Cedarhurst Unitarian Universalists

Welcome …

Welcome again to our web site, and thanks for your interest. We are a liberal religious community serving the needs of people within parts of both Baltimore and Carroll Counties. I started my service in the summer of 2001, after spending most of my years in New England. As is the case with many members of Cedarhurst Unitarian Universalist (CUU), I did not start out UU, but came to this denomination after many years of searching. Let me share a bit of my story.

Biographical Information …

Religion has almost always been of great value for me, even though it has taken different forms: from Roman Catholicism to Anglicanism and finally to Unitarian Universalism. Although all four of my grandparents were Catholic, my grandmother converted from the Methodist faith she was brought up with in Nova Scotia in order to marry. She has told us stories about my great grandfather and how important his faith was for him. It is good to have some Protestant blood in the family!

However, I was brought up with a strict form of Roman Catholicism. I remember being in seventh grade and reading most of the Bible in order to get a “plenary indulgence” which would insure my soul’s entrance into heaven. The religion I was raised in contained negative and positive elements. It was a philosophy stressing sin but also forgiveness, obedience yet also joy, judgment but also kindness. Like most things in life, it was a mixture of good and bad.

Through my studies and experience, I have found we can do better. One of the main reasons for my wanting to be a minister is to help people find their own better ways of living. We should take what is good from the past and reformulate what is bad. The notions of hell and of a punitive judgment for not having a strong faith are examples of faulty doctrines.

I went to college at the UMASS, Amherst. Fortunately, the reputation of the school as “Zoo-Mass” reflected upon only a small portion of the student body and not at all upon the excellent faculty! Religious studies was my major. Visiting Israel and Rome gave first-hand knowledge of the geography of the Bible. It was quite a thrill to step on the very stones of Herod’s Temple upon which Jesus walked and to swim in the Sea of Galilee! I planned to go to seminary and become an Episcopalian. Harvard Divinity School seemed to be the most interesting place to pursue these goals. There, I found a basis for a more inclusive and liberal approach to theology. In my last year of Divinity School, I completed a six-week course in mainland China. We visited temples and places of cultural importance in Hong Kong, Canton, Beijing, Shanghai and Xian. The highlight of the trip was visiting a two hundred foot statue of the Buddha (the world’s largest) carved into the side of a mountain.

Since I was no longer convinced that Jesus was the “Son of God,” I became a Unitarian Universalist where my liberal spirituality could find a home at last. In 1989, I entered Boston University to start a Ph.D. in religious studies. While in the doctoral program, I served as Ministerial Intern at First Parish Unitarian in Norwell, Massachusetts, the church which ordained me. By the end of the internship, I better understood what calls Unitarian Universalists to church: the need for meaning in life, a sense of wonder at our multi-faceted universe, a desire to live ethically and generously in a supportive community, a place for children to be brought up morally and sensitive to higher human values, a quest for spirituality, and for many a belief in God, Spirit or Goodness. I have found being a minister enormously fulfilling because it allows me to help provide a place where people can develop and share their insight, talents and compassion.

In 1992, I met a doctoral student in the field of health policy named Linda Wastila during a climb of Mt. Monadnock. Linda studies the economics and availability of prescription drugs. Her hobbies include ceramic art, lampworking glass, gourmet cooking, and writing poetry and novels. My hobbies include running, piano and gardening. We spent our honeymoon traveling from Scotland to Italy where I still have relatives.

As I have seasoned, I have realized that liberal religion is for many an important way of finding solace in the world. How can we bring up children so that the questionable religious doctrines many of us were raised with will be absent? I believe that our UU values are the best set of beliefs to give to the next generation. Linda and I are now blessed with two children, Will and Lea. These new miracles give my sense of ministry an even greater immediacy.

Since completing my doctorate, I have served several churches in Massachusetts. I have served CUU since 2001. Additionally, I fulfill and educational calling as an adjunct professor, teaching humanities, philosophy and religious studies.

Speaking of my past ministerial positions makes me think of your probable interest in my theology. Christian themes, although included, are not exclusive for me. Instead, I emphasize ideas from all the world’s religions and literatures. In my view, psychology, science and philosophy also contribute valuable insights regarding life and which should inform UU worship and belief. I mention God, Goddess and Spirit for I am a spiritual person–at least part of the time, and especially in the garden! I am also interested in how we can live with social and psychological wholeness. Unitarian Universalism is not only about faith, but about fidelity–commitment to our values for changing the world into one of freedom, justice and love. Thus, it is fair to say that I am not a Christian but take from the Christian tradition, nor am I a humanist but take from the humanist tradition, and likewise I am not a Hindu, Buddhist or Daoist, but find inspiration in those, and other, great traditions.

Rev. Henry Simoni-Wastila