LGBT friendly Church in Cork, next to English Market

The Unitarian Church internationally has been around since the 1840s, and has had firmly pro-gay policies since 1970. It has its roots in Christianity and has Christian members, but also Humanist/Atheist, Jewish and Pagan members.

I've been going to Cork Unitarian church for about a year, and have been made to feel very welcome as an openly gay man. One of the visiting preachers read out a passage from Alice Walker's "The Colour Purple" which was a love scene between two women, during which they talk about the nature of God!

Cork Unitarian Church is on Princes Street.The services are fortnightly on Sundays, at 11. . There's one tomorrow, Sunday 13th of March.

That sounds interesting. Do they have certain beliefs or is it a church open to all different religions.

Cool I might pop along next week... Sounds interesting.

Unitarian beliefs

from:- http://www.uua.org/aboutuu/weare.html

Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion born of the Jewish and Christian traditions. We keep our minds open to the religious questions people have struggled with in all times and places.
We believe that personal experience, conscience, and reason should be the final authorities in religion. In the end religious authority lies not in a book, person, or institution, but in ourselves. We put religious insights to the test of our hearts and minds.

We uphold the free search for truth. We will not be bound by a statement of belief. We do not ask anyone to subscribe to a creed. We say ours is a noncreedal religion. Ours is a free faith.
We believe that religious wisdom is ever changing. Human understanding of life and death, the world and its mysteries, is never final. Revelation is continuous. We celebrate unfolding truths known to teachers, prophets, and sages throughout the ages.

We affirm the worth of all women and men. We believe people should be encouraged to think for themselves. We know people differ in their opinions and lifestyles, and we believe these differences generally should be honored.


History of Unitarian Universalist Involvement in and Support of
Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Issues

http://www.uua.org/obgltc/resource/history.html



The next service is Sunday 26th of March, the Cork congregation is still quite small , usually about ten or fifteen of us. Couple of hymns, a talk then coffee

In Dublin: from http://www.unitarianchurchdublin.org/history.htm

Sooooo, there will be on Easter Sunday?

Do you mind to deliever the location of the church with more detail? Though I often go through English Market I still didn't know a such church is there...
And also I hope you can tell me the Appearance of the church, like the colour of the outside wall etc. and it may be more easy for me to find it.

It's on Princes Street, just by the entrance to the English Market (on the Oliver Plunkett Street side).

It's slightly in off the street a bit, behind a gate.

I dunno how often it is used as a place of worship today.

I was there last weekend for a photography exhibition, and it's not exactly modern.

If you walk down Princes Street from Patrick's Street - on your left is 'Oasis' and down a little bit is the side entrance to the market. Next door is a Jewelery shop and I think an electrical shop, the gates to the church are just after that.

Once you find the entrance to the Market and keep going you can't miss it

Admin! You spoilt my lovely directions with your nerdy map thingy

I don't really understand the idea of the unitarian church to be honest... it caters for all religions apparently, under the one ceremony....i don't get how that can occur?! When religions are by their nature quite diverse!?

Perhaps this, taken from the website of their Dublin church, explains it to you :

Our bond of union is religious sympathy, not the declaration of a creed-bound faith. In the love of truth and in the spirit of Christ, we unite for the worship of God and the service of our fellows.

The following text has been the motto of our church for many years:

Love is the doctrine of this church, the quest of truth is its sacrament and service is its prayer

To dwell together in peace. To seek knowledge in freedom. To serve humankind in fellowship to the end that all souls shall

grow in harmony with the divine this do we covenant with each other and with God.

That does indeed! Cheers!

I am Unitarian. These are some of our core principles:



http://uuc.org/about-the-uuc/seven-principles-and-six-sources

There are seven principles which Unitarian Universalist congregations 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.

Unitarian Universalism (UU) draws from 6 sources:

1 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;

2 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;

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

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

5 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.

6 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.
These principles and sources of faith are the backbone of our religious community.

Could you tell us when there are services in the Unitarian Church in Princes Street?

Are they regular?

Could this be classed as a 'new age religion'?

The modern form of Unitarianism really emerged during the seventeenth century, so it's not *very* new. [:-|]

I'd say that 'New Age' tends to conjure up images of e.g. crystal healing and other things which could arguably be classed as superstitions, which isn't really what Unitarianism is about.

They are held every two weeks

Here is the Unitarian Churches website in Cork

New age religions as distinct from 'spirituality, tend to pick bits from hither and thither - bit from Christianity, bit from Judaism, bit from Islam, Rastafarianism...... and mix them all up. From the definition given in a previous post this seems to be what Unitarianism has done. It would not by an stretch of the imagination be regarded as Christian by mainstream Christianity. Wasn't the Rev George Exoo, who came to Dublin from America, to 'help' that unfortunate young woman living in Dublin to take her own life. a Unitarian minister? The Irish government tried unsuccessfully, to have him extradited to this country to face charges in relation to her death.