Community Allows Beliefs To Evolve

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Tuesday, June 20, 2006; 5:20 PM

I'm a very optimistic agnostic, ripe for a deathbed epiphany. I found my faith in a community, not a creed.

Traditional religion fell apart for me decades ago, with the painful realization that I was "less than" in most traditions because of my gender. It broke my heart, and I lost the words for worship -- but how I missed it.

Eventually I found the Unitarian Universalist Church and hovered in the back pews for over a year, fighting the fear that I would have to leave my mind at the door and affirm a belief statement someone else wrote. It threatened me beyond all measure, as scolding responses to reason and doubt had scarred me in Sunday school as a child.

(The UUC kept that part pretty secret, I thought, but I knew they'd spring it on me when I asked about membership.)

There was no such requirement. A kind gentleman with amazing crow's-feet invited me to sign my name in a book and gave me a pat on the back. With that gesture I was welcomed into a dynamic religious community that has inspired me and comforted me for the last 20 years.

I still fuss about the "To Whom It May Concern" part when I pray, but I pray anyway. My faith in the strength and purpose of this community has grown very strong over the years. I can worship without words, or with an evolving script, and I know I am welcome, I am home.

--Laura J. Wallace, Charlottesville, Va.