COME AS YOU ARE

At Sunday services, members and visitors dress casually.  Hey, it’s the weekend!  We should relax and enjoy ourselves!  We want everyone to feel comfortable and welcome.

WE WELCOME YOU!

On Sunday mornings, every person coming through the door is personally greeted with a big smile and given a Sunday bulletin.  Our community believes in hospitality.   We are a friendly and diverse bunch, walking a mix of faith paths: Buddhist, atheist, Christian, pagan, agnostic, gnostic, and many more.  We practice acceptance and tolerance and seek to understand what we share across all our spiritual journeys.   We are proud to have earned the official title of a Welcoming Congregation.  If it is your first time visiting the Fellowship, your greeter will introduce you to folks, help you fill out a nametag, answer any questions, and show you where to find the coffee pot.

CHILDREN’S RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Usually, the children meet separately during the time that adults are in the Sunday service.  (See the Religious Education tab.)

SERVICE AND HOMILY

Our service begins at 10:45 am with informal announcements.  This is a good time to hear about what the congregation is up to: gardening projects, book clubs, board meetings, and community service.  In our lay-led congregation, almost everything at the UU is done by our members.  (See Events)

Considering the diversity of our community, it is probably no surprise that every UUFMC Sunday is a little different.  To get a feel for our Sunday services, you really need to visit more than once.  Services begin with a beautiful prelude and a call to service.  We love all kinds of music at the UUFMC, so we have a choir called the U-Notes, a contemporary music group called the U-Band, and a classically-trained pianist.  So you can imagine how different one Sunday might be from another!

Different members lead our services each Sunday, welcoming everyone, guiding us through lighting the chalice, joining us in shared readings and songs. inviting us to contribute what we can during the offertory, and introducing our speaker.  The lighted chalice is a well-known symbol of Unitarian Universalism.  Our speakers’ homilies range across myriad topics, from religion and spirituality, to art, social justice, and celebrating special holidays.  Homilies are about twenty minutes long, often followed by questions and discussion.  (See the Past Homilies tab.)   About half of our speakers are invited and paid, and the other half are our members.  We like both of these!

No matter what the topic, we try to end every service by noon, with a sung benediction and extinguishing of the chalice.  It’s the weekend, and people’s lives are calling to them!

AFTER THE SERVICE

Following the service, join members of our congregation in the fellowship hall for refreshments and visiting.  Meet some people.  Members will be happy to talk with you, answer questions, or show you around.  The second Sunday of every month is called Community Sunday: a second plate is passed for a community organization, we collect for local food banks, and we have a delicious potluck after the service.  Everyone is welcome at the potluck, whether they brought a dish or not.  There is always plenty of food!