New to UU: Dive Deeper

“New to UU: Dive deeper and take an adventure with Unitarianism Universalism”
adapted from Rev Matthew Johnson , UURockford

Welcome to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson! We are thrilled that you are exploring membership as part of our community.

Under normal circumstances, we would gather together to learn about this faith, this congregation, and each other. In order to stay safe, we are going to give you most of the content online, for you to explore on your own time. The learning plan is below.

We gather online periodically for a Newcomer Orientation and hope you will have had a chance to review the following links prior to that date.

On your own, you will learn:

  • UU identity, history, theology, and structure.
  • How to get involved in the church and the programs we offer.

In the online session, we will:

  • Reflect on your UU theology and journey
  • Ask and answer questions you have.
  • Meet other newcomers and members of the Membership Team

Learning Plan:

We begin with “What is Unitarian Universalism?”

Watch/read, in order: (total watch time: 54 minutes, plus local videos)

  1. We are Unitarian Universalists. This is a three minute quick introduction, you may have already watched on the UUA.org website: https://vimeo.com/344862790.
  2. A History of Unitarianism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjMLoUQLNQ8 (This is 7 minutes; by Rev. Sean Neil-Barron)
  3. A History of Universalism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS46egsVxQg (Five minutes by Rev. Sean Neil-Barron).
  4. Sermon on Liberation and Love by Rev. Yadenee Hailu (11 minutes). Listen for her description of “how” we live our faith and reflect on the “how” of your commitments to love and liberation. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=534017220730398
  5. UU theology video by Rev. Matthew Johnson: (12 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfuk7FMlWNg

• After you’ve watched Rev. Matthew’s theology video, watch this video of “Holy Now” by Peter Mayer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiypaURysz4. (4 minutes)

• And then also watch this video of “We Are. . .” by Yseye Barnwell. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3208724352521328 (4 minutes)

• At the online zoom session, we’ll ask you to share how the lyrics of the songs “Holy Now” and/or “We Are . . .”, (both by Unitarian Universalist composers) reflect the theology you’ve learned about – and how they speak to you.

  1. Also, please read about the flaming chalice: https://www.uua.org/beliefs/who-we-are/chalice/flaming-chalice and explore the links on this page: https://www.uua.org/beliefs/what-we-believe/beliefs
  2. Here’s a fun link to learn a bit more about the seven principles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgqciXI3WCs

Then we turn to what it means to be part of a local congregation – and an international movement. (total watch time: 11 minutes)

A. What does it mean to be a member? (5 minutes) = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tohRlWzguQI

B. What is the UUA? (3 minutes) = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-eLbsRBVoU

C. Then, also watch this short film (3 minutes) about international Unitarian Universalism:  = https://vimeo.com/340266602

Oh, what an adventure & life-long journey!