| 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 had 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
-------------------
On behalf of the Board of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tullahoma, I would like to extend a
warm welcome to you. As the governing body of this church, the Board has a responsibility to
support the congregation today, tomorrow and into the future. Members of the Board take this
responsibility very seriously, because this church offers a unique opportunity to the people who
attend here – the opportunity to participate in a congregation of great diversity.
Although we are a small congregation, our members are from all areas of this country and all areas of
the world. We come from different backgrounds and have very different ideologies and beliefs. We
come together here because we do have something in common – the willingness to question and to
learn from each other. We don’t always agree on a topic, but we are always willing to listen and to
try to understand. We accept each other, and we feel free to express what we are really thinking.
This is important, and the Board will do its best to insure this unique opportunity does not disappear.
Come and be part of our diversity. We would like to get to know you.
Trudy Northway
President of the Board
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 had 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
-------------------
On behalf of the Board of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tullahoma, I would like to extend a
warm welcome to you. As the governing body of this church, the Board has a responsibility to
support the congregation today, tomorrow and into the future. Members of the Board take this
responsibility very seriously, because this church offers a unique opportunity to the people who
attend here – the opportunity to participate in a congregation of great diversity.
Although we are a small congregation, our members are from all areas of this country and all areas of
the world. We come from different backgrounds and have very different ideologies and beliefs. We
come together here because we do have something in common – the willingness to question and to
learn from each other. We don’t always agree on a topic, but we are always willing to listen and to
try to understand. We accept each other, and we feel free to express what we are really thinking.
This is important, and the Board will do its best to insure this unique opportunity does not disappear.
Come and be part of our diversity. We would like to get to know you.
Trudy Northway
President of the Board