Oh Lasagna!

"If we agree in love, there is no disagreement that can do us any harm, but if we do not, no other agreement can do us any good." -- Hosea Ballou (influential early Universalist minister, quoted in today's sermon)

The past four Sundays, I've attended a Unitarian church in Orlando and it's like I found my place in the world. Today was the orientation for newbies, where we learned about the church and it's history, and I must tell you, I kept asking myself "Why did I wait this long to come?" In college I was told by a professor that I was UU and didn't even know it, which I always kept in the back of my mind, planning to explore what she meant one day. As it goes, I never 'got around' to attending a service. Moving to Orlando with Eugenio allowed me the fresh-start/kick in the ass I needed to get more involved in my nonspiritual journey for company. An agnostic, wary of organized religion, and continually evolving, I always assumed being a member of a congregation, in which creeds and absolutes were spoken, was not an option for me. However, in a UU church, you can simply be yourself. You can be an out of the closet atheist who sings in the church choir with a Buddhist to your left and a Christian to your right, without compromising your integrity or beliefs. It's a good place. If you are looking for a church, or if you have ill-feelings about church, but want a community and a place to nurture your mind and faith, whatever it may be, I'd recommend checking out your nearest UU church.

Some say that religion is too major an issue to disagree on, which can serve as an Achilles heal in a relationship. Initially, I was regrettably prone to believe that. Being engaged to Eugenio, brought up questions about "how" (meaning what brand of religion) to raise our hypothetical children. How can I be OK with raising kids in the Catholic church if I'm not OK with the Catholic church? How can Eugenio be OK with raising his kids as secular, if Catholicism is very important to him? So, I'm lucky to have found the perfect community. I've decided our kids will be Unitarian Universalists. Problem solved!

Just kidding...We'll compromise. I believe that our differences actually make us better together and for our hypothetical unborn children. I like the idea of attending both a Catholic church and a Unitarian Universalist church. I've been doing it myself this past month, and Sunday has become my favorite day. I always find a meaningful message in the Catholic service I attend (even if it is something snarky, like 'the priest isn't too bright') with Eugenio on Sunday evenings, even if the Catholic beliefs and sometimes the Priest's homilies don't resonate with me. Also, I just enjoy being with Eugenio, and I love singing the songs, probably more than I should.

Speaking of singing, when I was little I loved the "lasagna" song in church. You don't remember a song about lasagna? For the longest time I thought when the church choir sang "hosanna" they were saying "oh lasagna." It was my favorite mass song. At any rate, lasagna/hosanna aside, I'm sure our unborn children are gonna love having to go to church twice! Jesus christ.