You are welcome to come in whatever makes you comfortable. On any given Sunday you're likely to see attire ranging from jeans and sneakers to coat and tie. "Business casual" is probably the most common dress you'll see.

Children will be fine in tennis shoes, jeans, and a T-shirt, maybe a warmer shirt plus a sweater or jacket when it's cold. Our children's program is an active experience. They may spend part of the Religious Education class sitting in a circle on the carpet, and another working with paste, glue, or crayons. Weather permitting, they may play in the playground beside the church or in the Memorial Garden in the back. Have them dress accordingly, although that beloved Hallowe'en costume is welcome, too.

We like to help our children explore the ways of justice and liberty. We believe in the importance of educating a child wiht more than one view of any given subject so they will have the tools to make an informed decision as they approach adulthood. Please visit our Religious Education web page for specific information.

Children stay with their parents for the first portion of the service, where they are welcome to share their joys and concerns with the grown-ups. Often there is a Story for All Ages. then we sing them off to their classes, or if you prefer, they may stay with you for the rest of the service.

We are at 5050 Porter Road in North Olmsted, Ohio. We're about half a block north of Lorain Road, near the intersection of Lorain, Porter, and Butternut Ridge Roads. It's a residential street, you won't have any trouble spotting the church building!

Yes. Parking spaces are reserved at the rear of the building, and the lower level is accessible at ground level. In front, we have a ramp to the front door of the sanctuary, although it is a fair distance from the parking lot. We're researching how to build an elevator, but our 1847 building just wasn't made for such conveniences.

Yes. We have had members who were rich and poor, black and white, young and old, single, partnered, and families, walking and wheeling, straight, lesbian, and gay. We have had people of different heritages, Northern and Southern, native Clevelanders and transplants, folks who have always been UUs and newcomers to our denomination. Everyone who walks through our doors is welcome to share fully in our religious community. We are exploring the process of becoming a recognized "welcoming congregation" as defined by the UUA. We have had doctors, nurses, psychologists, carpenters, teachers, counselors, computer programmers, students, retired people, and we welcomed them all. We will welcome you.

From here we retire to our meeting hall for coffee and refreshment, where the discussion continues.

We may omit some things some weeks, or explore other avenues of worship and contemplation. Our minister serves us part-time, while the rest of the time our services are lay-led. It's like the Ohio weather, if today's topic didn't suit you, come back next week to see what's different.

For a sampling of service topics, we invite you to visit our Sunday Serivces pages.

We have some differences of opinion, yes. Most of us started out as Jewish, Catholic or Protestant. Some of us are still Christian or Jewish. Many of us are agnostics, atheists, or humanists. Some of us believe in an earth-based or Pagan spirituality. Some of us are Buddhists. We all believe in the search for truth and a deeper meaning in life. Historically, the Unitarians rejected the concept of the Trinity (hence "Uni") and the Universalists rejected the idea of salvation only for the elect. The uniqueness of the UU philosophy is that, despite the diverse theologies, we feel comfortable in worshiping together with respect for each other's beliefs.
Today, we don't really consider ourselves as a group to be Christian, entirely. Many of our Fellowships, Churches and Societies have a Christian theme, but our freedom to seek our own spiritual path and develop our own beliefs leaves us with the fact that some among us call themselves Christians and still others do not. One of our strongest UU beliefs is that we will not dictate to the membership what they must believe to be members!
Unitarian-Universalists value the work that we perform to improve the world and often view a belief in religion as less important than our principles of freedom and justice for all. We like to say: "We believe in deeds, not in creeds."
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It is important that all of us seek some understanding about how things are and attempt to answer questions that can't be answered. Some have chosen another path which may provide a more suitable means of receiving these answers. Some others have decided to strike out on their own and seek answers themselves. We see nothing wrong with any path one chooses, only that it is fair, just and you have the ability to make your own choices about your continued involvement in that specific religion. We do strongly believe in "the inherent worth and dignity of every person," and find many friends in other denominations in the struggle to improve human rights.
While we will never criticize a religion for its beliefs, we may have objections to a religion that becomes so powerful that they can force their will on other people who don't wish to follow that path. From the 16th century, Unitarians have believed in the separation of church and state and solidly believe that all religions, as well as people, have their inherent worth and dignity and should be respected. We also are in disagreement with religions that have in their teachings a goal of the elimination of other religions. We believe in the value of diversity and the need for more than one opinion and choice about any given subject. 

We strongly suggest that you attend our services until you are comfortable with us. We suggest you attend a new member orientation or discuss this with our minister, too. Once you have decided you want to join, you sign the membership book. That's it! You don't have to sign any statement of creed or belief. Joining our Congregation is a statement of support for our religious community.