Who we are
New Unity strives to be a radically inclusive community dedicated to love and to justice. Here you will find a diverse community, where we welcome people with many beliefs. You can bring your whole self, your full identity, your questioning mind and expansive heart. No matter who you are or whom you love you are truly welcome here.
Your experience among us will make you think, touch your heart, and pique your curiosity about our Unitarian community where we are brought together by love, not fear, and where we find our common purpose through the values we share. Whatever your background, your theology, your interests, you are welcome here regardless of race, colour, creed, gender, gender identity and expression, or sexual or affectional orientation. That is radical inclusion!
Our Minister, the Rev’d CJ McGregor, once wrote: “Yes, New Unity is welcoming, but that is not a unique claim. As I have been told, all congregations believe they are welcoming. After thinking about it I was able to articulate that New Unity is set apart from other congregations because of its radical hospitality. Now this doesn’t mean we serve great coffee and the best biscuits. Radical means “out of the ordinary,” “revolutionary,” even. So, what would it mean to receive someone with a presence that was not just polite, but to receive them with revolutionary generosity?
I’m not talking about being politically correct, or legalistic—I’m talking about hospitality as spiritual practice. I’m not talking about just opening the doors—I’m talking about opening the heart. This is what we do at New Unity. We are radical in our love for one another. I always say it’s highly unlikely that you will fall through the cracks here because we won’t let you. Here you are found. Here, you are seen. Here you are loved and appreciated.”
New Unity is very different from Unitarian congregations throughout the UK. It is more similar to the American version – Unitarian Universalism – but still, New Unity remains a unique thing. We tend to be at the far fringe of the Unitarian spectrum. British Unitarian congregations vary a great deal. New Unity is larger, younger and more social justice-oriented than most others
What we believe
Our congregation consists of people with varied faith heritages. That includes Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist, agnostic, pagan and humanist backgrounds. As religious liberals, and as Unitarians, we place less emphasis on formal beliefs and more on practical living. We believe that ultimately, faith is not so much the creeds we say, as it is the lives we live, which is why we seek constantly to be involved in issues that matter.
Our members have been active in the struggle for racial equality, civil liberty, international peace, environmental justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and equal rights for all peoples. We work as individuals, in congregational social action, and partner with our local community and organizations. Plus, we support and assist other community organizations reaching out to the impoverished and oppressed, HIV/AIDS, poverty, homelessness, hunger, affordable housing, and more.
