Unitarian Universalists Church: Mission Accomplished
After months of planning and failing to get out of bed on time, we finally attended a service at the UU church. I quite enjoyed it.
Basically, I've come to the firm conclusion that I will never be comfortable in a Christian church. The more liberal of the morals and ideas, I agree with (not so much with the conservative hatred part). The UU church takes respect and love for fellow mankind and makes that the center of things, not Jesus or God. Jesus and God are concepts that I have large difficulties with, but I do not reject the central tenet that we should be kind to one another. I haven't really had a source in my life reminding me of that tenet. I think the UU church can do that. And it will be a community that I think with which I could involve myself without feeling like I don't belong.
That's how I have always felt, since I was a little kid, going to church. I felt like I was a spy, or that I was keeping a dark secret and there would be dire consequences if anyone found out. That was, simply, that I did not believe in Jesus. I have never believed. I don't know why. If you knew how I was raised and the churches I attended in my youth, you would not find any particular reason for the rejection of my family's faith. Perhaps it was my immediate embrace of science... perhaps it was discovering that Santa Claus wasn't real, and Jesus got caught in the crossfire. But I can remember, being maybe 3 or 4 and thinking to myself, as my mother read to me the story of Jesus rising from the grave, and thinking, "That is not possible. People do not come back to life after they die. This is a lie." (That is my personal opinion, and I mean no disrespect to anyone who does believe that. I respect your right to believe whatever you want and maybe the universe is a more wonderful place than I think it is.)
Religion is something I have never wanted in my life. It was always a very uncomfortable experience for me. Spirituality, on the other hand, does not seem so bad. And I think this church offers the latter with as little of the former as possible. I felt like I belonged there more than any other house of worship I've attended. I will definitely be going back.