Since members of the Sedona Unitarian Universalist Fellowship don’t have a common creed, can they believe whatever they want?  Well, yes and no.

UUs certainly are free to form their own beliefs about the nature of reality and their meaning or purpose in it.  And they do.

Ask any individual UU, and you’ll find that most have clear beliefs about many of life’s ultimate questions.  And, for other questions, they are still discovering which beliefs resonate with them and which do not.

Would they, therefore, say they believe anything they want?  Not usually.

Most would say they believe what they do because they must. Their beliefs are the ones that simply make the most sense to them. They believe what they feel compelled to believe.  Every fiber of their being tells them that those beliefs are true.

If they simply believed in whatever they wanted, they might convince themselves that their faith guarantees them eternal bliss in Paradise. That’s an appealing belief, but most UUs don’t buy it.

Their minds are still open to discovery as they move through life, learn about other people’s beliefs, form relationships, and have experiences that shape their personal credos. They accept the ideas that evoke in their spirit a sense of the transcendent, and sift out what does not ring true.

Actually, UUs believe that how they treat one another is more important than the beliefs they hold, and more important than the words they choose to express their beliefs.  In community, they invite each other to uncover and share what their minds, hearts, and experiences call them to believe.

They agree to walk with one another on this journey, in love. Sometimes that walk is exciting and filled with joyous discovery and revelation; sometimes it’s not. The point is that they do it together, and they’re in it for the long haul.

May 31, 2024