When I read that there are more people out there in the world who claim to be Unitarian or Unitarian Universalist than there are members of our congregations, I am really confident that we have quite a congregation out there of folks who say they are "spiritual but not religious".  True, some of those self-described Unitarian Universalists who don't attend our congregations are more skeptical than spiritual, but there are those who really do think they can be spiritual on their own.

To some extent, it's possible.  Many of us prefer the church of nature, taking time out on weekends to go hiking or cross-country skiing or birding or whatever.  This is good.  Nature can be spiritually nourishing.  Our spiritual ancestor, Henry David Thoreau, turned to nature for spirituality more than to other humans.  But his friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson, chided him for being too often alone, and urged him to take someone else along on his rambles.  Emerson thought there could be no spirituality without human companionship, it seems.  Others of us just live our lives, reading books that remind us of the spirit, Conversations With God, Tuesdays with Morrie, books by Thich Nhat Hanh or the Dalai Lama, and contemplating life in what we hope is a spiritual way.  But what is spirituality if it does not require anything of  you beyond reading books? The spirituality based on books --even the spirituality based on attending occasional weekend workshops -- this is also incomplete without people with whom to talk it over, without the challenge from people you see week in and week out to actually put the spirituality into practice.

Being "religious" can get to be a problem, though.  You go someplace where people all believe some things in common, and what if you don't agree?  I'm thinking there really are only a couple of things we believe in Unitarian Universalism, when it comes right down to it:  We believe in welcoming.  We believe in trying to find and follow our own spiritual paths, seeking truth in the many spiritual traditions of the world.   We believe in testing our experiences of the source of meaning and guidance through sharing with others as well as thinking it over for ourselves. And we believe in reaching out to help others.  And that's more or less it. So if you're feeling spiritual but remain uncomfortable with the idea of being religious, why not give us a try?  Look us up:  www.uumanchester.org.  See you on Sunday!