We are a liberal religious institution. That one statement defines everything about us. It runs through each and every thing we do, and it connects all those disparate parts into a whole. That is who we were, who we are, and who we will continue to be. The history of our church cannot be told without telling the history of social justice and progressive issues in our community. Those issues are woven into the being of this church. We reflect, take part in, and often create, the forward movement of our community. Examples of this are found throughout our history in such actions as the Civil Rights campaign, community recycling,  involvement with Quad-Citiens Affirming Diversity, Planned Parenthood, and, currently, work with Quad-Cities Progressive Action for the Common Good.
        Anyone who drives by our busy intersection cannot help but notice our distinctive building and vast green space on an otherwise typical suburban thoroughfare. There is something different here. The best image of who we are today is the "beacon on the hill," our building. When the architect designed our present church, he saw that it was our nature to let people in and to share ourselves with our community.  He symbolized that in our sanctuary with floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides. All are welcome, and we have nothing to hide.
        As individuals, we come from a variety of religious backgrounds, but we all feel we have found something special here. Very few of us were raised as Unitarian-Universalists, yet we all share similar personal histories, similar religious journeys. This binds us together in our relationships with one another and impacts all that we do.
        With any such group, there is always the ebb and flow of change. But some traits always run through our membership. We have an ability to stay in the present, and yet still be open to see new possibilities and to integrate new ways of doing things. And, as our history shows us, we respond to what is going on in our community.
        Our church is a safe place to grow outside of our comfort zones. It sustains our intellects and the spiritual dimensions of our lives. Here we find a community of like-minded people and have the opportunity to make connections with those we fit in with.

        One of our first tasks in the Learning Team was to discern just what kind of church we are. That is, what do we expect of our church as a congregation? We found that we equally identified with what Alice Mann terms the Golden Rule and Sanctuary church cultures. (We rated ourselves a 4.0 out of 5.0 on each of these measures.)
        As "Golden Rulers", rather than being concerned with "answering life's great questions or developing a coherent theological system", we look for practices that bring meaning into our lives. Church is where we feed our souls and connect with something greater than ourselves. Our church also serves as our sanctuary. It is where we come for the "fuel" to keep going. It helps us put life into perspective and look inward for at least a little while so that we can continue to deal with the exterior parts of our lives the rest of the week.
        To Golden-Rulers, "the most important task of the church is to service people in need." As we are in need ourselves, our primary goal is to help ourselves through the giving of ourselves. Many of us give of our time and our talents to our church. Some of us do so quite extensively.  By serving the church, we fill the needs of others and ourselves at the same time. It is a process of loving and being loved, of feeding and being fed.
        Our Caring Committee is a good example of the connection between our congregational identity and our desire to nurture each other and our need for empowerment. This Committee endeavors to fulfill these desires and needs in accordance with its mission statement, "We strive ‘to affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person' and to conduct a ministry of hope and caring so that members of our congregation can feel connected." The Committee has created four caring teams to carry out this work: an illness team, a new parents team, an elderly/shut-in team, and a bereavement team. They maintain a database of congregants who have volunteered to help in many ways, big and small, to fulfill our mission. Every week there are phone calls, cards, visits, offers of food, and other varied forms of support offered and supplied.
        Our church is a refuge from the surrounding world for many interesting people with diverse interests. It also functions as a networking place for those who are involved in many different places and with many other people and causes. In the case of our church, the whole is not greater than the sum of the parts. Rather, it is the sum of the parts that is greater than the whole. As a refuge and sanctuary, the whole strengthens the individual parts and keeps them going. As a meeting place, it forms the connections that make the parts stronger. It is in the sum of the parts that we are impressive.

        In addition to "Golden Rule" and "Sanctuary", Mann describes three other church cultures - Activist, Civic, and Evangelistic. The Civic culture involves promoting "the public good through involvement with existing social and economic institutions. There is a strong sense of Civic culture in our church, and we rated ourselves 3.5 out of 5.0. It is important to remember that here we are looking at the Civic culture of the church as a whole, and not the outside activities of individual members. Our church considers it important that our members are aware of civic issues, as is reflected in places such as our Sunday morning forums. We are involved in the broader community through such actions as giving a portion of our cash collection to outside groups,  supporting the Candelas project in Guatemala, participating in soup kitchens, giving desk space to QC Progressive Action, etc.
        An Activist culture is when the congregation "speak(s) out on issues and engage(s) in corporate action, working for social change." While we frequently work with outside organizations, we do not often become actively involved in specific causes as a congregation. The Learning Team rated our church a 1.5 as an Activist culture. Most of us are not the type of people who can easily engage in one-to-one social action. Instead, we prefer to focus on change in the big picture, and to act accordingly. This probably explains why our Civic culture scores so much higher than our Activist culture.
        In an Evangelistic culture, church members are "encouraged to witness to their faith, sharing the message ... with those outside the fellowship." Here, we rated ourselves a 1.0. Not only do we have no tradition of this, but in certain ways it conflicts with our belief of respect for other religions.

        How decisions are made is an important part of the identity of any church. As a church, we value the democratic process in decision-making; it is one of our seven principles. We expect inclusiveness when decisions are made and members want to know that their voices have been heard. Our goal is consensus, but we are realistic enough to know that it is not always possible.
        As with any organization, there is always opposition to change. In fact, we are often the most vocal during times of change. Minority opinions can be strong. Sometimes the process of disagreement is as much the issue as the content of the disagreement. Still, there are few issues that tear the fabric of the church. However, when that does happen it can be severe. Some recent examples are the tree issue and the ban on smoking in the church.
        Reportedly, for many years an unofficial group held undue influence over church decisions. During these years, the Board was not as forceful in determining policy on the most important issues. Beginning with the 1994 smoking, power shifted to the Board.
        Working together, we have experienced many successes over the years. Examples include making the addition to the building when it wasn't thought possible, putting together the Covenant of Right Relations, the vote on the two year interim ministry, and, most recently, the Cool Campaign.