UUCE Mission and Vision

Mission
We are a welcoming, spiritual community where people gather
to find their own paths to truth and meaning.

We embrace freedom of belief, engage in lifelong learning, and advocate
for environmental sustainability and social justice.

Vision

Community: Ours is a welcoming, diverse congregation nurtured by multiple opportunities to find connection with one another. Our commitment to acceptance encourages us to be more fully ourselves as we welcome new members and grow our congregation. Together we recognize significant life events and celebrations.

Freedom of Belief and Spiritual Inquiry: Free from the constraints of creed and dogma, and bound by the values expressed in our seven Unitarian Universalist principles, each one of us is called to engage in spiritual inquiry. Unique paths to truth and meaning are supported through life‐span religious education, worship, and celebration. We honor many sources of spiritual practice from around the world and throughout history, sharing our spiritual paths with one another. We reach out to the larger community as a voice of religious freedom.

Life-Long Learning: We proclaim our commitment to life-long learning and leadership development through a variety of planned programs and opportunities for spontaneous exchange of ideas. We create an environment where we are able to ask tough questions and challenge assumptions while engaging in spirited, respectful dialogue. We expand discussion of vital issues by inviting the larger community to join us in public forums. We are known as a safe place to increase awareness and explore new ideas.

Social Justice: As a part of the interdependent web of all existence, we are aware that all the choices we make both as individuals and as a community will have some effect on the world. We are therefore committed to becoming increasingly aware of this impact, to educate each other, and to reach out to the communities around us, taking action to enhance the quality of life for humankind and ensuring sustainability of all life on earth. Using the democratic process, we make choices about where to intervene on issues of social injustice and how to make use of the exponential power of consensus to speak in one voice as the Unitarian Universalist Church of Elgin.

UUCE Ends Policies
Listed In Order of Priority

Policy #1: Community:

1. Members’ needs for acceptance and belonging are met, as all who enter and join UUCE activities experience a warm welcome and find and sustain meaningful connections.
2. Our community grows in depth, diversity and size.
   

Policy #2: Freedom of Belief and Spiritual Inquiry:

1. Members and visitors safely experience and express open inquiry, diverse
   perspectives and ideas, and a full range of spiritual and religious ideas
   within the context of Unitarian Universalist principles.
   
2. Members successfully discern their own personal beliefs and paths to
   truth.
   

Policy #3: Life-Long Learning:

1. Participants of all ages continually learn, develop and enrich themselves
   as individuals and as a community.
2. Members explore personal and global issues, question and challenge
   assumptions, and expand discussion of vital issues, both within our
   community and with the larger community.
   

Policy #4: Social Justice:

1. Participants continually increase their knowledge and awareness of local
   and global social justice issues and how they impact people and the
   sustainability of all life on earth.
2. UUCE makes identifiable positive impact on social justice issues in the
   local and global communities through individual and congregational
   action.