Visitor FAQ’s
We need not think alike to love alike. Most of the members of HIgh Street were not born UU. Ours is a chosen faith. We come from many other faith traditions—and from no religion at all. We come in search of answers to questions like these…
- How can I lead a deeper spiritual life?
- How can I be engaged with something beyond day to day, secular life?
- How can I be part of a community of meaning and purpose?
For those of you already Unitarian Universalists, we bid you warm welcome, and offer a place from which to continue exploring your spiritual path.
We know that visiting a new church can be somewhat daunting. We hope you will take advantage of this FAQ section of our website to prepare yourself for your visit.
What are your services like?
Our services usually include music, readings, reflections, and a sermon – although from time to time services may be different and more creative in form. Most services last about an hour. Following each service, we have a fellowship/coffee hour downstairs. The second Sunday September through May we host a potluck after service. Visitors are welcome and encouraged to join us. Our services are on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Nursery care for infants and Religious Education classes are offered for children and youth. One Sunday a month we have an intergenerational service where school aged children stay in the Sanctuary for the full service. These services are geared to include the children; through movement, creative art, and other child centered elements to engage and include all ages.
Do you welcome people of different faiths?
Yes, we welcome people of many faiths and people with no faith background. Many of our members were raised in other faith traditions, including couples in which the two individuals have different religious backgrounds. Unitarian Universalists believe that truth can be found in many places. Our services include wisdom drawn from many religions as well as from secular sources.
How is Unitarian Universalism distinctive from other traditions?
We teach that your faith is not measured by how hard you believe, but by how closely your actions match your beliefs. One’s character is the real test of one’s faith. We are a church in which the scientist and the mystic can find a common sense of the holy, and agree that knowledge of the natural world can enhance one’s sense of the spiritual. We teach that Jesus, Moses, Buddha, and Mohammed, among others, were great spiritual leaders because of the ethics they taught and lived. We are a congregation which teaches that doubt, skepticism, and rigorous inquiry are tools of faith, not barriers to faith. We believe love, nurture, self-respect, and kindness are the best tools for producing moral and ethical behavior in children.
Are Unitarian Universalists Christian?
Yes and no!Yes, some Unitarian Universalists are Christian. Personal encounter with the spirit of Jesus as the Christ may richly inform their religious lives, or they may be inspired by the teachings of Jesus that call us to just and peaceful living, and to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves.But, no, Unitarian Universalists are not Christian, if by Christian you mean those who think that acceptance of a creedal belief is necessary for salvation, or that Jesus is the only way to the Divine. Unitarian Universalists are often considered heretics by those orthodox Christians who claim none but Christians are “saved.” (Fortunately, not all orthodox Christian groups make that claim.)Then again, yes, Unitarian Universalists are Christian in the sense that both Unitarian and Universalist history are part of Christian history. Our core principles and practices were first articulated and established by liberal Christians beginning in the 1600s.However, a number of Unitarian Universalists no longer claim Christian identity, for though they may acknowledge the Christian history of our faith, the Christian stories and symbols are no longer primary for them. Instead, they draw their personal faith from other sources: nature, intuition, other cultures and religions, science, civil liberation movements, and so on. –Adapted from Rev. Alice Blair Wesley
I’ve heard the Unitarian Universalists can believe anything they want. Is that true?
No. It might be better to say we believe what we must. Our spiritual vision is guided by the capacity for reason, an openness to scientific insight and knowledge, and a concern for making human relations as peaceful, just and equitable as possible. We accept free will and the inherent worth of all human beings. We see that the world requires first and foremost cooperation and compromise, and ethical and loving relationships. We see that human existence is dependent upon careful stewardship of the planet. That leaves a lot of room for expressing personal spirituality in different ways, but it does preclude certain things.One could not be considered a Unitarian Universalist and believe that subscription to specific doctrines or creeds are necessary for access to God, or to express authentic spirituality, or to enjoy membership in this congregation. A Unitarian Universalist could not believe that God favors any group of people based on any inherent qualities, such as skin color, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, and so on — 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. Finally, 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. -Adapted from Rev. Alice Blair Wesley
Are you welcoming to the LGBTQIA+ community?
Yes! High Street is a Welcoming Congregation. This means we affirm and include people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer at every level of congregational life—in worship, in program, and in social occasions. We welcome everyone as whole people.
Are children welcome in Sunday worship?
Children are certainly welcome in our Sunday service. It’s quite understandable on your first visit you would want to keep your children with you during the service. We do offer free nursery care for infants and toddlers and religious education programming for children and during the service. Children generally stay in the Sanctuary until after the Children’s Story, when they go as a group to the religious education classes.
Where are you located?
We are located on the corner of High Street and Orange Street in beautiful downtown Macon. The library across the street from our Orange Street entrance graciously allows use of their parking lot on Sundays. Limited street parking is also available. We do ask that everyone please be respectful of our neighbors and not use up all street parking.
Are your building and services accessible?
High Street welcomes people with disabilities and abilities (both seen and unseen). Our building is wheelchair accessible. The sanctuary is located on the main level of our building; the fellowship hall and religious education classrooms can be accessed by elevator. In our Sunday services, we offer listening devices for the hearing impaired. Please request one from an usher or at the sound booth at the back of the sanctuary.
What do I wear?
Wear what makes you feel comfortable. Some people will be a little more formal, some will dress casually, and some will be wearing jeans and t-shirts. We recommend that kids be especially comfortable as we do lots of activities that include art and play in our Religious Education classes.
What if I still have questions?
You’re welcome to reach out to Rev. Amanda via email or use the contact form below. Those forms go directly to our office administrator and communications specialist, who will either answer your question or forward it to someone who can.
You can also learn more about Unitarian Universalism on the Unitarian Universalist Association’s website and check out our TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook pages to learn more about who we are and what we do.
We look forward to getting to know you!