All humanity must pass through essential developmental stages to become mature beings. To become mature religious people, we must also pass through developmental tasks, which are undertaken all the time and not necessarily in any particular order. These developmental stages are: discerning human nature (including one’s own nature); coming to terms with one’s relationship with Ultimate Reality (by whatever name we call it); defining one’s place in the historical process; developing an ethical stance with regard to one’s relations to others and the natural world; and creating a meaning or meanings that provide purpose for the human endeavor.
Each of these tasks helps give birth to one’s religious philosophy. The essential thing is not so much how one labels these values (for example, whether one uses the term “God” or not), but that these values be understood and made real in the life of the person. This program is largely built on undertaking these
tasks.
Schedule and Readings for 2023/2024
Volume 1: Introduction:
September 10: Session 1: Doing Theology: A Liberal Religious Model
Reading for Session 1
September 17: Session 2: Your Religious Odyssey: Autobiography with a Spiritual Twist
Reading for Session 2
Worksheet for Session 2
September 24 – No WFUU service – no class
October 1: Session 3: Varieties of Liberal Religious Experience: Unitarian Universalists and the Burning Bush
Reading for Session 3
We will be sharing the spiritual biographies we started writing in Session 2; see the worksheet for full instructions. Share as much or as little as you like; the most important work is thinking about it.
October 8: Session 4: Human Nature: Some Self-Understanding
Reading for Session 4
We will be discussing our ideas of human nature.
October 15: Session 5: Ultimate Reality: Creating an Honest God
Reading for Session 5
Ideas of God
October 22: Session 6: History: An Honest Backward Look
Reading for Session 6
DRE Sara Lewis offers a brief history of Unitarian Universalism at the Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation (36 minutes)
History of Unitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalist Origins: Our Historic Faith
Faith like a River: Themes from Unitarian Universalist History
October 29: Session 7: Ethics as Unenforceable Obligations: The Importance of Being Good for Nothing
Reading for Session 7
Are the Ten Commandments out of date? lf so, how can we nail down some ethical convictions when, morally, “everything nailed down is coming loose”? What are the rules you live by? The reading has a couple of examples. If you have others you swear by, or want to write down your own, bring them with and we will share.
November 5: Session 7 (repeated)
Reading for Session 7 (repeated)
November 12: Session 8: We Are the Meaning Makers
Reading for Session 8
November 19: Session 9: So What? Imperatives of My Theology
Reading for Session 9
November 26: Session 10: Wrapping It Up: A Credo
Volume 2: Exploring:
December 10: Session 1: Truth and Authority: What Do We Know for Sure?
Reading for Volume 2 Session 1
Truth and Authority Matrix
December 17: Session 2: Unity in Diversity: What Holds Us Together?
Reading for Volume 2 Session 2
December 24: Christmas Eve — no class
December 31: New Year’s Eve — no class
January 7: Session 3: The Nature of Spirituality: What is Holy?
Reading for Volume 2 Session 3
January 14: Session 4: Sin and Salvation: Are We Saved?
January 21: Session 4: Sin and Salvation: Are We Saved?
January 28: Session 4: Sin and Salvation: Are We Saved?
Reading for Volume 2 Session 4
Sin and Salvation Wheels
February 4: Monthly worship service — no class
February 11: Session 5: Eschatology: How Do We Account for Evil?
Reading for Volume 2 Session 5
February 18: Session 6: Justice and the Beloved Community: What is Our Place in the World?
Reading for Volume 2 Session 6
February 25: Session 7: Individualism and Community: What is the Role of the Church?
Reading for Volume 2 Session 7
March 10: Session 8: Suffering and Meaning: Why Do Bad Things Happen?
Reading for Volume 2 Session 8
March 17: Session 9: Death and Immortality: How Do We Celebrate Life?
Reading for Volume 2 Session 9
March 24: Session 10: A Spiritual Check-Up: Where Do We Go from Here?
March 31: Session 10: A Spiritual Check-Up: Where Do We Go from Here?
Reading for Volume 2 Session 10
West Fork Unitarian Universalists 
[…] on Sunday September 3. We are planning a weekly service of meditation and sharing, and to offer Building Your Own Theology, a course in examining our own history of beliefs, the history of liberal religion, and clarifying […]
[…] This Sunday we will continue our religious education program with Exploring, volume 2 of Building Your Own Theology. In session four we will explore the nature of sin and salvation, asking ourselves “Are We Saved?”, and what does that mean, anyway? The course description and schedule are here. […]