Sources of Our Living Tradition   

 “For from the creation of the world His invisible qualities, both His eternal power and divinity,

are clearly seen, being understood by the things made”  

 -  St. Paul The Apostle                                                              

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At St. Paul’s Church, we understand our faith as a living tradition — one that continues to grow and take shape through the wisdom we receive and reflect upon together. Rather than arising from a single authority or text, our shared values are shaped by a range of sources that inform how we seek meaning, live ethically, and care for one another and the world.

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From these sources flow the principles that guide our common life — principles rooted in respect for human dignity, compassion, justice, and responsibility. We receive these sources with openness and humility, allowing them to speak to us in different ways at different times.

The following sources help nourish and sustain our spiritual life as a Unitarian Universalist congregation

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• Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;

• Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;

• Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;

• Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

• Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;

• Words and deeds of prophetic people which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;

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“Throughout history, we have moved to the rhythms of mystery and wonder, prophecy, wisdom, teachings from ancient and modern sources, and nature herself.”

    - Rev. Kathleen Rolenz - Unitarian Universalist minister