Copyright Unitarian Universalist Association
Whatever brings you to our physical or virtual doors, you are welcome here
Unitarian Universalist Beliefs
Our beliefs are diverse and inclusive. We have no shared creed.
Unitarian Universalists live their faith by doing. Whether in community with others or as an individual, we know that active, tangible expressions of love, justice, and peace are what make a difference.
Our shared covenant supports “the free and responsible search for truth and meaning.” This responsible search has led us to an inclusive spirituality drawn from many sources: from scriptural wisdom to personal experience to modern day heroes. Together, we create a force more powerful than one person or one belief system.
As Unitarian Universalists, we do not have to check our personal background and beliefs at the door: we join together on a journey that honors everywhere we’ve been before. We are Unitarian Universalist and Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Humanist, Jewish, Muslim, Pagan, atheist and agnostic, believers in God, and more.
We are united in our broad and inclusive outlook, and in our values. We are united in shared experience: our open and stirring worship services, religious education, and rites of passage; our work for social justice; our quest to include the marginalized; our expressions of love.
About the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Newark (UUFN)
The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Newark began as an extension of the First Unitarian Church of Wilmington in 1955 and was incorporated as an independent group that October. As our numbers increased, the congregation purchased 3.5 acres of wooded land and designed and built a glass-walled meeting place. A second building, for Religious Education, was built in 1969. Our latest expansion, completed in 1992, doubled our capacity.
UUFN's Mission
We are a community of spiritual seekers inspired to promote a just and compassionate world. (2014)
UUFN'S Vision
Being present... Nurturing community... Taking action...
We create change... And are thereby changed.
UUFN's Covenant of Right Relations is our promise, our way of being in fellowship with one another.
We promise to:
- Treat each other with respect, acceptance and compassion.
- Assume the good intentions of others.
- Maintain clear and open communication even with those with whom we have differences.
- Take personal responsibility for informing ourselves about the affairs of the congregation.
- Respect each other's privacy and confidentiality.
- Honor each other's individuality in diversity.
- Be generous with our time, talent and money.
- Take responsibility for the viability of the congregation.
- Celebrate!
Our Covenant and Shared Values
Unitarian Universalists form a covenant—promises made to each other and between congregations—to support one another in ministry and to live out shared values.
Love is at the center of these values, guiding all actions and holding the community together.
Members hold themselves accountable for living these values through the spiritual discipline of love.
The UUA’s six core values are:
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| Interdependence | Honoring the interconnected web of all existence and nurturing relationships of care and respect. |
| Pluralism | Celebrating diversity of culture, experience, and theology, and learning from one another. |
| Justice | Building diverse, multicultural communities and dismantling systemic oppression. |
| Transformation | Embracing change and collective spiritual and ethical growth. |
| Generosity | Sharing faith, presence, and resources with gratitude and hope. |
| Equity | Ensuring every person can flourish with dignity, love, and compassion. |
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.
Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote eight Principles, which we hold as strong values and moral guides.
As Rev. Barbara Wells ten Hove explains, “The Principles are not dogma or doctrine, but rather a guide for those of us who choose to join and participate in Unitarian Universalist religious communities.” They are:
- The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
- Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
- Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
- A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
- The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
- The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
- Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
- Journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by accountably dismantling racism, and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.
We live out these Principles within a “living tradition” of wisdom and spirituality, drawn from sources as diverse as science, poetry, scripture, and personal experience:
- Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
- Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
- Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
- Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
- Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;
- Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.
These eight Principles and six Sources of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) grew out of the grassroots of our tradition, were affirmed democratically, and are part of who we are.
Read them as they are written in the UUA Bylaws.
Unitarian Universalists have many ways of articulating our seven Principles in simpler language.
Here’s the way our Tapestry of Faith children’s programs describe them:
- We believe that each and every person is important.
- We believe that all people should be treated fairly and kindly.
- We believe that we should accept one another and keep on learning together.
- We believe that each person must be free to search for what is true and right in life.
- We believe that all persons should have a vote about the things that concern them.
- We believe in working for a peaceful, fair, and free world.
- We believe in caring for our planet Earth, the home we share with all living things.
- We believe in working together for diversity and against racism and oppression.
Core Values of Unitarian Universalism
LOVE is at the center.
The UUA children's six core values are:
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| Interdependence | We honor the web of life. |
| Pluralism | We embrace and celebrate diversity. |
| Justice | We build beloved community. |
| Transformation | We change and grow together. |
| Generosity | We share generously and joyfully. |
| Equity | We help everyone flourish. |