FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
When and where are your services?
Weekly Sunday Services
10:00 A.M. Religious Education (Meets Downstairs)
Adult Religious Education:
Held Twelve Months of the year
Children’s Religious Education:
Held Eleven Months of the year (July is Summer Break)
11:00 A.M. Sunday Services (Held in Sanctuary Upstairs)
Location
2434 E Battlefield
Springfield MO, 65804
MAP
What do adults wear to services?
Dress is casual. You are welcome just as you are!
Are you wheelchair accessible?
Yes. Handicap parking is available and the worship place and restrooms are wheelchair accessible.
Will I be welcome?
Yes! Male or female, young or old, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or straight you are welcome here. Whether temporarily abled or disabled; whatever your skin color, cultural background or nation of origin; whatever your political persuasion or day-to-day occupation, you are welcome here. Yes - theist, atheist or agnostic; pantheist, Pagan, Jewish, Humanist, Christian or Buddhist, whatever ways you name sacred things, you are welcome here.
As Unitarian Universalists we believe aside from all labels we are all people first and have value. You are always welcome, just as you are.
What are your church services like?
Most services last about an hour. The centerpiece is usually a sermon delivered by our minister Reverend Jane Bechle or a lay leader of the congregation. These sermons are usually thematic and rarely follow a lectionary. Topics are consisting of universal themes of life, truth and meaning. They use stories, myths and poems, as well as scripture from a variety of world religions.
Services often begin with the lighting of the chalice-the symbol of Unitarian Universalism.
“Rise Up, Oh Flame,” a song of reflection is sung as it is lit, inaugurating the start of the service.
We sing from our hymnal Singing the Living Tradition, which contains a wide range of traditional and contemporary songs, using gender-inclusive language. We also have an outstanding choir that performs works from a wide variety of artists and cultural traditions.
Time is also reserved during service for the lighting of "Candles of Joy and Concern." Members and friends are invited to submit a joy and/or concern that will have a candle lit at the front of the church to honor this event in their lives, to share an idea, or to ask for the thoughts and prayers of the community.
After the service, all present are invited to attend "coffee and conversation"—a chance for people to socialize informally and to discuss the worship service.
May our child stay with us during the service?
Of course. For your convince and comfort rocking chairs are located at the back of the sanctuary if desired as well as a couch and chairs adjacent to the sanctuary in the “Channing Room” with speaker broadcasting the service. Additionally nursery service is provided down stairs from 9:45-12:15 for age’s birth to 4.
Older children ages, 3 through high school, are invited to attend Children’s Religious Education both prior to service and mid-way through service.
What is Adult Religious Education?
A discussion based group, usually centered on a weekly topic or topical series.
What do you teach in Children’s Religious Education?
Our children are taught to think for themselves, while receiving guidance on moral and ethical behavior. We present them with thought-provoking themes and allow them the space to develop points of view and convictions. This is done through the presentation of the beliefs and practices of the world's major religions. Children are encouraged to respect differences as well as commonalities found in these various theologies.
Our religious education for youth often has chapel services, where children lead and participate in their own services and find their spirituality. We also include the children in part of the main Sunday services, entitled Story for all Ages, where the children are invited to the front of the sanctuary to enjoy a story typically demonstrating the theme of that particular service. At the end of the story the children are asked to collect donations for Crosslines, a local charity, as they return to their seats. A little later after silence and meditation the children are invited to go down stairs for religious education.
I've heard that Unitarian Universalists can believe anything they want to. Is that true?
No. One could not be considered a Unitarian Universalist and believe that subscription to specific doctrines or creeds are necessary for access to God or spirituality or membership in our congregations.
Unitarian Universalists could not believe that God favors any group of people based on any inherent qualities, such as skin color, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, etc.—or that any group of people is more worthy of access to opportunities than any other as a result of these qualities.
We don't believe that autocratic, undemocratic or overly hierarchical systems are appropriate methods of organizing our congregations or the larger society.
We don't believe that humanity has the right or moral authority to exploit the environment or other life forms with whom we share this planet.
What does a person have to do to join the First Unitarian Universalist church of Springfield?
There are no prerequisites to becoming a member of our congregation. All that is formally required is a signature in our membership book. Of course, signing one’s name to say “I belong” can mean different things to different people. The reasons for joining and the meanings of membership are as varied as the people in our congregation.
Those interested in a further commitment to our community are encouraged to attend our quarterly "New UU" class. This provides an introduction to the congregation and to the principles and history of our faith.
If you decide membership is right for you, you should arrange a time to meet with Reverend Jane before signing the membership book.
Is your Minister trained/ordained?
Reverend Jane Bechle is fully trained and has been ordained by the Unitarian Universalist Association of America. To learn more about our minister please visit her info page.
What is the significance of the flaming chalice, the symbol of Unitarian Universalism?
In the days preceding Word War II, the Boston-based Unitarian Service Committee was attempting to rescue Unitarians and other religious liberals from those parts of Europe (notably Czechoslovakia) where their lives were threatened by Naziism. The flaming chalice was the code by which those needing to be rescued identified themselves to the Unitarian Service Committee.
This symbol, which came into widespread use in Sunday services during the last 20 years, is usually lit at the beginning of the service, accompanied by a simple spoken ritual.
In our services today the chalice symbolizes wisdom, knowledge, and spiritual insight, and the flame that rises from the chalice represents the light of illumination and understanding.
What do Unitarian Universalists believe?
Unitarian Universalism is a theologically diverse religion, in which members support one another in the search for truth and meaning. Individual Unitarian Universalists may also identify as Atheist, Agnostic, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Humanist, Jewish, Muslim, Pagan, or with other philosophical or religious traditions.
As members of a non-creedal religious tradition, Unitarian Universalists are free to discern our beliefs about spiritual issues. The Unitarian Universalist Association's (UUA's) seven principles express the shared values that UUA congregations affirm
and promote.
Unitarian Universalism (UU) draws from many sources:
- 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.
What if I don’t see my question answered here?
Please email us at
springfielduu@sbcglobal.net and we’ll respond as soon as possible.