Faith Musings

Today is Sunday. This is the day of our minister's last sermon before he leaves our church and moves on to other things.

I grew up an atheist. There were times, in my life, when I believed in God, when I thought my family was going to hell, and even when I thought I might be resurrected at some point and live forever. But my parents gave me the freedom to think for myself and decide these things for myself, and because of this, I landed in adulthood firmly convinced that there was no real "God" the way various religions described "him."

And then I found this church.

I feel I must explain myself, because this church community has become such a huge part of my life in such a short period of time. I talk about my church a lot because I think about my church a lot. I feel people bristle when I speak about my church, as though I am a crazy person who is going to start raving about Jesus and demanding they give up their Sunday morning sleep-ins  even though I was simply talking about music, or going to a meeting.

I still haven't really changed my mind. I am still an atheist. I have simply fallen in love with this church, that does not demand that I change my mind or believe anything I find to be unbelievable. It doesn't ask that of anyone, and I don't ask that of anyone. I think people are allowed to believe what they believe, and that none of these beliefs are necessarily wrong. We can find more in common with each other than we can find things to divide us.

I have never been a member of another church. I have never had a minister other than this minister. I am nervous about this transition - what if this new minister prays too much? What if she isn't as intellectually stimulating and I get bored? What will happen to this huge part of my life?

This is when Faith comes into play. I didn't exactly choose this church because of the minister. It was the package. I have faith in the principles of my religion. And without further ado, here they are, as posted on the UUA website:

 - the inherent worth and dignity of every person
 - justice, equity, and compassion in human relations
 - acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations
 - a free and responsible search for truth and meaning
 - the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and society at large.
 - the goal of a world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all
 - respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are all a part