We are delighted to welcome you to Countryside Church, a community of spirited and nurturing people who gather to support and practice liberal religion through worship, study and service.

As our bumper-sticker poster illustrates, we have varied interests and philosophies, we are united in the belief that each person’s unique spiritual path enriches our shared journey as a faith community. We cherish diversity while holding faith that there is a deep, abiding unity. Countryside Church Unitarian Universalist is a liberal religious community that affirms, challenges and supports a diverse membership that spans all age groups, faith traditions, and an array of ethnic, political and economic experiences.

Who we are

Here you will find space for spiritual exploration and growth. We ask that every person bring the wisdom they have gained through life – whether they are lifelong Unitarian Universalists or Unitarian Universalists who have discovered this faith along their spiritual journey. Thus we count among us Unitarian Universalists who also hold as vital the insights of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Atheism, Agnosticism, Earth-centered paganism, Hinduism, and other faith traditions. We believe in the gift and beauty of worshipping together, discussing our beliefs, listening to, and learning from each other. Diversity enriches us all as we talk about a reality that none of us can possibly know completely. Unitarian Universalism affirms that inspiration and meaning may be found in many sources, including experience, history, and religious tradition. The Unitarian Universalist faith draws from six sources:

The Unitarian Universalist faith draws from six 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.

For more information, please visit Are My Beliefs Welcome?

What we do

The purposes of this faith community are two fold.

~First, to promote liberal religion, which means that we affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We believe, fundamentally, in individual freedom of conscience. Therefore we ask for no creedal or doctrinal confessions.

~Second, to affirm and promote true freedom, which can only happen where human rights are respected, the future is protected, and people live in fairness, opportunity, peace, mutual regard, and beauty. Therefore, we work in the larger world for peace, justice, reconciliation, human rights, and the well-being of our planet.

Our purpose is as complex as it is simple: We unite to strengthen the bonds of kinship among all persons, to promote human dignity and increase reverence for life’s creating, sustaining and transforming power through worship, study and service. ~the Countryside Covenant For more information please visit Worship.

What we believe

Our church is unique in that we do not have one set of beliefs that everyone must share in order to join. Rather, we believe in pluralistic religious ideas and the freedom of their expression. We believe that individual reason and conscience are the arbiters of religious truth. And we believe that seeking that truth is a never-ending journey. Unitarian Universalism is a non-credal religion. We affirm and promote . . . .

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person
• Justice, equality and compassion in human relations
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement of spiritual growth
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning
• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process with our congregation and our 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

For more information, please visit Beliefs and Principles in Unitarian Universalism.

“This is a community that helps us stretch and flex our psyche and our souls . . . that pushes us to act to become something new and vital.” ~Tom MacTavish, member since 1999