Unitarian Universalists are part of what might be called the liberal faith tradition. You have a set of principles that you have identified and that you, in community with one another, seek to follow. As practitioners of Unitarian Universalism, you remind each other of these guiding principles, you study them, you interpret them, and, to the best of your ability and understanding, you seek to give them a practical priority in your daily living. In this sense, you are part of a broader spiritual heritage that you share with others, including myself. What I’d like to do in this talk is examine some of the traits of this spiritual heritage. What identifies us; what do we have in common; and what sets us apart from others who do not so identify?

Meredith Guest is a former Southern Baptist minister. After completing the coursework for a Masters in Philosophy from the University of Southern Mississippi, she got her Master of Divinity from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. She served two churches in Mississippi before getting fired for suggesting that when Jesus said “Love your enemies,” he probably meant not to kill them. She moved to Maryland where she worked and lived on the retreat farm of Church of the Savior, a progressive Christian church that has been involved in peace and justice work for the past sixty years. After ten years in Maryland, she moved to California to become the teacher/administrator of a small Montessori school in Petaluma. When life in the closet became unbearable, she came out as transgender. She now lives on an acre and a quarter in Sonoma County, which, with the help of her partner, has become a mini-wildlife sanctuary.

Topics: Standard Sunday Service