Liberal religion's terminology may differ from the ecclesiastical vocabulary used in other faiths to consecrate life passages, but UU's share with other religions the desire to mark the moment with ceremony, to share the occasion with others, and to bring a sense of the transcendent and spiritual to the event being commemorated.
Unitarian Universalists at
Birmingham Unitarian Church hold ceremonies for
· Child Dedications
· Rites of Passage Experience for 8th Graders
· Bridging Ceremony for High School Graduates
· Welcoming Ceremony for New Members
· Apple and Cheese Communion in September
· Flower Communion in the Spring
· Marriages and Union ceremonies, and
· Memorial Services.
During this Sunday morning ceremony, parents dedicating their children stand before the congregation with their babies and toddlers in arms and promise to raise their children to be thoughtful, caring, ethical people. The congregation, in turn, promises to support the parents and to be part of a community that teaches children the ways we would like them to grow. The children sometimes nibble the flower the minister gives them and make their personal opinions known-- to the delight of the congregation and sometimes the consternation of the parents.
Eighth Grade students spend the year in a special curriculum called the Rites of Passage Experience (which goes by the acronym ROPE). In ROPE, they learn about Unitarian Universalist history and traditions and take part in a coming of age course called "Our Whole Lives" (which goes by the acronym OWL). The year of study culminates in a trip to Boston, national headquarters of the Unitarian Universalist Association and a city rich in UU and American history. As part of this rite of passage, the eighth graders present a service the first Sunday in June. During the service, each member of the Rites of Passage class reads a personal statement reflecting seriously, but not without humor, on their beliefs, religious identities, and on what the year of study (and the Boston trip) meant to them.
BUC initiated this ceremony to provide young people graduating from high school with a time for religious reflection on the passage dividing adolescence from young adulthood. School graduation ceremonies honor the academic side of this life passage and graduation parties and proms celebrate the social passage, but traditional ceremonies offer little opportunity to reflect on the spiritual meaning of this important life milestone. Therefore the church created a Bridging Ceremony to serve this purpose for young adults graduating from high school.
When new people have been attending church for a while and decide they're in agreement with the Unitarian Universalist approach to liberal religion practiced at Birmingham Unitarian Church, they may decide to join the church. That simple process consists of three steps.
First step involves signing the membership book on the table in the sanctuary. On the forth Sunday of each month, a Board Member is on hand to witness the signatures of those who wish to join the church and talk with them about the rights and responsibilities of membership.
Second step consists of a brief series of sessions called The New UU. In these informal orientation meetings, people (both new members and prospective members) learn about church traditions, governance, the Unitarian Universalist denomination, and the many activities and service programs available to build friendships through shared interests and to serve the community.
Third step in the process of becoming a member is being recognized by the congregation at a Sunday morning service. New Member Welcoming Services take place two or three times a year. This gives the congregation of around 600 members a chance to meet new people and welcome them warmly into the congregation.
Every September when members of the church assemble after a summer of vacation and travel, it feels like a homecoming. The congregation celebrates this reunion with a special Sunday morning ceremony. We give thanks for our church community of like-minded, caring people and we pay homage to nature's mystery and bounty. "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part" is a UU Principle. Members of the church board pass platters of apple slices and small squares of cheese to the assembled congregation to remind us of the awe-inspiring web of life and nature's rich bounty.
Norbert Capek, a Czech Unitarian minister, was killed in the holocaust for his beliefs. He was the grandfather of longtime BUC member Ron Fredrick. Capek started the Flower Communion in his own Czech congregation before World War II. On Flower Communion Sunday, BUCer's bring flowers from their own gardens to church. They place their flower in baskets overflowing with the varied colors and scents of spring brought by other church members. After the service, each person takes home a flower grown and tended by someone else. The ritual reminds us of the sacrifices past Unitarians have made and that beauty and diversity enrich us all.
Every year Dr. Gallager performs numerous marriage and union ceremonies for church members and non-member couples. Sometimes engaged couples with religious upbringings different from one another come to BUC looking for a religion they can share and raise their future children in. Many find at BUC a religion that accepts their diverse backgrounds and encourages them to seek out life's deeper meanings with freedom of conscience. They choose to marry at BUC and make it their church home.
As a Welcoming Congregation, Birmingham Unitarian Church is a gay friendly church. Our openness to gay, lesbian, transgendered, and bisexual people includes performing union ceremonies for couples who wish to commit to one another in a church ceremony conducted by a minister, with friends and family on hand to witness their commitment to love and support one another.
"We are a community of memory and hope." When someone dies, we want to remember that person in a ceremony that marks their passing and honors their memory with warmth and dignity. Some UU's believe in heaven and traditional immortality, but many more believe people live on in the memories of those who loved them, in the example they set for others, and in the legacy of deeds that continue to benefit the world after they have gone. Unitarian Universalist memorial services celebrate the lives of those who have died so we may remember them well and learn how to live our own lives more fully.