Sermon: “Growing Up UU—and Returning as an Elder”
Barbara Martin, Guest Speaker

Unitarian Universalism is notoriously a denomination of converts—only about 10% of UUs grew up as such. It’s more common to hear a church member describe entering a UU church as an adult and immediately feeling at home than to encounter tales of UU childhood.

What was it like to grow up in a UU church founded only a few years before you were born? What values and expectations were carried away from that experience and community?  Returning at retirement age to join the oldest UU congregation in the US, what seemed constant and what seemed different—in individual experience and in Unitarian Universalism?

Bio: Barbara Martin is a member of First Church, Chair of the Standing Committee 2023-2025. She grew up attending the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church of Knoxville, Tennessee in the 1950s and 60s.

For Families: Children of all ages are always welcome in every service. Quiet activities are available in the rear of the chapel. Childcare and religious education classes resume in September.