TEMPLATE: First Unitarian Society

Welcome!

You have reached the internet home of the Urban Hope Unitarian Universalist Community. This website is a work in progress.

Who We Are

Urban Hope is an active Unitarian-Universalist presence in a Cleveland inner-city neighborhood. Our Community consists of individuals who aim to live out Unitarian-Universalist principles of social activism, diversity and free spiritual growth in an urban environment. We are a welcoming lay-led group which participates in the neighborhood community through programs focused on community needs. We are guided in this work by the following Unitarian-Universalist principles:
1. The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
2. Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregation;
4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
5. The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregation and in society at large;
6. The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all;
7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Programs

1. Weekly services. We meet for services at 5 PM every Sunday in our store-front at 3204 Lorain Ave. in the Ohio City neighborhood. Services are informal and mostly lay-led, with frequent guest speakers active in various aspects of urban ministry and UU life. All participants have opportunity to speak of their personal concerns, spiritual viewpoints and neighborhood issues. Services are open to all and are followed several times each month by potluck dinners for participants.
2. During the growing season Urban Hope maintains a vegetable garden plot at the Kentucky School Community Garden and uses it to instruct children from a neighborhood school in gardening techniques and philosophy. A class meets with Urban Hope volunteers once each week during the school year. In the summer Urban Hope sponsors a weekly Garden Club for neighborhood children. Products of the garden are given to the children.
3. Urban Hope is active in the Northeast Ohio Alliance for Hope (NOAH), a coalition of faith groups in greater Cleveland. NOAH’s programs are focused on economic justice in urban settings and include a variety of training opportunities. In the recent past NOAH has addressed the problems of predatory lending and raising the minimum wage.
4. Urban Hope is a member of InterAct Cleveland the mission of which is “to be a catalyst for creating an inter-religious community through which members put faith into action by working for social justice through dialogue, service and advocacy”. Through this association and our collaboration with other local faith groups Urban Hope has had an active role in Homeless Stand Down and Gifts of the City, two events focusing on services to Cleveland’s homeless population.
5. We also have a "drop-in" center at the storefront from 2:00 to 4:45 Sunday afternoon.

Our Behavioral Covenant

1. We are intentional about making our meeting place a sacred place – neat, clean and welcoming.
2. We welcome and support all people, especially children.
3. We begin all service meetings by sitting in silence to insure that outside distractions are left behind. We create sacred time by being on time, turning off cell phones and being attentive.
4. We listen to each other, share speaking and listening time, and allow time to pass between comments.
5. We are open to new ideas and perspectives.
6. We respect everyone and are non-judgemental toward one another.
7. We disagree appropriately and respectfully, staying on issues without personal criticism.
8. We practice faith in action.
9. We are guided by our seven Unitarian-Universalist principles.

Website Design Credits

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Site updated May 17, 2007