| A Word from the Lay Minister and the Board President |
Welcome to our website. If you haven’t visited our church yet, I hope you will soon. It wasn’t so
long ago I was sure I’d never attend church again, having left fundamentalist Christianity many years
ago. Yet I have learned there are some churches that welcome rationality, reason, hard questions,
and open debate. One thing you won’t hear our people say is, “You just have to take it on faith.”
Instead, we understand that each person seeks truth and meaning in their own way, and each path is
different. Our purpose is to:
- Provide a safe and welcoming community for all people
- Have a wide variety of speakers from many different religious traditions and human philosophies
- Challenge our members to live vibrant lives, finding joy in the here-and-now, while standing for
justice in an unfair world
- Build a morality based on love, not on a belief system that condemns rather than encourages
- Remain a community that treasures freedom of thought, freedom of belief, and freedom of speech
I retired from the Air Force in January 2009, and the next day I became the lay minister of this
church. I have been so deeply moved by the people here, I soon realized that I wanted to enter the
ministry once I retired. Many people have been hurt through bad experiences in other churches, and
they are amazed to discover that we don’t have a creed, or a series of rules, or a statement of faith
that we all follow. Each person is free to worship (or not) as they please. Some believe in many
gods, some in one, some in none. Yet we all worship together. This acceptance and love is the
foundation of Unitarian Universalism, and it touched me deeply.
People in our church won’t try to convert you to a specific set of doctrines or beliefs. No one here
claims to have the ultimate answer. In fact, we accept mystery and the unknown as a normal part of
our existence. As one member likes to say, “You don’t know; you can’t know, you won’t know;
don’t worry about it.” Not everyone agrees with him, of course. But we all enjoy the journey of
discovery, and each Sunday we get together to share our stories. Should this sort of church appeal to
you, I hope you will join us. If you have any questions, please give me a call at 931-455-8626.
Doug Traversa
Lay Minister
-------------------
As President of the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church of Tullahoma Board, my focus of leadership
is to: 1) honor and recognize the rich history of this fifty-year-old church, learning from its members
the lessons of longevity, 2) help the Board strengthen its leadership in a way that supports both the
Congregation and its Lay Minister, Doug Traversa, and 3) encourage thought and action within the
church that moves the church forward in its growth and development.
As Board President, and as a member of the UU Church of Tullahoma, it is my greatest pleasure to
welcome both members and visitors to this congregation, as I am welcomed. My husband and I are
longtime attendees of UU Churches, enjoying membership while in both Memphis and Shreveport.
After moving to Tullahoma in 2000, we were surprised and pleased to find the gift of this small UU
church, and find it to be a place where we can freely seek community fellowship, intellectual
challenge, spiritual inspiration, and personal comfort.
Please join us on Sunday morning,
Betsy Webb
President, Board of Trustees of the UU Church of Tullahoma
long ago I was sure I’d never attend church again, having left fundamentalist Christianity many years
ago. Yet I have learned there are some churches that welcome rationality, reason, hard questions,
and open debate. One thing you won’t hear our people say is, “You just have to take it on faith.”
Instead, we understand that each person seeks truth and meaning in their own way, and each path is
different. Our purpose is to:
- Provide a safe and welcoming community for all people
- Have a wide variety of speakers from many different religious traditions and human philosophies
- Challenge our members to live vibrant lives, finding joy in the here-and-now, while standing for
justice in an unfair world
- Build a morality based on love, not on a belief system that condemns rather than encourages
- Remain a community that treasures freedom of thought, freedom of belief, and freedom of speech
I retired from the Air Force in January 2009, and the next day I became the lay minister of this
church. I have been so deeply moved by the people here, I soon realized that I wanted to enter the
ministry once I retired. Many people have been hurt through bad experiences in other churches, and
they are amazed to discover that we don’t have a creed, or a series of rules, or a statement of faith
that we all follow. Each person is free to worship (or not) as they please. Some believe in many
gods, some in one, some in none. Yet we all worship together. This acceptance and love is the
foundation of Unitarian Universalism, and it touched me deeply.
People in our church won’t try to convert you to a specific set of doctrines or beliefs. No one here
claims to have the ultimate answer. In fact, we accept mystery and the unknown as a normal part of
our existence. As one member likes to say, “You don’t know; you can’t know, you won’t know;
don’t worry about it.” Not everyone agrees with him, of course. But we all enjoy the journey of
discovery, and each Sunday we get together to share our stories. Should this sort of church appeal to
you, I hope you will join us. If you have any questions, please give me a call at 931-455-8626.
Doug Traversa
Lay Minister
-------------------
As President of the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church of Tullahoma Board, my focus of leadership
is to: 1) honor and recognize the rich history of this fifty-year-old church, learning from its members
the lessons of longevity, 2) help the Board strengthen its leadership in a way that supports both the
Congregation and its Lay Minister, Doug Traversa, and 3) encourage thought and action within the
church that moves the church forward in its growth and development.
As Board President, and as a member of the UU Church of Tullahoma, it is my greatest pleasure to
welcome both members and visitors to this congregation, as I am welcomed. My husband and I are
longtime attendees of UU Churches, enjoying membership while in both Memphis and Shreveport.
After moving to Tullahoma in 2000, we were surprised and pleased to find the gift of this small UU
church, and find it to be a place where we can freely seek community fellowship, intellectual
challenge, spiritual inspiration, and personal comfort.
Please join us on Sunday morning,
Betsy Webb
President, Board of Trustees of the UU Church of Tullahoma