Day 27 - The First Unitarian Society of Chicago

Everybody that I know who has made drastic moves like this has told me that I need to go to church to meet people. This is tricky for me because I don't subscribe to any particular religion. Lucky for me, Hyde Park has an affinity for religious pluralism. I am interested and making a visit all of the churches in my neighborhood. I started with the Unitarian one this morning. I have never been to a service like this before. I knew that it was a church without a Christian bias, but it was built like a cathedral with the spatial design of a cross. There were angels in the colorful stained glass window, all the other design elements were geometric and random colorful quilts hung on the walls. The service started with a reading of a children's book, with an invitation for everyone to sit on the carpet around the reader. There was not a choir, just one woman who sang African American spirituals, a man who played folk music with his guitar and the audience sang three different hymns from the supplied hymnal book. The minister read poetry and an excerpt from Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451". His sermon was a long essay about his experience with memory, giving anecdotes about his college roommate, his daughter and his father's bout with Alzheimer's. All of the songs and stories revolved around the theme of memory. It felt more like a professor's lecture than any religious forum that I had experienced. I'm a little torn because I like the diversity of their congregation and their emphasis on equity and compassion, but I was sooo bored in the service. It is also a nice place to be anonymous, which can be convenient at times. There is no one there greeting you at the door and asking you about your family and when you are coming back, like every other church that I've been to. I would go again, but I am anxious to explore some other places of worship.