How Being A Christian At A Unitarian Universalist Camp Helped Me Love Better
Start writing a post
Lifestyle

How Being A Christian At A Unitarian Universalist Camp Helped Me Love Better

I’m a Christian, but I haven’t always been good at it.

96
How Being A Christian At A Unitarian Universalist Camp Helped Me Love Better
Louise Ille

I remember it like it was yesterday: the day I was a sassy little Christian kid at a Unitarian Universalist camp. My dad was an Evangelical Christian and my mom was a Unitarian Universalist. They got divorced when I was little, so I took turns going to each of their respective churches or congregations every Sunday. I remember it like it was yesterday, the day in which there was a skit about the beginning of Unitarian Universalism.

In summary, a group of Christians were chanting, “People were born bad!” and a group of Universalists were chanting, “People were born good!” That didn’t line up with what I was taught in Sunday school. We’re all sinners, so Jesus came to save us, I thought. This skit is wrong.

Probably more rudely than I would like to remember, I told somebody exactly that and they accommodatingly adapted the skit. But I was confused. My parents picked religions of love, but very different ones. At one church, I learned that Jesus was the only way. At another church, I learned that there are many ways. It was confusing for an eight-year-old.

Flash forward to last week. I am 22 and I follow Jesus. I sort of ran away from the Unitarian Universalist world in more ways than one, and I had prodigally returned in the form of working at a U.U. camp at a U.U. Retreat Center where my mom was the director.

A really good friend of my mom was the minister for the camp, and she called me asking for help because a counselor dropped out last minute and they were desperate for a female counselor to watch over a bunk of eighth grade girls overnight. I wanted to help out, so I was pretty happy to say yes. I felt like God was giving me a second chance to love these people. During the meeting of counselor training, the director asked the group if we had any concerns before camp started.

“Is it OK that I’m not the same religion as you?

But I only asked that in my head.

The week passed and so did my worries. As a follower of Jesus, I believe that God is love, so my only agenda for the week was to love people the unconditional way that Jesus loves me. And that was really easy. There was never a dramatic moment where I felt like I couldn't be myself.

Brennan Manning once wrote, "My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.” So, I just lived like that. I didn’t have to give a speech about why Unitarian Universalism is the best religion. I didn’t have to renounce my belief in Jesus.

Here’s what I did do. I helped a crying, homesick 11-year-old girl smile. I tucked a fourth grader into bed. I gave high-fives to exhausted counselors. I let eighth grade girls stay up a little late to talk past curfew. I moved a lot of yoga mats around. I was nice, even when I was freakishly tired. I clapped and cheered super loudly at the talent show. I gave as many hugs as I could. And I just loved people. I looked into people's pretty eyes and I saw my own reflection—and I decided to make that reflection as loving as possible.

And in a moment, I realized that’s all I really have to do. When an 11-year-old girl came to me crying and I saw her sweet brown eyes looking back at me, I wasn’t thinking about theology, I was thinking about her. When a shy eighth grader learns how to play the steel drums and is amazing at it, I’m not thinking about theology, I’m thinking about her.

"You are amazing!" I say with a really big smile that probably makes me look like a crazy person.

She blushes so sweetly and says, "Thank you," with a smile that could melt any cold thing in the human heart.

I think there’s this unspoken rule that you have to tell people if you disagree with them. I had a lot of different ideas than the people who I was friends with at camp, but love wasn’t one of them. At the end of the day, is it more important that they know I disagree with them about who God is or is it more important that they know that I love them? Better yet, that God loves them?

At the end of the day, how do you think Jesus would treat that person who you avidly disagree with? I think He would look past every silly thing we see, and just love the hell out of that person.

(Pun intended.)

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
a man and a woman sitting on the beach in front of the sunset

Whether you met your new love interest online, through mutual friends, or another way entirely, you'll definitely want to know what you're getting into. I mean, really, what's the point in entering a relationship with someone if you don't know whether or not you're compatible on a very basic level?

Consider these 21 questions to ask in the talking stage when getting to know that new guy or girl you just started talking to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Challah vs. Easter Bread: A Delicious Dilemma

Is there really such a difference in Challah bread or Easter Bread?

18072
loaves of challah and easter bread stacked up aside each other, an abundance of food in baskets
StableDiffusion

Ever since I could remember, it was a treat to receive Easter Bread made by my grandmother. We would only have it once a year and the wait was excruciating. Now that my grandmother has gotten older, she has stopped baking a lot of her recipes that require a lot of hand usage--her traditional Italian baking means no machines. So for the past few years, I have missed enjoying my Easter Bread.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

Unlocking Lake People's Secrets: 15 Must-Knows!

There's no other place you'd rather be in the summer.

946679
Group of joyful friends sitting in a boat
Haley Harvey

The people that spend their summers at the lake are a unique group of people.

Whether you grew up going to the lake, have only recently started going, or have only been once or twice, you know it takes a certain kind of person to be a lake person. To the long-time lake people, the lake holds a special place in your heart, no matter how dirty the water may look.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 10 Reasons My School Rocks!

Why I Chose a Small School Over a Big University.

123306
man in black long sleeve shirt and black pants walking on white concrete pathway

I was asked so many times why I wanted to go to a small school when a big university is so much better. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure a big university is great but I absolutely love going to a small school. I know that I miss out on big sporting events and having people actually know where it is. I can't even count how many times I've been asked where it is and I know they won't know so I just say "somewhere in the middle of Wisconsin." But, I get to know most people at my school and I know my professors very well. Not to mention, being able to walk to the other side of campus in 5 minutes at a casual walking pace. I am so happy I made the decision to go to school where I did. I love my school and these are just a few reasons why.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lots of people sat on the cinema wearing 3D glasses
Pinterest

Ever wonder what your friend meant when they started babbling about you taking their stapler? Or how whenever you ask your friend for a favor they respond with "As You Wish?" Are you looking for new and creative ways to insult your friends?

Well, look no further. Here is a list of 70 of the most quotable movies of all time. Here you will find answers to your questions along with a multitude of other things such as; new insults for your friends, interesting characters, fantastic story lines, and of course quotes to log into your mind for future use.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments