I attended services today at a local Unitarian Universalist Church

[KitchenWitch]

I have been seeking more of a feeling of community in my life since I moved, and now I think I may have found one.

I felt very comfortable during the service and I stayed for fellowship afterward, and met several members.

All in all a good experience for ol' Pagan me.

[RevCheesehead]

1. Yay!!

I'm so glad you found a place where you feel welcomed!!! :hug:

[KitchenWitch]

2. Me too!

It just so happened that today was the CUUPS meeting there too (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans). So I felt doubly welcomed.

[TreasonousBastard]

3. Great! There are no...

particularly active Quaker meeetings around here, but there happens to be a very active UU church a couple of blocks away and it's a great place. Lots of stuff going on there. Most of the members are escapees from other churches, too, and we all have stories to trade.

Spiritual renewal doesn't have to involve doctrinal, anthropomorphic gods.

[KitchenWitch]

4. The Quaker meetings around here (from what I can gather by the internets)

Appear to be a bit too right of center for me. Of course I have yet to actually go to one.

[TreasonousBastard]

5. That's odd. I don't know all that much about...

West Coast Quakers, but the ones I've met have been pretty hard to the left, with a fair atheist and pagan contingent. They seem to be very big on environemtal causes.

www.quakerfinder.org will find all the FGC unprogrammed meetings out there. FUM and Evangelical Quakers are the more conservative ones, politically and religiously. They're mostly in the Midwest, but they can be found all over. I'm assuming Whittier is Nixon's old meeting, if he ever showed up-- could be some "interesting" discussions there.

www.pacificyearlymeeting.org might be a bit to wade through, but it gives an idea how they generally think out there. Clicking on the Quarterly Meetings gives more lists of meetings, some of which will be very small.

But, if you're happy with the UUs, and why shouldn't you be, go for it.

[Critters2]

7. The Quakers I know in Illnois are RSOF, and very progressive

with a good many agnostics and atheists among them. Those I know in Iowa are Evangelical Quakers...a different breed altogether!

Even at that, they share some things...peace witness and the like.

[Critters2]

6. If you're pagan and looking for a sense of community, UU is probably the best place for you

Especially if they have a CUUPS group. I have several friends who are UU because otherwise they'd be solitary in whatever faith tradition, but they're not the solitary types. They find community among UUs.

Others suggested Quakers, and that might work, too. The thing about Quakers is there is no sermon in worship or readings from sacred text. So, no real feel of doctrine, just shared values that occasionally arise in meeting for worship, but more often in other settings--monthly meeting for business, potlucks, etc.

If the UUs work for you, then that's good. I was married to a UU...ask me anything!!