Are Unitarian Universalist Welcoming Congregations In Wisconsin "Less Than Welcoming" aka Unwelcoming?
Someone from West Bend Wisconsin was just asking Google last night.
Again, the follow-up comments are worth reading too.
Over the years I have seen numerous similar posts on the internet in various internet forums and blogs etc. etc. I have always felt that such "word of mouth advertising" for The Tiny Declining Fringe Religion™ has more influence on people's opinions about Unitarian*Universalism than any multi-million dollar UUA advertising campaign. In fact I have very good reason to believe that the millions of dollars that the UUA, U*U regional districts, and individual U*U churches have spent on advertising campaigns over the last decade or so have been largely squandered, because many of those people who decided to visit U*U churches as a result of being exposed to such ads for The U*U Movement would have quickly discovered that they were misleading publicity if not outright false advertising. These disillusioned people would most likely have done some word of mouth advertising of their own. . . The fact that membership in The Tiny Declining Fringe Religion™ has not only stagnated but further declined, in spite of the millions of dollars spent on national and regional advertising campaigns, would seem to bear me out on that assessment.
No U*Us?
In any case, a free and responsible search for the truth and meaning of what I have written here today will reveal that Unwelcoming Unitarian Universalist Welcoming Congregations are by no means found only in Wisconsin. . .
Well, truth be told. . . their Google search for -
comes across as more of a statement than a question, so it would appear that the person of inherent worth and dignity who ran this particular Google search was most likely looking for web sites and blog posts in which other people were writing about how they had found Unitarian Universalist churches aka Welcoming Congregations to be rather less than genuinely welcoming.
Their Google search led them to my blog post titled -
which in turn led them to an internet forum post titled -
Here is what was said -
I had to leave the church I was attending. I just didn't feel like my spiritual needs were being adressed or even considered. Most of the people there were upper middle class, were affiliated with our local college, and treated people that weren't like they didn't exist. My boyfriend also left because he felt the same way. It seemed that these people only cared about money and someone's financial and educational status. One lady literally laughed at me because I attend a junior college in my area. Well, excuse me for wanting to go to a place with smaller class sizes and no fratboy/sorority bullcrap (no offense).
Also, they tended to talk more about politics than faith in general. Well, if I want to hear crap like that, then I'll just turn on CNN and have at it. Totally ridiculous.
Oh, for the record, this was a Unitarian Universalist church. I always thought they would treat someone a little better than that, but apparently not.
This makes me wonder if liberals are any better than conservatives...
Also, they tended to talk more about politics than faith in general. Well, if I want to hear crap like that, then I'll just turn on CNN and have at it. Totally ridiculous.
Oh, for the record, this was a Unitarian Universalist church. I always thought they would treat someone a little better than that, but apparently not.
This makes me wonder if liberals are any better than conservatives...
I would recommend following the link provided above to read the comments on that post.
The internet search also led to another post on DemocraticUnderground.com titled -
Its contents are worth reposting here too. . .
I used to attend there regularly, for about 2 years. I wanted to hear the person who was speaking (I had seen that on the Internet).
I felt so uncomfortable there. It seemed so un-welcoming. I found myself thinking, How in the WORLD did I go there as long as I did?
I’m not the only person who has this impression of the church. One of my co-workers said the same thing, and so did another friend. I remember when a departing minister left the church, SHE said the same thing, from the pulpit.
I realize I could now be viewing it through the filter of the reverse halo effect.
I know other churches besides Unitarian Universalist churches can be un-welcoming. I wonder if this one, being in the middle of a very conservative area, is sort of…on guard, maybe? Thinking that people who don’t think like they do are trying to infiltrate them?
(Or have I just been reading too much?)
PM me if you want to.
I felt so uncomfortable there. It seemed so un-welcoming. I found myself thinking, How in the WORLD did I go there as long as I did?
I’m not the only person who has this impression of the church. One of my co-workers said the same thing, and so did another friend. I remember when a departing minister left the church, SHE said the same thing, from the pulpit.
I realize I could now be viewing it through the filter of the reverse halo effect.
I know other churches besides Unitarian Universalist churches can be un-welcoming. I wonder if this one, being in the middle of a very conservative area, is sort of…on guard, maybe? Thinking that people who don’t think like they do are trying to infiltrate them?
(Or have I just been reading too much?)PM me if you want to.
Again, the follow-up comments are worth reading too.
Over the years I have seen numerous similar posts on the internet in various internet forums and blogs etc. etc. I have always felt that such "word of mouth advertising" for The Tiny Declining Fringe Religion™ has more influence on people's opinions about Unitarian*Universalism than any multi-million dollar UUA advertising campaign. In fact I have very good reason to believe that the millions of dollars that the UUA, U*U regional districts, and individual U*U churches have spent on advertising campaigns over the last decade or so have been largely squandered, because many of those people who decided to visit U*U churches as a result of being exposed to such ads for The U*U Movement would have quickly discovered that they were misleading publicity if not outright false advertising. These disillusioned people would most likely have done some word of mouth advertising of their own. . . The fact that membership in The Tiny Declining Fringe Religion™ has not only stagnated but further declined, in spite of the millions of dollars spent on national and regional advertising campaigns, would seem to bear me out on that assessment.
No U*Us?
In any case, a free and responsible search for the truth and meaning of what I have written here today will reveal that Unwelcoming Unitarian Universalist Welcoming Congregations are by no means found only in Wisconsin. . .
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