Hope in the dark

Looking for hope in the cold and dark?

So are we, the Unitarians.

What is hope, anyway?

So many narratives of hope are remembered at this time of year.

Ask at the Ringwood Meeting House and History Centre

What a wonderful building this is. 

What Unitarians are saying in 2013 in Ringwood coffee houses

So if you have stayed with this blog so far, what's first then?  Well, let's do what humans always want to do when there's something to be talked about - sit down and have tea or coffee together.

We need, probably, to have some start point for our conversation.  What is the Unitarian message? 

Unitarians in Ringwood do it large

"Alain de Botton makes the point that ALL of us struggle with life.  And religion dispels the huge myth that ‘everyone else is coping, I’m the only one who’s not managing to hold my life together’.  This is one of the most wonderful consolations and encouragements that I have gained from being a Christian - realising that we ALL have problems, struggle, make mistakes and suffer.  This is so different from the modern religion of consumerism, which pretends that life is easy, and that if we are struggling there is something wrong with us!  Thanks so much Alain!"
By a Spiritual Atheist, attending the Unitarian Church in Bristol

This rather neatly describes some of what it is that people get from being part of any spiritual or religious community.  Consolation and encouragement.  These are wonderful things, and those of us who find them in our Unitarian communities get

How Unitarians make it happen

If you haven't heard of Unitarians before, you may be wondering whether it's new, or a cult, or foreign, or what.  A look at the theology link on Wikipedia and the BBC website will add to what is available on the UK Unitarians website history page.  What this blog and this post are about is how Unitarians in Ringwood would fit into the national scene for Unitarians in UK.

Unitarians do it together

So: a bit more about the way faith is dealt with by Unitarians might be useful before you go any further.  Have a look at the other blogs at the bottom of this blog to see what sort of things Unitarians are saying at the moment.  Then at the link you can download

Unitarians alive and well in Ringwood in 2013

There are Unitarians in Ringwood.  It's just that they don't yet call themselves Unitarians because they don't know the name "Unitarian".  The thing about being a Unitarian is that there is no rule about what a Unitarian is.  Some say it's about hope, some say it's about