About Us

Our Faith

Our faith is one with no religious creed or dogma. We believe that personal experience, conscience, and reason should be the final authorities in religion. We believe that religious authority lies not in a book, person, or institution, but in ourselves.

Historically, Unitarian Universalism came from the merger of two liberal, free-thinking Christian denominations--the Unitarians, who rejected the doctrine of the trinity, and the Universalists, who rejected the idea of eternal damnation. Their emphasis on tolerance and liberal social views led to a merger in 1961, forming the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Unitarian Universalism has evolved into an inclusive, diverse faith drawing from many sources, not just from the Judeo-Christian tradition, but from all the world's religions, as well as humanism, philosophy, and even science. UU congregations are democratically structured and promote the free and disciplined search for truth without the restriction of doctrinal conformity.

Our Fellowship

The Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship of Jonesboro is a small but growing lay-led congregation and has been a home for liberal religion in northeast Arkansas since it was founded in1962. Services and social gatherings offer a congenial and supportive atmosphere, and our group welcomes diverse philosophical and religious perspectives. In keeping with our democratic principles, all people are invited to participate. The only prerequisite is genuine tolerance and respect for one another.

Because Unitarian Universalists do not proselytize, you may wish to contact us for further information, or check out our links to other UU websites. Or better yet, visit us at one of our meetings. If you find yourself in agreement with the religious freedom we practice and seek a place to explore life's questions, we invite you to join this fellowship and add your strength to ours.

Our Fellowship's Mission

We come together in freedom for pursuit of truth, the service of humanity, and the fulfillment of self, to practice Unitarian Universalist principles in our individual lives, to apply them in our congregation, to teach them to our children, and to promote them in the world around us.

Our mission is to build a strong and caring congregation by celebrating life, by supporting and inspiring individual search for intellectual and spiritual truths, by welcoming all and honoring our differences, and by encouraging responsible involvement in and service to our community and world.

We operate through the democratic process, tempered by recognition and respect of minority views.

--adopted by the Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship of Jonesboro, May 13, 2001

Our Faith's Principles

We, as a member congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

The living tradition which we share draws from many sources:

• 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 women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
• Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
• Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
• 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.

Grateful for the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision. As free congregations we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support.