Ellen Brandenburg

This is published by the Unitarian Universalist Association's Imprint, Skinner House. It is a short compendium of seven very short essays which are all written by young UU ministers--young enough to have been ordained after the UU statement of Seven guiding Principles was adopted in its current form in 1985.

In the interest of full disclosure one of these essays is by my own minister, Rev. Paige Getty.

Unitarian Universalism prides itself in being open to all faiths and creeds. It professes to be a non-credal faith tradition; and some members would argue that the word 'faith' should not even apply. Yet UUism is more than just a social organization. And the adopted Seven Principles is an attempt to carve out a broad set of moral guidelines that could be called the organization's 'credo' (distinct from a creed in that members are meant only to be 'guided' by these principles, and are certainly not required to profess them themselves as is done with the creeds of many faith traditions),

In addition to the essays, each of which explores the individual's personal take on one of the Principles, there are six short 'Prayers and Readings' appropriate to the theme.

Since I bought the book and read it straight through, I've found myself returning to this book as a reference to both broaden and clarify my understanding of a particular Principle. I've also used the readings in some of the Adult Education classes I've attended that are organized by my congregation.

In a nutshell, this is an excellent resource for people new to UUism, because it can serve as both a handbook and a jumping off point for the personal spiritual seeking that UUism so favors.… (más)