Our Values

Values and beliefs

Our values and beliefs are deeply intertwined, with much of our focus centering on the third line of our mission: Living our Vision of a Just and Sustainable World. We encourage sustainability in our congregation and our personal lives. We have divested our investments in fossil fuels, and moved our financial accounts to a community bank. Our congregation welcomes and includes people of all races, ethnicities, genders, sexual identities, and abilities. We believe that by living our values, we can transform both ourselves and the world.

Our extensive Social Justice program puts action behind our values. Our children are encouraged to live their values in the Families and Religious Exploration programs. Sunday services and music draw people into our congregation where they find our values reflected in music and sermons.

Congregational Stands on Justice

Sometimes our values lead us to speak out on core moral justice issues.  These congregational stands allow EUUC staff and members to publicly advocate and engage in witness on these issues in the name of our congregation.

Learn about our process for taking a congregational stand and also the stands that we have taken on LGBTQI Justice and Equity, Money in Politics, Global Warming and Climate Justice, Racial Justice, and Reproductive Justice.

UU Values and Covenants

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. Love is 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. Inseparable from one another, these shared values are:

 

Interdependence

A chalice with the word Love over the flame, with six outstretched swirls that create a circular space within them. Together, they form a six-petal flower of different colors. Each contains one of the six UU shared values, printed in a modern font. Clockwise they are: Interdependence (red), Equity (purple), Justice (yellow), Transformation (dark pink), Pluralism (blue), and Generosity (green).

  • 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.

Equity

  • We declare that every person is inherently worthy and has the right to flourish with dignity, love, and compassion.
  • We covenant to use our time, wisdom, attention, and money to build and sustain fully accessible and inclusive communities

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.

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.

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.

Generosity

  • We cultivate a spirit of gratitude and hope.
  • We covenant to freely and compassionately share our faith, presence, and resources. Our generosity connects us to one another in relationships of interdependence and mutuality.

Inspirations: Direct experiences of transcending mystery and wonder are primary sources of Unitarian Universalist inspiration. These experiences open our hearts, renew our spirits, and transform our lives. We draw upon, and are inspired by, sacred, secular, and scientific understandings that help us make meaning and live into our values. These sources ground us and sustain us in ordinary, difficult, and joyous times. We respect the histories, contexts, and cultures in which these sources were created and are currently practiced. Grateful for the experiences that move us, aware of the religious ancestries we inherit, and enlivened by the diversity which enriches our faith, we are called to ever deepen and expand our wisdom.

Inclusion: Systems of power, privilege, and oppression have traditionally created barriers for persons and groups with particular identities, ages, abilities, and histories. We pledge to replace such barriers with ever-widening circles of solidarity and mutual respect. We strive to be an Association of congregations that truly welcome all persons who share our values. We commit to being an Association of congregations that empowers and enhances everyone’s participation, especially those with historically marginalized identities.

Freedom of belief: Congregational freedom and the individual’s right of conscience are central to our Unitarian Universalist heritage.