What is WORSHIP, anyway? Think of it as WORTH SHIP – lifting up those things that hold our deepest collective values and command our deepest loyalties.
We come to this religious association to devote ourselves anew to what is worth the best in us and to encourage others in that pursuit. We do it regularly because we get swamped by so much else that life throws at us that we forget what really matters and need a reminder.
Why does our gathering for worship take the shape it does with the contents it has? We have our roots in the Protestant Reformation and centuries of identification as a liberal Christian body. It was only in the 20thCentury that Unitarian Universalism shed most of its Christian foundation and grew into a more universal faith emphasizing the spiritual journey rather than a set of uniform, mandatory beliefs and behaviors. Consequently, many of our churches have adopted a humanist approach that best resembles a philosophical society featuring lecture and debate within the congregation. Belief in a god or a powerful spirit are neither required nor precluded. Such beliefs are regarded as matters of personal faith or judgement, not in need of proof or disproof.
Currently, UUCJ’s priorities represent a balance of participation between leadership and congregation, between conceptual and emotional appeal. The specific activities of our service are an inheritance from the past remodeled to serve our present direction. Different churches may emphasize different aspects of the human spiritual journey, in response to the needs of their members.