CLICK HERE for Our Vision Statement
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport is a diverse and welcoming religious community, free of creed and dogma, and open to people of all backgrounds and beliefs.
WE INSPIRE and support individual spiritual growth.
WE CONNECT through worship, music, learning, and caring ministries.
WE ACT in the service of peace and justice.
Our congregation affirms the Eight Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations:
- The inherent worth and dignity of every person.
- Justice, equity and compassion in human relations.
- Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations.
- A free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
- The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in 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.
- Journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural beloved community by our actions that accountability dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.
History and Purpose
At the request of the Board of Trustees, a large group of congregants worked together over the summer months of 2010 to draft a mission statement for The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport. We as a congregation, voted to adopt our proposed Mission Statement at our Annual Meeting on September 26, 2010.
The goal of the mission statement is to define our religious community for ourselves as well as in relation to the neighborhoods, organizations, societies and populations to which we belong. The purpose of the mission statement is to provide a succinct statement for future directions and priorities, foster connections, help encourage membership and participation and establish priorities for a large and active congregation.
Those participating in the mission statement process included a variety of people of different ages and lengths of tenure as well as members and non-members. The group was led by a congregant who is also a professional facilitator. Mindful of its responsibility to represent the entire community, the group took its direction and inspiration from many different resources developed over the past decade. For example, the group embraced the inclusive spirit and thorough processes of the Vision 2028 initiative undertaken by the congregation in 2002- 2003. The draft mission statement is a continuation of work products started by the Mission Vision Committee in 2007-2008. The heart of the draft mission statement comes from the thoughts and perceptions of 300+ congregants who participated in the Essence of Us events in 2009 and 2010. External resources included mission statements from over 50 Unitarian Universalist societies across the U.S.
