Our Circle
The Universalist Recovery Church community is a group of people who care about one another. We strive to improve lives through heart-centered experiences of the sacred. To do this, we listen deeply to one another, draw on the power of love and compassion to heal, offer support, honor the wholeness that lies within our brokenness, and respect the inherent worth of every soul.
We invite you to join us. Be part of our community, where we welcome you into a circle of sacred companionship.
Who We Are
We who attend the Universalist Recovery Church circles are seeking deeper wisdom and serenity in our lives. We may be in recovery from something, whether it’s addiction, grief, trauma, or another mental and emotional struggles. Some of us have family members and loved ones with their own struggles, so we are learning to love and let go at the same time.
Though our lives are different, our common bond is our commitment to becoming our best selves. We strive to become the person we were created to be. Even the things we don’t like about ourselves can become our strengths. Within each of us a beautiful wholeness shines.
Our community believes all life is sacred, that the universe itself is sacred, and that our stories are sacred. We cry together and laugh together. Some days, life is tough, and if we’re going to heal, we have to move through the pain, not run from it. Even so, we have fun together. Laughter makes us happy, keeps us strong, and helps us thrive.
Our Community – Unitarian Universalist
Our founding minister, the Rev. Barbara Stevens, is Unitarian Universalist; the Rev. Skip Roberts is Presbyterian. As good Unitarian Universalists, we welcome any spiritual path that leads to peace, freedom, joy, and wholeness. We embrace any spiritual teachings based on love and justice.
Every Sunday, we gather at Eastrose Fellowship, a Unitarian Universalist congregation where Barbara serves as a community minister. To join our circle, you don’t need to profess a belief in a particular god, or even in any god at all. Although we talk about “God” and sometimes look for guidance in sacred scriptures, we invite a multitude of understandings of what that “god” is. None of us has the entire truth; we each have pieces of the truth. When we are open to the truths of others, we are more likely to grow, change, and become the people we were born to be.
What Is Unitarian Universalism?
In 1961, two Christian denominations merged and became Unitarian Universalism. Unitarians, such as Michael Servetus who was burned at the stake in 1553 by Calvin, declared that there is nothing in the Christian Scriptures about a Trinity. He concluded that Jesus was not God. Jesus may have been exceptional, he may even have been divine, but God was a different being than Jesus. That made Servetus, along with all those who agreed with him, “Unitarian” instead of “Trinitarian.”
Universalists, such as Hosea Ballou who preached throughout New England, declared that “God is too good to damn us.” From their reading of the Bible, Universalists concluded that there is no such thing as Hell. Certainly it wasn’t a real place that we go when we die. Instead, Ballou preached, God will take us “kicking and screaming into Heaven.”
The Unitarians were the intellectuals. Many of them held positions of power and influence, in government and education. They helped write our Constitution and informed the democratic values of our country.
The Universalists, on the other hand, were farmers and shopkeepers. Less educated, they nonetheless believed in a God of love who cared for every person ever created.
At Universalist Recovery Church, we identify with Universalism because of its focus on the power of love to heal all wounds and to redeem us.