About Us
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Norwich offers an avenue for individuals to come together, learn from each other and within the community, and strengthen their faith. Click on the video below to watch “We Are Unitarian Universalists” (approximately 3 minutes), or continue reading to learn more about our religious community in Norwich, CT.
We are brave, curious, and compassionate thinkers and doers. We are diverse in faith, ethnicity, history, and spirituality but aligned in our desire to make a difference for the good. We have a track record of siding with our fellow UUs and others for love, justice, and peace.
We have radical roots and a history as self-motivated spiritual people: we think for ourselves and recognize that life experience influences our beliefs more than anything.
We need not think alike to love alike. We are people of many beliefs and backgrounds: people with and without religious backgrounds, people who believe in a God, people who don’t, and people who let the mystery be.
We are Unitarian Universalist and Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Humanist, Jewish, Muslim, Pagan, atheist and agnostic, believers in God, and more.
Shared Unitarian Universalist Values
As Unitarian Universalists, we covenant, congregation-to-congregation and through our Association, to support and assist one another in our ministries.
We draw from our heritages of freedom, reason, hope, and courage, building on the foundation of love.
Inseparable from one another, these shared values are:
| Love The power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. We are accountable to one another for doing the work of living our shared values through the spiritual discipline of Love. | Pluralism We celebrate that we are all sacred beings, diverse in culture, experience, and theology.We covenant to learn from one another in our free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We embrace our differences and commonalities with Love, curiosity, and respect. | Transformation We adapt to the changing world.We covenant to collectively transform and grow spiritually and ethically. Openness to change is fundamental to our Unitarian and Universalist heritages, never complete and never perfect. |
| Interdependence We honor the interdependent web of all existence. With reverence for the great web of life and with humility, we acknowledge our place in it. We covenant to protect Earth and all beings from exploitation. We will create and nurture sustainable relationships of care and respect, mutuality and justice. We will work to repair harm and damaged relationships. | Justice We work to be diverse multicultural Beloved Communities where all thrive.We covenant to dismantle racism and all forms of systemic oppression. We support the use of inclusive democratic processes to make decisions within our congregations, our Association, and society at large. | Equity We declare that every person has the right to flourish with inherent dignity and worthiness. We covenant to use our time, wisdom, attention, and money to build and sustain fully accessible and inclusive communities. |
On the forefront of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer inclusion for more than 40 years, we are, and we welcome people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
We welcome you: your whole self, with all your truths and your doubts, your worries and your hopes. Join us on this extraordinary adventure of faith. Get involved!
Why I am a Unitarian Universalist
I arrived from Longtown, SC in 1957 as a young mother with a small child. In my search for a home church, I was surprised to learn that black church folks focused on my clothes because they did not match.
Members of a white church, exhibiting facial expressions of horror, would move if I sat next to them.
I stopped going to church and began to spend time drinking coffee at the Thorn Coffeehouse, where I met the Rev. Tharald Olfson. He invited me to the Unitarian Universalist Church where I met people from all walks of life. I was welcomed. It did not matter that I had little money.
I was with people who shared similar beliefs of fairness — the right to question and the right to protest. I found a religious home. Lottie B. Scott.