Unitarian Christian Church of America
We warmly welcome you to the UCCA. We believe we are a “faith whose time has come, indeed a faith for today.” Our aim is not to impose a specific belief but to unite with others to promote, educate, and improve a “way of living” in harmony and peace with everyone.
The world we live in is not what God intended for it to be. The old ways no longer work, nor are they relevant; it is time for an “awakening.” Our spiritual needs are unmet as we have evolved, creating a growing spiritual and moral void that must be addressed.
We invite you to join us in becoming the revival that awakens humanity into the next century and beyond. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us. The time is right, the need is clear, and the answer is waiting.
"First, liberty, freedom of the individual to think, think as he will or think as he must; but not liberty for the sake of itself. Liberty for the sake of finding the truth"
- Minot J. Savage, Our Unitarian Gospel (p. 9).
A FAITH WHOSE TIME HAS COME
A FAITH FOR TODAY
A Message for Today's World
We sincerely hope you'll find a comfortable and welcoming environment and new home here with us. When we come together, our goal is not to impose personal faith or judge honest individual differences. Instead, we strive to unite through our love for God and to live in truth, peace, and love for all humankind and all of God’s creation.
As our Platform may be unfamiliar to you, we invite you to take this opportunity to learn more about who we are and what we believe. The UCCA is genuinely committed to a “faith whose time has come, indeed, a faith for today.”
We welcome everyone who chooses to participate in living our Platform. Those who actively practice our Universal Principle embodied within our Foundational Beliefs and to the best of their abilities, live the faith we share as a way of life, not just a statement made when convenient or appropriate.
OUT OF CONTROL
April 18, 2026
“Some things are under our control, while others are not under our control… in a word, everything that is not our own doing” – Epictetus, Enchiridion
This is a simple distinction that many of us miss.
We tend to believe we have more control than we actually do. We try to manage outcomes, shape other people’s responses, and secure the future against uncertainty. We plan, we worry, we rehearse. And when things do not unfold as we wish or as we expect, the result is frustration, anxiety, or a sense that the world is somehow wrong or that we may have left something undone.
We must realize, though, that much of what we try to control was never ours to begin with.
We cannot control how others think, how they respond, or what they choose. We do not control timing, chance, or the broader movements of events. We can influence some things in small ways, but influence should never be confused with control. Treating influence as control places a weight on us that we were not built to carry.
What we do have is admittedly more limited, but it is also more reliable. We have control over how we respond, how we act, what we give our attention to, and the kind of person we choose to be in a given moment. Those are not small things, they’re everything we’re meant to focus on. They are the foundation of a stable life.
Trying to control everything is of course futile, but the real problem for us is that trying to control everything eventually breaks us. It creates a constant tension between what is and what we decide (in our infinite wisdom) ought to be. The wider that gap becomes, the more pressure we feel if we try to take control. A person can spend their entire life trying to close that gap, only to find it never fully closes.
There’s a healthier way to stand.
It begins by recognizing the limits of control, not as a failure, but as a fact. When we accept reality as it is, our focus shifts. Instead of trying to manage everything, a person learns to act well within their own sphere of control. Those things we can’t control become merely the terrain in which we learn to live good lives.
Jesus is recorded as saying, “Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will worry about itself.” Nobody is certain what tomorrow holds, and worrying does not give you any more control over tomorrow. What you can control are your attitudes and actions today, right now. Jesus called his disciples to live in the present. Today, we might call that living a grounded life.
A more grounded life isn’t passive, but it is selective. It takes responsibility where responsibility is real and releases what was never ours to hold. It allows uncertainty to exist without treating it as an emergency that requires all of our attention. This does not remove difficulty, but changes how we meet it.
A person who follows Jesus in this teaching understands what is within their control and therefore stands differently than the anxious world today. Such a person is not pulled in every direction. They are not dependent on everything going their way. They act where they can, and they accept where they must. They trust that in God’s universe, all things will work together for an ultimate good.
Jesus wished his followers to be stable people. Let’s rise to that challenge.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10
Rev. Dr. Brian J. Kelley
Executive Pastor, Unitarian Christian Church of America (UCCA)
A Layman's Perspective Series
The Bible—Article VIII in a series
April 15, 2026
Is the Bible the “Infallible word of God?” I don’t think so:
The Bible was not written by God but by Man, who by definition is imperfect, fallible. We also know that the Bishops who compiled the Biblical Canon in the Fourth Century C.E. were human and that they had political and theological bias—they needed to include gospel accounts which indicated Jesus’ divinity. The Bible has excluded other gospels such as those of Thomas and Mary, which do not indicate his divinity.
The Creation narratives (Genesis, ch 1-3) certainly aren’t the infallible word of God: With modern scientific knowledge, it is believed that the universe is about 13.8 billion years old, the Earth 4.5 billion, and they weren’t created in seven days. Fossil evidence has indicated the existence of simple life forms on Earth 3.6 billion years ago, and we know that humans evolved in Africa from earlier hominids 300 thousand years ago. God knows these facts—He is the Creator; the writers of Genesis 3,000 years ago did not.
The Bible contains at least 100 notable contradictions including questions of faith v. works (Romans 3:28 v. Matthew 19:17 v. James 2:26); seeing God (Genesis 32:30 v. John 1:18); and the stone at the tomb (Mark 16:4, Luke 24:2, John 20:1 v. Matthew 28: 2)--(All RSV). With so many contradictory verses, it is difficult to defend the Bible as “the infallible word of God”—If we view Him to be omniscient, we expect that His word would be consistent.
I believe that the Bible is a sacred but fallible text, full of spiritual inspiration, particularly the teachings of Jesus found in the New Testament which lead us to a Godly way of life and to being “put right with God.”
Carroll “Chip” Fossett
UCCA General Council
What is the 21st Century Message from the UCCA?
The very nature of Unitarianism is diversity. We are definitively a non-creedal people, so we don't ask that people subscribe to any particular system of beliefs the way many of those other 40,000 churches do.
I see our role as sharing our understanding of those original teachings attributed to Jesus as we have them and supporting others in their journeys as they try to incorporate their own understandings of these teachings into their own lives, even insofar as we might differ in our understandings from theirs.
We have a basic framework for consistent messaging: things like one God, the human nature of Jesus, acceptance of all people, and the like. This will naturally attract people with similar mindsets, as there are myriad other options out there for trinitarians or more conservative, institutional religious expressions.
But if a trinitarian wants to listen to what I have to say or simply wants to fellowship, I'm personally not going to take the "You're wrong and I'm right" attitude with that person, you know? I'll speak honestly from my point of view and try to find common ground where we can be conduits for the love of God: strength through whatever unity we can build. Even if someone is loudly against my understanding, as far as my part is concerned, I will try and be peaceable and continue to offer what partnership may be possible. I think that's a core teaching of Jesus that's been lost in our divided world.
My vision of Modern Unitarian Christianity is not one that definitively has all the answers. Part of godly humility, to me, is the ability to say, "I don't know. Heck, I might be wrong. But this is my best understanding right now and it causes me to be a more loving, merciful, and hopeful individual." Maybe that's not the optimal view, but it works for me.
- Rev. Brian Kelley, Executive Pastor, UCCA
