Greetings, and welcome to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Peninsula!  Let me take this opportunity to answer three questions that we’re often asked.

First, what do we believe?  Affirming the free and responsible search for truth and meaning, we embrace our religious responsibility to help people work out what they believe, for themselves, but with active support from one another.  Our congregation provides the community and the context in which this takes place, developing structures for identity and unity in our common faith.

Within these structures, how do we make decisions?  Respecting the inherent worth and dignity of every person, we endeavor to trust those whom we have selected from amongst ourselves to lead our congregations and our denomination.  We allow them the freedom to fail so that they may be bold in their work on our behalf, but we support them with conscientious and constructive disagreement where necessary.

Most importantly, who are we?  We who enter the circle of liberal religion do so of our own free will, committed to keeping that circle open for all those who would find us.  Our perspective is broad, developing an awareness of the multi-dimensional strands of the interdependent web of existence of which we are a part; our perspective is also deep, recognizing both the spark of the divine in each of us and the fire of holiness that dwells in true community, as well as the evil that would douse those flames.  We work against oppression in all its forms, seeing ourselves in every stranger and seizing every act of living as an opportunity for liberation.  We are grateful to the pioneers who have gone before us, inspired by their actions to have courage in facing the doubts and fears in our own lives; we extend the hand of fellowship to our contemporaries, whether self-described seekers or those who believe they’ve already found the truth, recognizing in them the common humanity that overrides the differences that would divide us; and we bequeath the legacy of our tradition to our children and youth, ensuring that our circle always has a place for them and preparing for a future in which they continue to play an integral part.

I invite you to continue your exploration of the Fellowship’s Web site, where there’s a wealth of information about who and what we are.  I also hope you’ll visit us one Sunday, or give us a call if you’d like to talk first.  Either way, let’s find out together if this might be the place for you!