affirmations

Elevator speeches

Also in Reflections: Living in exile by Victoria Safford and Conspiracy with change by Edward L. Schempp

In his March/April 2003 “Our Calling” column, President William G. Sinkford wrote, “I always encourage people to work on their elevator speech, what you’d say when you’re going from the sixth floor to the lobby and somebody asks you, ‘What’s a Unitarian Universalist?’” We invite your responses for this column; write to “Reflections,” UU World, 25 Beacon Street, Boston MA 02108.

Most religions work to get people into heaven. Unitarian Universalists work to get heaven into people.

Roger Bergere
Church of the Larger Fellowship
Babson Park, Florida

Unitarian Universalism grew out of Christianity, with the Unitarians believing in the unity of God and the Universalists believing in universal salvation. We have developed into religion that draws spiritual wisdom from many different sources. It is a place where people come together to share and learn from each other's spiritual journey.

We help each other in our search for God or the sacred, even though we realize that each person's vision of God or the sacred is different. We believe in the importance of individual conscience, spiritually and socially, as well as the responsibility towards the community and creation that comes with that freedom.

Erin Christman
Unity Church–Unitarian
Saint Paul, Minnesota

Unitarian Universalists believe that all life is sacred, all existence is interconnected, and that justice and compassion must be the foundation of our thoughts and deeds.

Ann Creech
Unitarian Universalist Metro Atlanta North
Roswell, Georgia

Being a Unitarian Universalist means belonging to a community that accepts and understands doubts of the divine and the search for truth without imposing an unrealistic doctrine with a promise of unnecessary salvation.

Bruce Whatley
First Unitarian Universalist Church
San Diego, California

As an institution, Unitarian Universalism is concerned with this life and what can be done to make it better for the most people. In the theological or spiritual realm of the unprovable, it's do-it-yourself: Your responsibility is to determine for yourself what speaks to you and what you need to believe.

Tom Bindrim
Unitarian Universalist Church
Asheville, North Carolina

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