Entries this day: my-answers-to-the-free-range-uu-survey

my answers to the free range uu survey

##13:53 Saturday 01 September 2012

1. How do you know you're a Unitarian Universalist?

Raised UU, but I more often say I was "raised UU" than I say I am currently UU.

2. How do you define Unitarian Universalism?

encouraging others to find their own spiritual path, and speaking out against social injustice.

3. When do you feel most Unitarian Universalist?

age 5 to 20-something

4. If you could design your ideal UU religious community what would congregational life look like? Who's there? What do they do after worship? What does worship look like? When does the congregation meet? Where does the congregation meet? Think even bigger than my questions!

I've filled out everything on the survey and am coming back to this question, with my answer to the bigger question.

I grew up as a UU. I remember being a kid lighting candles at the altar and all that. I became a teenager in 1983, just as LRY had been reborn in YRUU. I went to between 3 and 7 Rallies in Southwest District every year, and there were between 15 and 50 kids at each event. (Rallies are called Cons in other districts.)

I attended rallies until my first year of university; rallies didn't literally save my life, but they saved my sanity; I generally disliked the normal high school experience, except for rallies; they were my safe place to open up. They gave me real spiritual growth.

I have attended several (two hundred?) Sunday UU sermons in my life, but never really really really really liked them. It's just a bunch of intellectual blah blah through which I have gained very little spiritual content / support.

When I graduated from university, I remembered I hadn't been to church in 7 years. I went back and quickly gravitated to being a YRUU advisor; I wanted to give back to the organization that had given so much to me.

For about 5 or 6 years I was advising at church every Sunday locally and advising at every rally within the district; I was on youth council for a year; my number one focus was YRUU. I helped the youth organize Houston Rally about 4 times from 1998 to 2002 I think.

Why?

YRUU is the closest experience I've had to what I believe is spiritual truth: we are all one. Worship services where we each light a candle, say a few words, and then just BE together. Just sit. Just relax in a puppy pile. You are safe. You are loved. The entire universe is this moment right now. Need to cry? Just cry; we are here for you. Need to shout? Let's all shout; we are here together.

In my humble opinion, the "adult" sermons are better for those who did not grow up UU. I've seen many adult escapees from other religions say "ah yes; this is more like it," when they come to a UU service. As opposed to where they were raised, the messages at UU services are like, You won't go to hell for breaking the rules; the love is all around you; don't worry be happy.

That's great! Those are great messages, but they're only partway to the reality that YRUUers experience at YRUU events. (Note, I say "experience" at YRUU events, not just "discuss" or consider in a sermon.)

In a YRUU event, the message isn't just "you won't go to hell for breaking the rules" but the experience is "here we are in heaven already, creating this moment together."

The message is not "love is all around you," but an experience of "you are loved; you ARE love; we are loved; we love and respect ourselves and each other"

The message is not "Don't worry; be happy," it's an experience of omg I'm so happy I forgot to be worried!

When crappy stuff happens in YRUU, the community is quick to respond with love, "yo, that wasn't cool, but we love you; you are cool and don't have to do that to get attention."

• - - -

Rallies had grown to minimum 50 kids at an event to upwards of 200 at a single weekend event when I was an advisor. Unfortunately, around the same time I moved to Japan, there were some JNP-powered campaigns to castrate Southwest District YRUU of its power. These campaigns have largely worked; all the good advisors were pushed out (according to my former-YRUU sources) and YRUU events in Southwest District have been severely limited in quantity and quality.

SO, I don't know if any of what I wrote (YRUU is great) still applies, but I sorta feel like I graduated from UUism via YRUU; adult sermons can't really give me any more than I've already got.

It ain't UUism's fault; people who weren't raised UU may not be ready for spontaneous puppy piles.

https://veryjoeandbullish.blogspot.jp/2012/03/joy-of-life-puppy-pile.html

5. Describe Unitarian Universalist congregations in three words:

chatty, happy, encouraging

6. Regarding that congregation thing... which is true for you?

I used to go, but I don't now.

7. If you have the option of attending a congregation and you do not attend, what keeps you away?

I haven't looked to see if there's one here, but see question 4

8. What do you wish UUs in congregations knew/understood about you?

I'd rather spend 15 minutes in a real hug than talk or listen

9. What is your vocation/job? 

database programmer and web developer

10. What are your identities?

Racial/Ethnic: caucasian Education: bachelor (of science in computer science) Gender: male Sexual Orientation: hetero Other I haven't asked: barefoot since May 2012  (and barefoot for 8 years before I left Texas in 2003)

11. year you were born:

1970

12. The 5 digit zip code of the place you currently call home:

Tokyo, Japan

*[10]: Question 10 *[1]: Question 1 *[3]: Question 3 *[2]: Question 2 *[5]: Question 5 *[4]: Question 4 *[7]: Question 7 *[6]: Question 6 *[9]: Question 9 *[8]: Question 8