My dad occasionally preaches at the First Universalist Church of New Madison and today was one of those Sundays. There was actually a pretty decent crowd there despite it being the last Sunday and July – and the temperature was VERY reasonable. (Astonishingly so – dad even started out by wearing a jacket!)

Anyhoo, on to the crux of my post. I like UUs cuz they let folks like us in. We’re (the ‘rents and I) rather liberal in the Christian sense – so much so that describing ourselves as “Christian” is something of a misnomer. (More Jesus, less Christ…) My sister is lesbian and Mennonite, but they’re more than happy to have her come for church. They let dad preach about the parables of Jesus (which is his current kick) and come up with wonderful ideas during the “talk back” session. Heck, the fact that they have a “talk back” session is great. Today for the prelude, we listened to the pianist play “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess. And one of my most favorite pieces played during the offertory was “Brother, Can You Spare A Dime.” The fellowship after church is very friendly and welcoming. Very much an Open Table Fellowship. They don’t switch off their brains when they hang up their coats. (I’ve been to some churches where they do that – alas!)

Now, these are not all exclusive to UU churches, but they’re all things that make me feel welcome in a church setting. So though I won’t go every week (it is half an hour away – and the other UU church that dad preaches at from time to time is even further away) I do enjoy the time spent there when I do attend.