Calling all UU Christians

Last night I had a long conversation with one of the members of our UU Christian Circle. We weren't able to meet this summer because of scheduling conflicts, but we are meeting again on Sunday, August 12. That meeting is going to be a discussion of "where are we now and where are we going".

In addition to being a member of our circle, she is also our DRE so she was at GA in June. She attended a couple of the UUCF discussions for (I think) the first time and discovered the concept of the Emergent Church. She noticed that much of the UUCF discussion was different from what we had been doing. I'm not sure exactly what she meant by that, but my guess was that we have been more of a study group (with the feel of a book discussion group, frankly) rather than a worship group. However, our group is growing in size and evolving spirituality so we are kind of all over the place. We need to discuss where each of us is coming from and what we want to get out of the group. We are also going to discuss more of the format of our gatherings. We want to come up with some kind of vision for the future of our group.

We are not seeking to strike out on our own and form our own church so it isn't like a "house church" in that sense (if I am understanding that correctly). We are more of a small group within our UU church. For the past year or so we have met once a month in each other's homes. There are 4 members, but at least two other people are interested in joining. Many of us want to learn how it is possible to be a UU and a Christian (or even just a liberal Christian period). Some may consider themselves Christians while others are just curious and want to learn more.

We have discussed the two aspects of being liberally religious (thinking vs. feeling). In our UU church (as perhaps in others) a tendency toward "thinking" predominates while it seems most of our members shy away from (or don't trust) feelings. We are very cerebral. I think within our Christianity Circle, we want to achieve more balance between thinking and feeling. It is my opinion that we need to bring in more worship elements to inspire feeling and to balance out the thinking aspect that makes it sometimes feel like a book club.

Anyway, I'm calling on other UU Christian's out there for some input. How does your group (or ones you know of) practice? Do you have small worship services? Rituals? Bible study or study of other religious books? Music? I am really interested to know how other people, particularly those affiliated with the UUCF, practice Christianity. Any and all comments are welcome.