Are We U.U.?

Is S.A.U.G. a UU camp?

Although we have many campers who are not Unitarian Universalist (UU), we call ourselves a UU camp.  Why do we do that? 

In a nutshell, being UU is about being open to the world, embracing social justice, respecting everyone, and loving the earth.

Many of our camp traditions are very common in UU.  Things like check-ins, love of coffee, snacks at all meetings, along with a broad interest in social justice, and a love of music, poetry, philosophy and art are quintessential UU.  These things are also loved and enjoyed by many non-UU communities (and our non-UU campers).

Are there things that a UU camp doesn’t do that most UU churches do?  Well, at camp we have a lot fewer committees, fundraising, and spend a lot less time planning and participating in religious services.  Our time together is mostly fun, growth and friendship and the spiritual activities (like vespers and Sufi) are optional.

The UU church talks about how to be a UU, camp is an experience of being UU.

UU isn’t like most religions with a strong dogma or a defining belief system.  People don’t get baptised or confirmed or bar mitzvah'd into being a UU.  Part of being a UU is to not make a big deal out of being one.

What are the 7 principles (that we ask campers to agree with)?

At  http://www.uua.org/beliefs/what-we-believe/principles the official list reads*…

1st Principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person;

2nd Principle: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;

3rd Principle: Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our community*;

4th Principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;

5th Principle: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our communities* and in society at large;

6th Principle: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;

7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

* I’ve replaced the word “congregation” with “community”, because that’s a better fit for what we are at camp.

While there can be downsides to any organized religion, there's unlikely to be another group that better fits the philosophy of what we experience at camp.

Whether we do or don’t say we’re a UU camp, we’ll still have the same ideals and be the same community.

We love for new people to discover the wonderful thing that camp is.  From a practical standpoint, it’s very helpful if we can give them an idea of what camp will be like.  Saying we’re “UU” summarizes a lot of hard to describe ideas.

You can call it being UU or you can call it being a decent human being, but either way we want to be that and to meet others that aspire to be that at camp.

We invite our friends. We welcome people who find us on their own. And now we have UU in our name to help like-minded people find and join us (beyond just friends of friends).