About Us
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Norwich offers an avenue where individuals can come together, learn from each other and within community, and become stronger in their faith. Click on the video below to see "We Are Unitarian Universalists" (approx 3 minutes) or continue reading to learn more about our religious community in Norwich, CT.
WGBH News: All Things Considered by Barbara Howard
Listen: Bending toward Justice, From Abolition to the Oval Office
Principles
Shared Unitarian Universalist Values
As Unitarian Universalists, we covenant, congregation-to-congregation and through our Association, to support and assist one another in our ministries. We draw from our heritages of freedom, reason, hope, and courage, building on the foundation of love.
Love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. We are accountable to one another for doing the work of living our shared values through the spiritual discipline of Love.
Inseparable from one another, these shared values are:
Interdependence
We honor the interdependent web of all existence. With reverence for the great web of life and with humility, we acknowledge our place in it.We covenant to protect Earth and all beings from exploitation. We will create and nurture sustainable relationships of care and respect, mutuality and justice. We will work to repair harm and damaged relationships.
Pluralism
We celebrate that we are all sacred beings, diverse in culture, experience, and theology.We covenant to learn from one another in our free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We embrace our differences and commonalities with Love, curiosity, and respect.
Justice
We work to be diverse multicultural Beloved Communities where all thrive.We covenant to dismantle racism and all forms of systemic oppression. We support the use of inclusive democratic processes to make decisions within our congregations, our Association, and society at large.
Transformation
We adapt to the changing world.We covenant to collectively transform and grow spiritually and ethically. Openness to change is fundamental to our Unitarian and Universalist heritages, never complete and never perfect.
Generosity
We cultivate a spirit of gratitude and hope.We covenant to freely and compassionately share our faith, presence, and resources. Our generosity connects us to one another in relationships of interdependence and mutuality.
Equity
We declare that every person has the right to flourish with inherent dignity and worthiness.We covenant to use our time, wisdom, attention, and money to build and sustain fully accessible and inclusive communities.
Church Covenant
We gather as a religious community in the spirit of gratitude, hope, and love as individuals and as a congregation.
Aware that the culture we create is a product of the words we speak and the deeds we do, we covenant to affirm and promote:
- Appreciation and encouragement in each other’s' efforts.
- Sensitivity by seeking to understand what different voices are trying to say.
- Mutual respect through striving to communicate personally.
- Honoring the roles of leadership by speaking directly to those in positions of responsibility.
Lottie B Scott
Congregation Member
Why I am a Unitarian Universalist
I arrived from Longtown, SC in 1957 as a young mother with a small child. In my search for a home church, I was surprised to learn that black church folks focused on my clothes because they did not match.
Members of a white church, exhibiting facial expressions of horror, would move if I sat next to them.
I stopped going to church and began to spend time drinking coffee at the Thorn Coffeehouse, where I met the Rev. Tharald Olfson. He invited me to the Unitarian Universalist Church where I met people from all walks of life. I was welcomed. It did not matter that I had little money.
I was with people who shared similar beliefs of fairness -- the right to question and the right to protest. I found a religious home. Lottie B. Scott.
Wayne Silver
Congregation Member
Why I joined the Unitarian Universalist Church of Norwich
During a period of alienation from Judaism, my life long religion, I stumbled across UUCN and decided to attend a service. I was immediately drawn in by the fascinating sermon, beautiful piano music, and lively discussion following the service.
I was also intrigued by the people and their many differences. It was as diverse a religious community as I had ever seen.
Eventually, I found my way back to Judaism and now belong to a synagogue in Norwich. But I am still a proud member of UUCN as well. My two religious homes complement and complete each other.
I am grateful to UUCN for the opportunity to express my religious feelings in more than one way and in more than one setting. I am also grateful for the opportunity to help my local community and a distant land that desperately needs what we can offer.
At UUCN, we want to serve, and we do. Wayne Silver.
Dianne M. Daniels
Congregation Member
Candidate Minister
Why I am a Unitarian Universalist
I was not raised with a "home church." My parents wanted us to attend services, but their variable work schedules as hospital employees didn't often allow for it as they had different days off each week. When I married my husband of now 27 years, we started out attending the local church of the same denomination that he grew up in.
I loved the people, but not the "women as second-class citizen" that I felt from the leadership at times. We left that church when too much "Do as I say, not as I Do" became evident.
Two respected families in our area invited us to attend a Kwanzaa ceremony at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Norwich, and we've been attending services ever since - over 20 years now.
The Unitarian Universalist Church was the first I'd been to that lived and practiced the principle of seeing the inherent worth and dignity of all people - no matter who they were. The first time I volunteered at a Community Meal and saw that whoever walked through the door was fed, my heart swelled, and I knew this would be my church home.
Here I have been challenged, taught, loved, corrected, fed and supported, and in December 2021, I graduated with my Master of Divinity degree from the Starr King School for the Ministry in May,2022, and I'm SO happy that I'm here!
Aaron Daniels
Vice-President
Board of Management
Aaron "Al" Daniels is a 30+ year resident of Eastern CT, including spending 21 years serving on U.S. Naval Submarines. He retired in 2001 as a Chief Petty Officer and shortly thereafter began a career at Norwich Public Utilities, where he works as a Watch Engineer.
Al's love of music (he's a professional percussionist and plays with multiple bands), and the community (including serving on the Board of TVCCA and the Norwich Board of Education) keep him busy.
He also loves aviation (he holds a private pilot's license with multi-engine endorsement, and is a Founding Member and Past President of the Flight Officer Connie Nappier Jr. chapter of Black Pilots of America).
He brings diverse and thoughtful subjects to his sermons, along with an easy laugh and encouraging spirit.
Joseph Denis Lanoue
President
Board of Management
Willy Heineman
Church Clerk
Claudia Combies
Congregation Member
John Baker
Richard Stevenson
Treasurer
Nancy Randall
Congregation Member
