On Sunday, November 16th, as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Starr King UU Church and honor long-time members, we will also welcome some new members into the congregation. New members bring to the church their unique gifts and talents, and their joining enriches us all. Membership in a Unitarian Universalist congregation is a choice, a conscious commitment to become part of the collective journey of faith that we Unitarian Universalists are embarked upon. It is not a journey to one specific destination, but a multifaceted path with fellow travelers, that is a joyous end in itself. The journey is the destination.
We Unitarian Universalists uphold individual freedom of religious belief, and yet, we form a community. This sometimes perplexes those outside the fold. “How can you be a religion, a faith community,” they may ask, “when you all believe different things?” But we would not have it any other way; we have affirmed and celebrated our religious diversity throughout our long history.
There are many people in this community who are “unchurched,” many of them happily so. But perhaps some of these unchurched folks would be pleasantly surprised to learn that there is a religious group which does not require of them uniformity of belief. Maybe you know some of these religious individualists. If you do, you might consider inviting them to SKUUC some Sunday. Over the years, I’ve heard many of our newer Unitarian Universalists come to the doors of one of our congregations asking, often with a hint of frustration, “Where have you BEEN all my life?” Such folks would have benefited from a community like ours much sooner in their lives, if they had only known about us. Let’s not be such a well-kept secret!