This story told one Sunday came out of a conversation with one of the parents, whose child had had a bad experience recently at a riding camp run by a "Christian" group. The child was pretty shaken up by the indoctrination she got, and doubting what she believed in herself -- maybe she really was going to go to hell. The mother had talked with her child but also called me, saying, "I think this may be a bit beyond me." I decided it (not the incident, but the topic) was worth dealing with in the congregation as a whole. There were some good responses. The child in question was very quiet and didn't say anything but was listening attentively (her parents were both teary-eyed).

Whenever I meet with a group of people like I did the other night at our Orientation Meeting, I enjoy hearing people's stories. It's always interesting to hear the stories of other people, to hear their experiences. People often say they never heard of Unitarian or Universalists when they were growing up. They tell about growing up as a Catholic or a member of the United Church or something else. Sometimes they say they loved it and sometimes they say it was pretty painful. I find that I am almost always the only one who grew up as a Unitarian Universalist. When I tell my story, someone always says, "You were so lucky to grow up in the Universalist church." I say, "Well, I guess so."

But I want to tell you, it doesn't always feel so lucky to be a UU kid. Sometimes it is very hard. My schoolmates and playmates were kids who grew up as Catholics and Lutherans and Methodists and Jews. I was the only one in my school, except for my brother and sister, who was a Universalist. It can be pretty lonely. Of course, we didn't talk about religion that much, but when we did sometimes my friends would tell me I was going to hell, because I didn't believe the right things.

My church taught me that Jesus was a good man and a good teacher, but he was not God. And my church taught me that there was no place called hell, where God sent those who were bad, to burn forever and ever. No such place as hell. And my church taught me that God was not a person -- not a Father like so many believed, but that God was a spirit of Love, which is deep inside of us, like a bright light. Maybe sometimes that light is a bit dim, but it is in each of us, no matter what our religion. My church also taught me that we don't have all the answers -- not about God or the universe, or about life and death. I was taught that there are things we don't know for sure.

Well, when that's the kind of teaching you get, that we don't have all the answers and that there are some things we aren't certain about, when you are up against someone who says they do have the answers and they are absolutely certain that you are wrong in your religion, it's not easy! It doesn't always feel lucky to be a UU kid. Have some of you had experiences like that? How does it feel for you? Even for adults, it isn't always easy. What can we say back, when we are pushed to believe as others do?

Maybe we can say, "In my religion we believe it is wrong to try to make other people believe what we do. We believe that the one thing that matters more than anything else is how we treat each other. If we are kind to each other and don't hurt each other, that's what matters, no matter what our religion is. We believe that we have to help each other and try to work together to make the world a better place. If we can all agree on how to treat each other, we don't have to all agree on our beliefs; we don't have to all be the same religion. So don't tell me I am bad or wrong because I don't believe what you do. That hurts me."

It's not always easy to be a UU kid. If it gets hard sometimes, let's talk about it and figure out together how to make it easier.