GROWING UP UU

Laura Pedersen has been involved at All Souls for about five years, but she is one of those rare individuals among us who have been UUs all their lives. Her second novel, Beginner's Luck, has just been published. This is an excerpt of her service opener of October 20, 2002.

Since many come to this religion later in life, I'd like to share some impressions from being raised Unitarian-Universalist—and perhaps frighten you with regard to how your children might turn out.

It's easiest to do this in contrasts since I grew up exposed to many religions. My grandparents were Lutheran, Roman Catholic and Spiritualist. Many of my public school teachers were Born-again Christians, while my godparents were orthodox Jews, which may make me a 'Jewnitarian' or perhaps, a 'U Jew'.

My friends not only had church in the summer but also Bible camp. We didn't have summer services, because we were safe in the knowledge that God trusted us. But that didn't mean we were off duty. In the ’60s and ’70s, Buffalo was a flashpoint for Vietnam protests, race riots and pro-life rallies. We marched for RID, ERA, MADD, a woman's right to choose, the grape and lettuce pickers, and nuclear disarmament, to name just a few. My father was a folksinger and led us in We Shall Overcome—all seven verses—sort of the Unitarian Kum-ba-yah.

My friends wore T-shirts that said, "WWJD"—"What Would Jesus Do?" I wore one too. Only mine meant, "What Would Jefferson Do?"

My friends believed in a single God who created the world in a week. We questioned that because that would imply that he worked alone rather than with a committee. And how could that be?

My Catholic friends had books of all their saints. We had a list of famous UUs. At the end were some 'borderline cases,' such as Emily Dickinson and Benjamin Franklin. I assumed this was like being 'borderline schizophrenic.' My Baptist and Methodist friends could really knock back a hymn. We couldn't. Some said it was because Unitarians were too busy reading ahead to see if they agreed with the words. …

Finally, my friends had coming of age ceremonies like baptisms and bar mitzvahs. This usually involved receiving money. At sixteen, I was invited to sign the UU membership book and shortly thereafter, the church started asking me for money—the old "please give as you are able." And I do, because I can't imagine having grown up in a more wonderful place than the UU church.