I feel I must explain my involvement in my church. On retirement, my wife steered me into volunteer service at the Pensacola Museum of Art. I had long wanted to be an artist, and became trained as a docent while developing skill as an artist.

I enjoyed the company of other artists and art lovers. On the death of my wife I wanted to expand my social contacts beyond the art scene. As my legs began to fail me, I quit my job as housekeeper at the Quayside Art Gallery and had Sundays free.

As a teenager I joined, with my family, the Unitarian Church in New York. Prep school and college took me away from that, but I was exposed to Universalism at Tufts College.

By nature I am not a churchy type. My interest in joining the Unitarian-Universalist Church in Pensacola was social, not religious. I found there intelligent people; college professors, physicians, nurses, and teachers. With them I could say truly what I thought, hear new and well-reasoned points of view, and explore many subjects many dare not think about.  

They were not bonded by doctrine or things improbable that you vow to be true. Science was not alien to their thoughts. Nor were realities of history. Sexual orientation was never an issue, and at times I was the only “Straight” person in the room. Nothing wrong with that either.

On joining, I explored the history of these two “Faiths.” Dad gave me an interest in history and I have curiosity. The Unitarians were academics, seeking proofs of one God. The Universalists thought beliefs were not important, people were not sinful, we might get some schooling after death and then join the rest in heaven. They took guidance from Jesus that we had a duty on Earth to help one another and strive to make our world better. I could buy that.

As a Unitarian, I do not believe in the divinity of Jesus, but accept him as an inspired teacher. (Or perhaps it was really Paul, who wrote half the New Testament.) I sort of believe in the Holy Ghost, and like the Muslims, I think this spirit to be a presence of God. In a sense of divine spirit, I am more Muslim than Christian, but do not subscribe to the Islamic social bonding rituals such as Ramadan, trip to Mecca, temperance, and so on. On the other hand the Islamic dedication to learning and caring for the less fortunate do appeal to me.