OVUUC Mission Statement

Statements that Guide the Leadership of OVUUC

Mission Statement

We are here to support each other's growth and well-being and represent liberal religious values and the Principles of Unitarian Universalism in our communities.

Behavioral Covenant

We covenant to be gentle with one another, and to approach each other with open minds and open hearts. We will protect the rights of our members, friends and guests to explore in an environment which promotes respect and is free of intrusions or encroachments on another's personal space, recognizing that others' boundaries and spiritual beliefs may differ from our own. We recognize that in any diverse population, conflict is inevitable. We agree to respond to such conflict as an opportunity to grow as we explore options to find solutions acceptable to all of us. When conflict does occur, those involved agree to take responsibility and address the problem directly, or through an impartial third party as needed and available.

Vision Statement

The Ohio Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation promotes, upholds, and defends the Principles and Purposes of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

We seek to create a warm welcoming home for a community of people of diverse beliefs, interests, and experiences, who depend on one another for support, care, friendship, and love.

We stand as a guardian of all that is nobly human:

Rationality and reason
Intellect and creativity
Caring and nurturing
Justice and equality
Freedom and responsibility
Idealism and optimism

We seek to cultivate a garden of spiritual growth and enlightenment, to build a temple, a place of worship, where life is celebrated and honored, and where its mysteries are explored.

We seek to provide religious education for people of all ages, and to inspire all to discover as much as each is able, our relation to the Ultimate.

We seek to serve as a fountainhead of social action and outreach in the greater community.

We seek to extend our care, concern, and influence outward, both locally and globally, and to recognize and exercise ministry to a troubled world.

We seek to provide a haven for searching, seeking, questioning minds, for open, generous, giving hearts, and for vital, energetic, growing spirits.

Principles and Purposes of the Unitarian Universalist Association

We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote:

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.

The living tradition we share draws from many sources:

Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces that create and uphold life;
Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love and by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;
Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions, which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

Grateful for the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision. As free congregations we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support.