Highlights of Congregational Life

This Week's Service

Calm Within the Storm of Stress

While not a panacea all by itself, a consistent meditation practice is a very useful tool when it is included in a holistic regimen of meeting the needs of our mental and emotional well-being.  Research shows that it has become indispensable in the treatment of … read more.

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Social Justice

UUCC strives to positively transform ourselves and the world for the well-being of all life.

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Recent News

  • Generosity Giving for October
    GIVE TO OUR COLLECTION FOR THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COALITION This month, UU Community Church is proud to support the Domestic Violence Coalition (DVC) of Van Buren County for our Generosity Sunday collection. Since 1996, DVC has been providing free, compassionate services to those affected by domestic and sexual violence in our community. Their mission is to ...
  • Sacred Work of Grief Workshop
    Where there is grief, there is sacred ground.~ Oscar Wilde We are excited to be joined by Rev. Tracy Laveque, graduate of One Spirit Interfaith Seminary and the Art of Death and Dying Institute for a special 90-minute mini-workshop on the Sacred Work of Grief, Tuesday, October 29 at 7 PM on Zoom. During this workshop, we ...
  • Thoughtful Thursday with Libby Slocum
    Join us on October 24th from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM ET on Zoom for a conversation with Libby Slocum on holistic healing and the mission and vision of the Land of Light Spiritual Center. Learn how the center is dedicated to helping people connect with their inner wisdom and nurture their well-being through spirituality, community, and natural healing techniques. Nestled ...
  • Mindful Living: A Journey to Inner Peace
    Join us for the Mindful Living Course, starting October 14th, facilitated by mindfulness expert Eric Nelson. This free, flexible monthly series, held via Zoom, is part of the “Living from the Heart” program at the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Portage. Designed for both new and seasoned practitioners, the course features bi-weekly sessions that include guided meditations, insights from Essential Spirituality by Roger Walsh, and engaging community ...
  • Love at the Center
    Love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. We are accountable to one another for doing the work of living our shared values through the spiritual discipline of Love. These words introduce the newly adopted statement of principles and purposes found in Article II of the Unitarian ...
  • Religious Exploration for Kids and Youth
    Our programs for children and youth this year will be focused on putting Love in the center of all we do! Most Sundays, classes meet on the lower level at 10:00 AM for stories, games, activities, and art. On other Sundays, children and youth stay upstairs for a multigenerational worship experience. If you have any ...
  • Check us out on YouTube!
    UU Community Church has a YouTube channel where you can watch edited versions of our Sunday Services, listen to favorite hymns, and enjoy guided meditations. Visit us at youtube.com/@uuccswmi/playlists to see all we have on offer. Be sure to subscribe to make our videos easy to find and help us spread our life-giving ...

Events

22 Oct
Exploring Anti-Racism
22 Oct 24
24 Oct
Thoughtful Thursday with Libby Slocum
24 Oct 24
26 Oct
Qigong Group
26 Oct 24
27 Oct
Come to our Sunday Service!
27 Oct 24
28 Oct
Mindful Living with Eric Nelson
28 Oct 24

Our People

Catholic nuns don’t question their faith. So, what is a person like me to do when doubt rears its insistent head. If you ask your spiritual advisor, which I did, you are told to pray because the devil is tempting you. The problem was, I had stopped believing in the devil.

So what was I to do? I decided to join an interfaith discussion group, telling my superiors that the Catholic Faith needed to be represented at these sessions. Secretly, after years of hearing what the Catholic Church told me, I decided to see how the other half lived, just in case I had missed something. Lucky for me, that group of the faithful from other denominations included a couple who belonged to the Unitarian Universalists Church. Never heard of it? Neither had I back in 1969. This couple shared their faith with the rest of us. I was stunned!

What? You mean you can build your own theology? There are no dogmas? Wow!
What? You mean you can freely (and responsibly) seek the truth and what is meaningful to you in your life? You can question and explore and doubt? No judgement or blame? Wow!
What? You mean I will no longer be a square peg in a round hole? Where do I sign up?

And so began the rest of my life. The journey has not been easy. I will have to admit that it was much easier to be told what to believe than to doubt, wonder, examine, question, re-examine and continually challenge my own thinking and assumptions. But the journey has been absolutely rewarding and refreshing. I’ve learned to be open to new thoughts and ideas. I’ve learned to feel comfortable with not knowing the answers and loving the fact that life is a mystery. As a result, I’ve opened myself to meeting some wonderful people on this strange and glorious journey. The Unitarian Universalist Faith is where I’ve become grounded. It’s home where my family of other UU members support each other as we build our personal and meaningful theology. It’s where I belong.