WHERE WE WORSHIP
Unitarian followers refuse to play 'belief game'
By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| The Rev. Mike Young has been the minister at the First Unitarian Church since 1995. Like Unitarians throughout the world, the O'ahu group blends liberal social and political views with faith. Congregants converse on a variety of topics.
Deborah Booker The Honolulu Advertiser |
Our denomination: Unitarian Universalist, a voluntary association of independent congregations based on the precept of "congregational polity." That means the denomination doesn't determine policy, explained the Rev. Mike Young.
Where we are: 2500 Pali Highway
Our numbers: About 200. About 90-120 attend services regularly.
Our pastor: the Rev. Mike Young
What we believe: "One church, congregations independent," said Young.
"We try not to define ourselves by ideological propositions, or use beliefs as a gate-keeping function," he said. "We don't play the belief game."
Behind the different languages, symbols and images lie the same human experiences, he said.
If you go to the Sunday services, you can hear Young talk about Dama Pata, the Quran or read passages from the Bible "and other pieces of literature," he said.
"None are authoritative and each is incomplete, including our (own)," Young added, "because there's more to be experienced."
Our history: According to "The Religions of America," the sources of the Unitarian and Universalist movements go back to Jewish, Greek and pre-Christian traditions that emphasize creativity, the use of reason, monotheism and ethical living, but more directly date back to the early Protestant Reformation.
Early Unitarian Michael Servetus in 1553 was burned at the stake in Geneva for "heresy." John Sigismund, the king of Transylvania and another Unitarian, then issued an edict of religious tolerance, including the wording: "No person should have their life or liberty placed in jeopardy because of their religious beliefs."
Universalists believe that salvation is not for the select few, but a gift for all.
The two traditions — Unitarian and Universalist — united as the Unitarian Universalist Association in 1961.
In Hawai'i, several Unitarians began a small discussion group in 1953. Among them were Ellen Bloede and First Unitarian Church charter member Rosemary Matson. In 1962, a group purchased the old Cook Estate on Pali Road "and have been here ever since," said Young, who arrived in 1967 as a temporary minister.
Young, who was living on the Mainland, fell in love with the Islands and worked for years to secure a position as permanent minister. "I finally got it in 1995," he said.
What we're excited about: "Electrifying the building," said Young, who was sitting in the dark and talking on a non-electric phone.
They're in the middle of a $50,000 wiring job, fixing 90-year-old electrical problems.
"I think some of it was installed by a guy named Edison," he added.
The congregation also is working with the Social Justice Council to press for the "death with dignity" bill before the state Legislature. That bill, similar to Oregon's law, allows a physician to provide enough medication to allow a person who is within six months of dying to end his pain and suffering. (The bill requires that two doctors agree on the diagnosis and that the terminal patient be emotionally healthy.)
First Unitarian is also in the planning stages for its 50th anniversary celebration.
They are hoping to lure eightysomething Matson back to Hawai'i. (Now living on the Mainland, where she helped organize other Unitarian churches, Matson went on to marry a Unitarian minster.)
What's special about us: In "Religions of America," the question is raised: Do Unitarians consider themselves Christian?
"Unitarian Universalists are Christian in the same way that Christians are Jews; that is, they cherish the tradition from which they emerged (Christianity), without being completely limited to it."
For example, God is not taught to be a trinity, made up of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, as many Christians believe. While some members of the church consider themselves Christians in that sense, other do not consider Jesus to be lord and savior or "God the Son."
Instead, as Young put it, Jesus was a great teacher "who got it right," and whose teachings they follow, among other texts.
And while it might look during a wedding, celebration of birth, funeral or installation of a minister as if they are celebrating a sacrament, don't tell a Unitarian that.
"Transitions in life of community are celebrated similarly to other denominations, but we don't call them sacraments, as if they have external power," Young said.
What's special about First Unitarian Church of Honolulu is that it shares a building with a Jewish synagogue, Congregation Sof Ma'Arav. When the high holy days (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) fall on Sundays, the Jews and Unitarians celebrate together — sometimes with a four-hour service.
And this is probably the only group that has in attendance avowed atheists, who are even invited to make presentations from the pulpit.
"We attract and cherish a rich diversity of religious and theological opinion, and think that's a good thing," said Young, who was trained, among other things, as a Buddhist. "We are unashamed liberals."
This congregation also has, following Young's sermon, a dialogue. After he speaks, he steps down with a wireless mike and allows people to respond, asking questions or making statements.
"It's more a discussion than a monologue," he said.
Contact: On the Web: pixi.com/~uuchurch or call 595-4047. Young can be reached at 347-3249.
If you would like to recommend a faith organization for a Where We Worship profile, e-mail faith@honoluluadvertiser.com, call 525-8035 or write: Where We Worship, Faith Page, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802.
