I met Patti Potter Fitchett through Josie Ross-MacLeod. Patti lives in Kenosha, is studying to be a funeral director, makes me laugh out loud, is a theater person and a member of her local UU church. She also writes a column for the local paper. here was today’s I hope you enjoy it.

R U UU 2?
This was the personalized license plate of my first Unitarian Universalist minister. Unitarian Universalists, due to the wordy nature of the title of our denomination are inordinately fond of acronyms and we often refer to ourselves as “UUs”. Some people take it to its furthest degree like our beloved Director of Religious Education from a few years ago who incorporated the UU in every missive that she sent, often signing them “hUUgs, Jeri”.
Our fondness for acronyms is not the only thing that we are known for though. Our inclusive beliefs often make us the butt of jokes’ (Q: How do you know if a UU has been at your house? A: You find a burning question mark on your lawn.) but we are a sturdy group, impervious to the slings and arrows thrown in our direction.
Unitarian Universalists are sometimes ridiculed as being the folks who can “believe anything”. It is true that we are a non-credal religion, but our faith is far from groundless and ethereal. Rather than spend precious time debating what beliefs unite us, we prefer to concentrate on what actions unite us. We have a fierce sense of social justice stemming from the universal truth that every human being is worthy of dignity and respect.
Because we know that our planet is our only home, we promote stewardship and caution in use of its limited resources. Because we trust in the democratic process, where each person deserves a vote and a voice in those things that concern them, we concentrate on conducting our lives in a way that confirms that principle. Unitarian Universalists feel that inspiration comes from a wide variety of sources, both spiritual and secular, and we appreciate the teachings of the great minds of the world and also of ordinary people put in extraordinary circumstances.
A lot of UUs come to the faith as a way of teaching a sense of morality to their children. Although a loving, caring, involved parent is the most valuable asset any child can have, a supportive community of adults and other families can go a long way toward showing a child a compassionate way of living that is bigger and more inclusive than that shown only by their family of origin. Personally some of the “grown-ups” that my kids (now grown themselves) encountered at church have been as instrumental in forming their moral compasses as their father and I could ever be by ourselves.
Now I will not pretend that all UU churches are magic places where we all live in peace and never disagree and rarely find ourselves caught up in the mundane matters of this earthly realm. We still have to raise money to pay the electric bill and make sure that there is toilet paper and someone who will check to see that the supplies are ample. If our church believes in saving our natural resources, that means someone needs to wash the “not paper” cups and plates that we use for Potluck dinners.
And just because we agree in the importance of using “justice, equity and compassion in human relations” (part of the Principles and Purposes that guide us), does not mean that we always agree on what should appear on the first page of the website or who should be responsible for vacuuming the carpet or whether we should say “God” or “Goddess” or “The Universe” or refer to no type of deity at all. (Gotta keep the Humanists happy too!)
What being part of a Unitarian Universalist congregation does mean is that there is a place to go where your personal sense of what is right in the world will be supported. It means that although everyone in the chairs on Sunday morning may not agree with everything that you believe, they will all affirm your right to believe it and will give you support as your life takes you in directions that may be joyful or difficult or unexpected. It means being part of something bigger than yourself that gives structure and meaning and community and faith and grace and laughter and tears.
I M UU. R U?