From February’s InterConnections feature story, now online at UUA.org:

When a Unitarian Universalist group began to form in 2009 in suburban Cincinnati it wasn’t long before its members decided it needed a name. They thought about naming the new congregation for the town where they met, but then they opted for something different. “We noticed all these contemporary nondenominational Christian churches, which all had names like Wellspring and Crossroads,” says Lindsey Sodano, one of the organizers of the new group.

“Interestingly,” she says, “these congregations are our main competition when many liberal people look for a church. They go there mistakenly thinking the modern music and laid-back minister will translate to beliefs and values similar to theirs. After attending and listening to the anti-LGBT messages these visitors end up with us.”

Sodano’s group picked the name Harmony, a Unitarian Universalist Church. “We wanted to get on the radar of church shoppers, so we went with a modern one-word name,” she says. Other names considered were “Discovery” and “Beacon.”

Go to the full article.

About the Author

Sonja L. Cohen

Sonja L. Cohen is managing editor of InterConnections and senior editor of UU World magazine.