The Unitarian Universalist Church in Meriden — Attraction in Meriden

My husband and I decided to try this church but our first Sunday service consisted of mainly fear-mongering. We thought we'd give it another shot because everyone there seems nice for the most part but when we returned 2 weeks later for a midweek service things turned very bad. There were only seven of us in the entire building for that service. The Host of the service took it upon herself to lock us into the building for most of the service. Only one person in the room had the key to the door which meant that if any of us wanted to get out or needed to get out in an emergency we couldn't without that one person and their key. Locking a public place while people are inside with no fire exit is completely illegal. The host was very ill and 15 minutes into the service had to run to the bathroom so she could vomit. She then returned to the service as if nothing had happened making sure to shake everyones hand after she coughed into it. During this service, the host wanted us to practice a pagan ritual. Our problem was not with the ritual. Our problem was being accused of discrimination after we tried to express our fears of hate crimes. The ritual involved all of us standing around a literally burning cauldron on the roadside front yard of the church. We were concerned about making ourselves victims of hate crimes as this service happened at night in the pitch dark on the front lawn next to a main road. Anyone could have harmed us out there. We could have had things thrown at us by passing cars or had been shot in a drive by shooting. We were made to be vulnerable to hate crimes which is not what this church is supposed to be about. We were scorned for trying to defend our own safety. The host seemed very defensive and not intrested in hearing our side of things. In fact, like I said, we were accused of being discriminatory towards certain religions when all we were doing was protecting ourselves. They did not have to lock us in the building. They have an alarm that can be set to beep as an alert when any door is opened. Locking all the doors was controlling and unecessary. Accusing us of discrimination because we don't want to be beat up or shot dead on the front lawn of a church due to hate crimes is way out of line. We do not recommend anyone go to this church and we will never attend...

I walked into this church almost 2 years ago with my toddler son and very pregnant with my daughter. They were having their annual tag sale and everyone was super friendly. I then decided to try it out. I have never felt more at home at church in my life. Everyone is welcome to hold on to their own belief system. We are a very open-minded place to worship. You will never have any one religion stuffed down your throat but will surely learn a lot about all religions. It isn't just about religion either. We are peaceful people that want to make this world a better more tolerant place to live. Our children have Religious Education on Sundays and every year, they learn about something different and are encouraged to think outside of the box as long as they are kind and loving. A liberal religion might not be the right fit for everyone but no one will ever force you to believe in something you don't or be mean to you for believing what you do. We are a loving community and welcome everyone to come and bring with you your ideas. We may have some pretty good discussions and will not always agree with each other but we respect each other's thoughts and ideas. I am happy to raise my children with everyone here and also to help teach the UU children because there is no one...

I have been a member of this congregation on and off for more than 20 years. It is an inclusive, thoughtful group of that truly do their best to stand on the side of love. All are included - all are valued - and although, standing on the side of love (or anything else) can occasionally feel a little vulnerable -the members of this church do it anyway. And they invite those that are willing and able to join them ....while still valuing those that are not yet able. This is truly a safe environment - both literally and...