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Rev. Bret Lortie(210) 344-0743 |
Welcome to First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Antonio's Web site. We hope you'll consider joining us this Sunday in person. We worship at 11 am, with coffee hour and fellowship immediately following.
We are a church of tolerance and acceptance. On Sunday morning you will hear the welcomer say that we "cherish our diversities of race, age, ability, politics, theology, sexual orientation, culture and ethnicity." Our faith is rooted in this radical level of acceptance, and we strive to live out this vision in all our actions. Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, "you're welcome 'round here!"
We are a church of action. Our social justice network has been instrumental in the formation of San Antonio's interfaith COPS/Metro alliance. The leaders and member congregations of COPS and Metro Alliance have worked on many strategies to build housing, improve schools, develop job-training programs, construct parks and libraries, and otherwise strengthen the frayed social fabric of family and neighborhood life throughout the San Antonio metropolitan area. This and spiritual work like it continues to energize a large number of our members.
We are a church for families of all types. With religious education for youth and adults offered on Sundays and throughout the week, this is also a place of learning -- about ourselves, our world, and our interconnectedness. Please see the links under the Programs tab in the heading for classes and times.
We are a church of love. We believe that you don't have to believe the same things to love one another, and that the diversity of our beliefs does not diminish our bonds of affection. Love guides our actions, renews our sense of hope, and gives us firm ground in which to root community.
We are a church of growth and renewal. As individuals, we gather to find the life-saving sustenance we all need to lead "whole" lives. As a community, we gather together to share this spiritual nourishment with others.
I arrived in San Antonio this summer when First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Antonio called me as its minister. I grew up in Southern California, but after joining the Air Force in 1984 have spent the past twenty-plus years in the Midwest, most recently in Chicago. I was educated at a Christian college, but soon after graduation found myself searching for a community with more religious diversity. I could not accept that only one message contained all the truth or could answer all the questions I had about life's ultimate questions. My wife, Cindy, and I were also looking for a liberal faith in which to raise our then newborn son, who just this year headed off to college.
Cindy and I found a new church home at a Unitarian Universalist church in St. Louis. We found ourselves nourished both intellectually and spiritually, and when we moved to Chicago a few years later, the first thing we did was look up where our next Unitarian Universalist home would be. Outside the ministry my interests include music, reading, hiking, and bicycling.
I hope you'll join us on Sunday and find what you're looking for in your spiritual journey. At a Unitarian Universalist church you will find folks who follow Jesus' teachings, as well as those who find meaning in Buddhist, Hindu, Pagan, Earth-centered and other traditions. Many of us find Truth in all these traditions as they speak to and move us. We are also proud to have agnostics and atheists among us, people who believe that living an ethical and true life doesn't require a certain type of faith. As you can tell, there's room for a wide variety of belief at our church, including yours!
last updated Aug 27, 2007