Unitarian Universalist

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a liberal religious tradition that emerged from the consolidation of two historic movements: Unitarianism and Universalism. Together they form a faith without a fixed creed, rooted instead in shared values, ongoing revelation, and the inherent worth of every person.

Unitarianism traces its name to the affirmation of a single divine unity rather than a trinitarian God. Universalism proclaimed a boundless, unconditional love — that no soul would be lost, that grace was wider than any dogma could contain. When the two joined in 1961, they gave birth to a tradition that asks questions more than it supplies answers, and trusts each seeker to find their own path toward truth.

I officially became a member of this free faith during the flower communion ceremony at the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles — a ritual of beauty and shared blessing where each person brings a flower to the communal vase, then takes another home. It is a gesture of giving and receiving, of individuality held within community.

For many years I also walked with CUUPS — the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans — as a voting member, bridging my earth-centered spirituality with this welcoming table. CUUPS holds space for those who hear the sacred in the cycles of the moon, the turning of the wheel, and the old gods who never stopped whispering.

The Seven Principles of the UUA are not commandments but invitations: the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equity, and compassion in human relations; acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth; a free and responsible search for truth and meaning; the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process; the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; and respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.