Newcomers to the Sedona Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (SUUF) often say, “Wow, I’ve been a Unitarian for years without knowing it.”

They’d evolved a UU approach to life before attending any UU Sunday service or event.  They needed no convincing about the UU path.  They’d discovered its value on their own, in their own heart and mind, in their own interactions with others.

That process may have begun when they found the faith of their upbringing too confining or judgmental.

Maybe they’d explored other spiritual paths to see if any rang more true.

But they found no one story or scripture big enough to explain the magnificent complexity and beauty of nature, our humanity, or the vast universe.

Yet they intuited on their own that every person is born essentially good and worthy of unconditional and redemptive love.

They’d enjoyed experiencing community life alongside others who value and support kindness, compassion, and justice.

They also relished conversation with people curious about life and eager to explore new ideas, open to learning and growth.

Then they came to SUUF and found an abundance of people like them.  Most Fellowship members had traveled a similar path, and, through their life experiences, had become emotionally expressive, intellectually literate, community involved, spiritually grounded, morally conscientious, environmentally engaged, and, especially, deeply caring toward each other.

That’s when it hit them, “Say, these are my kind of people — I’ve been a UU all along, without knowing it.”

December 30, 2022