The Sounding of the Gong

Well, I had an interesting morning.  I woke up too late to make it out to Evanston to go to church.  However, I still felt the need to go to church.  So, I decided to take advantage of this opportunity to explore some local churches that I've wanted to try out.

I put on some slacks and a sweater, opted for my jacket instead of my overcoat, and went for a nice Sunday morning walk.  I had my gloves, but opted to just keep my hands in my pockets.  I didn't bother buttoning up my jacket, and found I didn't need to...it was sunny, and not too cold.

In fact, it was 35 degrees (this is about 1 or 2, for you Celsius people).  I guess I'm beginning to adjust to winter.

Anyway, I knew I had two choices...The Unity Temple, which is Unitarian Universalist, and The First United Church of Oak Park, which is a hybrid of United Church of Christ and Presbyterian Church USA.  They are across the street from each other, and services at both churches begin at 11.  I figured I'd make my decision when I got there.

As I approached the two houses of worship, I decided that if I was going to be bold, I was going to be bold, and I went to the Unity Temple.  I've never done Unitarian Universalism before, but I'd always heard it was among the most liberal denominations out there.  Some have even called it a "cult," and, unfortunately, say it in that tone that automatically gives "cult" a negative connotation.

I didn't know what to expect.

I walked in, and was greeted, and got a program and other reading material.  I could've picked up a name tag and written my name on it, but I didn't, because I wasn't sure whether or not I was going to give these people my real name.

(NOTE: To those of you new to Uvonism, generally my approach to a new church is very wallflower.  I like to sit quietly and make my own observations, and run like Hell (yuk) afterward if it doesn't work for me.  I do NOT like having a microphone put in my face with someone saying, "And your name is...?" which has happened at two other churches in Chicagoland.  The second time that happened, I gave them my pseudonym.  I keep the pseudonym in reserve, in case I ever meet people whom I don't plan on meeting ever again).

So, I walked into the sanctuary.  The Unity Temple was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.  If you're unfamiliar with his work, think squares.  It was an interesting space. 

I found an inobtrusive place to sit, where I could see everything, and then took a look at the program.  When I saw "Sounding of the gong,"  I knew I was in for a treat.

It was quite an experience.  I've never before attended a worship service where "God" or "Christ" or any reference to a higher holy figure is not mentioned.  I've discovered through the literature I picked up that that's just the way UU's believe.  I'm not going to get into more detail, though.  If you want to know more, just go to their website.

There was one thing that was said in the sermon that really stuck out for me.  The sermon itself was on faith, and some of you may know that I'm big on faith and ways of believing, and constantly search for better ways of defining faith, belief, and the differences between.  Anyway, what was said was, "Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith."  That'll give me something good to chew on later.

I did miss Advent, though.  I'm not the world's best at the Christian Calendar, but I do enjoy Advent services.  The sole acknowledgement I saw to the Advent season was the selection of the hymn "O Come, O Come Emmanuel."  But the lyrics were NOT traditional.  I had to actually keep the hymnal up and open so I could read the words as I sang the tune.  I know the original by heart.  This was new.  There was another hymn that talked about "being a pioneer".  I worked really hard to keep from laughing during that one.

It was disappointing, slightly, after the service, when no one seemed to make an effort to meet me and find out who I was.  That's never happened before.  In every church I've ever attended, anywhere, anytime, there's always been someone who decided to talk to me.  I didn't rush off, but I walked in a sensible but slightly lingering gait to the door and left.

I still don't have an opinion on UUs.  I can't see it as the primary source of my belief and faith structure, but I do acknowledge that it could serve, from time to time, as a nice supplement.

However, since I'm very likely moving to another zip code in 6 months (if I can find a place), I'm not really jonesing to integrate into a new faith community at this time.  Still, it was nice to explore.  What I may do next time I'm religioning in Oak Park is go to the Unity Temple for the 9:30 service, and then go across the street to First United for the 11:00.  That could be fun.

In Other News:  Afterward, I walked over to Borders, to look for a couple titles I was interested in.  I discovered that those books didn't seem nearly as interesting as the titles indicated.  But I did see one very interesting and amusing title:  Men Are Pigs, But We Love Bacon.