between things and fleeting moments of wonder, realization and remembrance.

I believe in the universal language of smiles and hugs and looking into another's eyes and connecting and knowing we are all one.

I believe in you.

Emilee Bozic

I believe that we are all in this together, whatever it is.

Bob Coleman

This I believe:

That this earthly experience is a time and place for learning and experiencing all life has to offer.

That we are never alone. We have the support of spirits, angels and guides as well as the family and friends in human or animal form that we find around us.

We are here to learn to love and care for others. We are here to enjoy and care for the earth.

We may have been here before and we may come back again. We travel through eternity with some special friends which travel with us through many lifetimes.

All of this has been organized by a powerful Source from which we are all created, and in whom all Wisdom and Love and Power originates.

After we die we will experience a time of rest and reunion with loved one, human and animal.

Two of the most important things to learn is to trust and to forgive.

Joan Coleman

From the outside it may appear that membership in a Unitarian Universalist church imposes little if any obligation upon its members, in terms of required belief or faith. To the outsider the church may seem a kind of cafeteria providing a wide variety of food for thought and diversion—a place of escape for former members of traditional churches who would be appalled by this assessment of their church, and most would be humble in describing their own spiritual journey—for many it was not an easy search. Some of their former churches required little more than the recitation of creed to earn their souls' salvation, while the Unitarian church provided no keys to any heaven and also expected its members to chart a course of their own belief to a destination of their own choice.

The truths and untruths of the world are a challenge to Unitarians. We are led by the teachings of the church to perceive our world as a whole and to understand that each of us is an important part of it. We grow in our understanding of what is good and what is bad and what our own behavior should be as we become active searchers. Through living we are adding new chapters to our Bible. We have inklings of God in us and we become stronger as we put the truths we learn into practice. What we learn from science tells us that we cannot be casual about the environmental degradation caused through human greed, ignorance, and indifference, and we support strong environmental legislation; we work for better government and vote for responsible, humane officials; we support better schools; we insist on justice; we insist that everyone should be entitled to good medical care; and we learn that belief in these—and more—are central to our identity as Unitarians.

Recognizing our limited ability to accomplish so much ourselves, we know that we are heavily dependent upon balanced and impartial reporting by our national and local media to make the public issues we act upon known to the public. It was the ability of our nationally elected leaders and their staffs through secrecy, deception, and media control that enabled them to draw our nation into a protracted and very destructive war in Iraq . It was this disrespect for truth that continues to seriously threaten our democratic form of government. Equally serious is the disregard of a large portion of the public for the truth and the rejection of important news and a craving for trivial entertainment in an effort to escape the unpleasant truths of politics and war.

Had the inner workings of our federal government during the events leading up to the war in Iraq been properly covered by the media and had balanced, unprejudiced reporting been a requirement, the war might very well have been averted. Fortunately, before and during the war, many thousands of Americans—among them many Unitarians—demonstrated, wrote, and spoke for peace. It has been the total impact of these people opposing the war that will finally result in peace and a return to the implementation of sound and positive national and foreign policy.

We must relearn the importance of worse that have grown to seem archaic. Wisdom, faith, and belief have a direct bearing on our choices of action and our will to act. Science is providing evidence of what Unitarians profess—that all things works together, that we are not alone, and that we must believe, think, and act globally.

Ray Eberhardt

I believe that the true nature of the force which holds the universe together - and which binds us to one another - cannot ever be known by us. I like to call it Love. When I hear the Cardinal's song for the first time each spring, I believe. When the crocus pops its head out of the ground during the late winter thaw, I believe. When an old friend calls unexpectedly, I believe.

Lisa Haderlein

After living nearly a half of a century and experiencing college, marriage, child bearing, child rearing, a variety of jobs, and many relationships this is what I believe today.

I believe what goes around comes around. It is very important to treat everyone with respect and compassion. I truly believe that the energy you give out comes back to you in the same way. I have witnessed this in both positive and negative outcomes.

I believe we were made to love and be loved. This is the first lyric in the song Circle of Friends. We humans have a real need to feel loved and to give it back. When love is absent many problems arise. If the people of the world could love more and hate less maybe our planet would be a more peaceful place.

I believe that every human is connected to music in some form. Imagine a world that didn't have music in it. Music can communicate even when words cannot.

I believe that animals fill a place in us that we don't even realize is missing. Being around animals has a positive influence on us.

I don't know what will happen to me after I die, but I like to believe that there is another dimension for our spirits. The fact is that nobody really knows and I think that is good. I do think that we can communicate with spirits of those that have died. The one thing that we need to be careful about is being so sure we know what lies ahead. Many people think they have all the answers and that they are right. What I do believe is that there are many answers and paths that are fine to follow. We need to be more accepting of those that have different beliefs.

One last thing that I believe is that it is important to get information from many sources. This holds true even for spiritual topics. Even if you put all your faith in one source or book I think we can learn more from a variety of sources and viewpoints. This would also help us to understand other people leading to better relationships.

Penny Krieg

My faith and beliefs are based on what I consider to be:

1) the basic message of Jesus the prophet

The Kingdom of God which I interpret to mean a place where love, justice, and compassion rule

The forgiveness of sins which I interpret to mean that I am accepted as I am, given a chance to start over any time, and can free my conscience from guilt if I am willing to live by my conscience

And the presence of a Spiritual Source which he called God His Father, and is known by many names including “Spirit”

2) the Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association, including

justice, equity, and compassion, a world community, and the worth and dignity of everyone;

acceptance of one another and freedom of conscience; and

spiritual growth, a search for truth and meaning, and the interdependent web of all existence

3) truth contained in the spiritual and religious traditions represented in our church including Pagan, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, Humanist, Islam, Native American, and Unitarian Universalist, where it is consistent with this message and these Principles.

My faith and beliefs are continually changing, but as of right now this is where I am committed to believe and act.

Dan Larsen

I believe in the power of possibility. I believe in laughter. I believe in dancing.

Possibilities in life abound - we have the ability and the responsibility to see these possibilities in our own lives and do what it takes to make them come true. This responsibility does not mean that we are alone in making possibility real though. We are interconnected in so many ways in life and I celebrate all the ways that we do connect - in families, in communities, in nature, and in spirit. These connections give texture, richness and meaning to the possibilities.

I am full of gratitude for the people and possibilities in my life.

This belief in possibility also embraces the seen and unseen in our world. Science and rational thought helps me understand the "how", but spirit and imagination creates the "what" and "why."

The final step is my own - to act.

Peter Lopatin

Things that I believe to be true:

•  Jesus and Buddha were brothers.

•  We are our brothers and sisters keeper.

•  Music CAN save your mortal soul.

•  All religions are part of the same cloth and should be used to adorn us, not as a
   weapon to smother others.

•  Actions do speak louder than words.

My journey to find my own spirituality borrows from the primal. A great need to see the world find what it has lost, the reverence and passion for human personality joined with the reverence and passion for the earth and its web of life. This is MY central, sacred fire.

My idea of a god-figure I have taken from Taoism:

There is a being, wonderful, perfect;

It existed before heaven and earth.

How quiet it is!

How spiritual it is!

It stands alone and it does not change.

It moves around and around,

But does not on this account suffer.

All life comes from it.

It wraps everything with its love as in a garment,

And yet it claims no honor, for it does not demand to be Lord.

I do not know its name, and so I call it Tao, the Way,

And I rejoice in its power.

How a god-figure works in our lives I have taken from Islam:

There is a means of polishing all things

Whereby rust may be removed.

That which polishes the heart

Is the invocation of Allah.

I believe that this god-figure lives in each of us .

We are woven by the same hands, into the same cloth, using the same weft and warp.

And I believe that when this earthly form we have ends its life here, we move to the next plain. We never really leave the people and places that we love. Our energy continues on.

Sue Rekenthaler

From an early age I began my quest for a “religion.” Somewhere to tie-down my faith or at least identify with it.

I grew up in a Roman Catholic household. We went to church every Sunday and attended CCD every Saturday morning. CCD was intended, as I remember, to teach children about and prepare them for, receiving the sacraments of the church. Being the last of 5 children, it was expected that I would comply like all the others. To Sister Mary “I'm-going-to-have-you-excommunicated” and my mother's chagrin, this task was not going to be so easy.

I, the precocious 6-year-old, dared to tread on the sacred, to shake the very foundations of the classroom….I asked “WHY?”

Even at that age, all I wanted was to understand the nature of what I was supposed to believe and because I could not get an answer and was told I could not seek one myself, I began to ask, “what's the point of all this?” I found myself making choices between hypocritically participating in something I could not believe or lying to get out of it. I chose to lie. Why? I respected the commitment of others to their beliefs. I also believed in the sacred, in the holy. I felt that my unbelieving participation would be disrespectful.

One example, to avoid going to confession, which at that time required kneeling in a small box and talking to a priest through a screen, I pretended to be claustrophobic. I had a long time to think about this tactic. As the class would wait in a long line for our turn, I would listen to my friends' immature chatter. Discussing what they would tell the priest, how much shock value they could get, and how it was so great that they could do bad things and be absolved, wholeheartedly intending to go out and do them again. Why not, when you had this mini-mart of absolution? To me absolution could only come directly from my soul and my conscience. My sins were between my god and me, no intervention required.

After several years of tormenting my CCD teachers and my mother's sensibilities, she finally agreed to “let go,” so I could find my own path. For this, I will always be grateful.

From adolescence into early adulthood, I traveled many roads looking for my spiritual home, my personal creed, a community that shared my beliefs or at least could tolerate them.

During the years I spent exploring every religion I could find, I marveled at one thing the most. The deep conviction that each person and group had in their beliefs. I envied this, I desired this above all, but it never came. I could see, understand and respect the faith and the faithful, but I could not believe. I could not commit. Something was always missing. It never felt whole.

Oddly enough, it came to me one day, suddenly, wonderfully. While taking a nature hike, I was drawn to a large open field, where I laid down and stared up at the sky. Gentle clouds whisped by. A flock of small migrating birds flew in confusing unison above. Small animals scurried around, in the distance I heard the voice of other hikers and the laughter of children. I must have lay there for hours, being consumed by everything under me, around me, and the endless stretches of the sky above me. In these moments I found my faith, my church, my god. It was everywhere, all around me. I could feel the energy of life itself, a connection with the divine.

To me, all life, all existence, all objects, shapes and colors embody the divine. A life-force flows through everything, forming a connection, an endless circulating bond of energy. This energy is also imprinted on the things we make, the thoughts we share, the things we touch. It bolsters our beliefs and is strengthened through our rituals.

In physics it's said that energy never dies, it just changes form. I believe in both life and death, this energy exists. When someone is lost to us in this world, their energy becomes part of the divine and flows all around us. Our memories of this person, focuses that energy for a moment, bringing us comfort, familiarity, love and warmth. We can pass this energy to one another in our thoughts, enthusiasm, in the demonstrations of our faith and in love.

To me it is very important to stay connected with this flow of energy. When I am, I feel as if I can move mountains, effect change, and make the world a better, more positive place. Disconnecting from this flow of energy creates stagnation and negativity.

I believe that we must all strive to keep that energy flowing, in our actions, our tolerance, in our caring for one another and the Earth. And I believe that upon our death, we become part of this divine energy, part of everything in the world and universe.

Because I feel that we are all a part of the divine, and the divine is a part of all of us, I wholeheartedly believe that we should:

• respect and acknowledge the inherent worth and dignity of every person;
• practice justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
• teach by example the acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth;
• support a free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
• participate in and encourage the use of a democratic process;
• help build a world community of peace, liberty and justice for all;
• experience fully your part in the interdependent web of all existence.

This is why I am a proud, pantheistic Unitarian Universalist.

Laura Schams

I have come to believe that there is a creative force in the universe, of which we are a part, that moves in a positive and logical direction. If we can learn how to harness this energy, it can have a productive affect on our lives and the lives of those around us. We are, in fact, collectively tied to those of like mind.

Dick Stanowski

There are a number of different ways that I could construct a statement of my faith that would all be valid and all quite different. But, I will pick one. I have been thinking of the Trinity lately. I do not put much stock in the common understanding of the Trinity as it has taken shape over the course of centuries in Catholic/Christian doctrine. Nevertheless, in my own interpretation of it I find a helpful and clarifying way to conceive and contemplate what is nothing less than the greatest of mysteries. I believe that God in some way is THREE; what do I mean? Christians, as a sign of their faith make the “Sign of the Cross” saying: “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen”. I believe in God the Father pretty much as expressed in the Bible. However, I believe that Christians misinterpret Jesus' understanding of what he meant when he said he was God's son. I believe he truly meant that we are all (on equal footing with him) sons and daughters of God. That is to say, we are all first - divine. I believe God the Holy Spirit is the best way to express an understanding of what happens to the breath of God over time in this mind blowing experience of Being.

Tom Tipton

I believe in the power of conquering fear. I believe that once fear is exposed it can be overcome. Fear is all around us in our daily lives. I see fear as the main component in the selling of products, services, newspapers, public policy and even religion. Whether it is the fear of being wrong, or the fear of danger, or even the fear of not fitting into society, once I look for the theme of fear I can't help but see it in many messages. Fear is a powerful motivator to be sure. The motivation to act upon that fear, however, is mostly internal. Just like a child who is afraid of the dark, once the lights are turned on, the fear is gone. The monsters under the bed are not there. Actually the whole situation can be quite humorous.

Frank Wedig

I believe that each of us has the power to change the world. Not by grand gestures, demonstrations, or large amounts of money (although they can certainly help!). We can change the world with a smile, with a compassionate gesture, or offering a helping hand to someone we see struggling with a suitcase in an airport, a package in a mall, or a door to a library. We have no idea the chain of events that our kindness or compassion begins. A person who is touched by a kindness may turn from being angry to be grateful, then treat his or her children with a bit more understanding that night, and then....

Believing that we can change the world with how we live each moment is so beautifully simple, but it certainly isn't easy. It implies a huge responsibility to be in the moment, constantly paying attention to our attitudes and behavior. It seems to be much harder than writing a check, and it is. But these moments of awareness have not only far-reaching effects, they have an added personal bonus: they change our own experience of our life as we live it.

Jeanne Gropp Wedig

I believe in the power of love. It is a force more powerful than any other, more powerful than hate, more powerful than any weapon, more powerful than Mother Nature. It shapes who we are more than genetic code or factors of the environment. When given freely it multiplies, spreading to others and eventually returning back upon ourselves. Once ignited, it has an infinite life of its own. It is unstoppable. The origin of an act of love is unknown. It began years ago as a simple gesture that passed from one person to another over and over again. When it reaches you, you are a recipient of that person's love and all the acts of love that came before that moment. You need not fear any other force if love is your closest companion. Harm may come to you, but love will repair you.

I believe that if you want something you must give it first. If you want love, give love. If you want attention, give someone your attention. If you want laughter, tell a joke (give laughter). If you want a life where help from others will arrive when needed, then give help to others when every opportunity arises. The quickest and surest route to anything you want is to give it first. And the key is to give with no concern or expectation of what you will get. If you give and forget the get, you will find yourself swimming in get. If you apply this to your life you will find infinite abundance. Focus solely on giving. Just give. It will work. It is an absolute.

I believe in the power of one. The power to positively impact another individual in a manner that causes that individual to impact yet another. Over time, this act reinvents itself, embracing an ever growing and therefore infinite number of others. There is no basis for feeling insignificant if you apply this belief to your life's actions. You are a product of this process and possess the ability to participate at whatever level you choose. The more you participate the more power you unleash. The more you participate the more significant your life becomes. The more you participate the more you learn about yourself. And most important, the more you participate the less opportunity there is for hate.

I believe we are much more alike than we are different. At birth we are essentially the same with the exception of physical attributes. As time passes we are shaped by our unique genetic code, the religious and/or moral teachings of those who raise us, and our own personal experiences. In my years, I have never seen these factors produce identical individuals. These differences are indeed significant and should be celebrated. However, our similarities are the foundation upon which all of our differences lie. We are similar in our need for this celebration, in our need for significance and purpose, and in our need to love and be loved. If we cannot acknowledge and embrace our shared needs, then our differences will be met with misconception, fear and prejudice.

I believe that we should strive to be all ages all the time. We must embrace all the positives of our current age, whatever that age may be, while retaining the best of years already lived and be confident that we need not wait to harness many of the attributes assigned to our future. In other words, at age 33 we should still see the world with the wonder of a 4 year old. Or at age 8 we can be the “wiser older person” to someone younger or less wise than ourselves. And at age 66 we can retain the optimism and energy of a 12 year old. We are most responsible for the quality of our lives and the lives of those around us, not the demographers and human development experts. At every moment, with every breath, be the best of all ages all the time.

Ken West