The Unitarian Universalist fellowship welcomes religions of all kinds to come together.
The straightjacket of spirituality is lifted for people who identify as a Unitarian Universalist.
“The thing is, when you’re a Unitarian Universalist, you are encouraged to question and to develop your own spiritual beliefs,” said Patrick Gordon, the facilities team leader at the Athens fellowship and a member of the fellowship since 2005. “It’s not so much stress relieving; it’s the fact that you aren’t straight-jacketed by something that you don’t really believe.”
Christianity, Buddhism, Atheism and many other religions join one another under the same roof for a non-denominational religion, Unitarian Universalism.
Barb Harrison, co-president for the Unitarian Universalist fellowship in Athens, which formed in the 1960s, said that in the United States this denomination started mostly in the east coast and leaders like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau are thought of as the forefathers of this denomination.
She also said that though this denomination was started as Christian teachings, it has become more committed to social justice and also welcoming people of all faiths since the ’60s.
“In my life, I was raised in Methodist tradition and then grew away from Christianity because it didn’t really fit for me. And then in my adult life I eventually found UU so it really does fit what my personal beliefs are,” Harrison said.
The fellowship in Athens has some students that do show up from time to time, but membership is mostly populated by Athens residents; largely because students may not know who and what this denomination is, Gordon said
The church is known to have liberal religious traditions formed from the consolidation of two religions: Unitarianism and Universalism. The two separate churches consolidated in 1961, becoming the new religion of Unitarian Universalism through the Unitarian Universalist Association.
These liberal traditions can be seen in the historical firsts the religion has pioneered. Lynda Smith, the part-time minister for the fellowship, said that it was one of the first denominations to ordain women and the first to ordain gay and lesbian ministers.
“It builds bridges between people and it’s good for interfaith understanding,” Smith said. “It’s good to have interfaith understanding so that religions can get along rather than being divisive.”
Gordon said this denomination brings opportunities to be around others with similar mindsets where people can pass ideas off each other and it helps a person grow.
“For me, the fellowship is really about community,” said Sam Pattantyus, the treasurer for the Athens fellowship. “It’s about a group of people who really care about each other. I wasn’t really sure and I’m still not really sure in terms of (my) spirituality or religion and I was kind of resistant to start going at first … Once I got to know the community I fell in love.”
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