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| How to Get Involved | |||
| Sunday Services | |||
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We meet at 10:30 on Sunday mornings from September through May. The services usually include music, readings, a presentation by a minister or other speaker, and a chance to respond to the presentation. Casual dress is common and the service is less formal than many churches. A nursery is available for infants and toddlers. Older children participate in the first part of the service and then go to their religious education classes. The service usually ends about 11:45. Visitors are welcome. During the summer months, other activities may be scheduled. See Sunday Services & Events page. |
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After each Sunday morning service everyone is invited to stay for coffee in the large activity room. Refreshments are provided each week. The first Sunday of each month is Soup Sunday, when a soup and bread lunch is served. This is a time for conversation with the speaker or minister, discussion about the service, or just general socializing. |
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Adult RE: Frequent sessions of Adult Religious Education are offered. A wide variety of topics have been included in recent sessions. Examples of past topics include Ethics, Biology and Spirituality, Separation of Church and State, Thoreau's essay on Civil Disobedience, Humanism, and Quakerism. The sessions include readings and open discussion led by one or more Fellowship members. Due to the general nature of the Adult RE topics, it is easy for new members and guests to participate. For further information on dates and topics, contact the Adult RE Chair listed on the Contacts page. Children's RE: Classes are held for children and youth according to the ages of those participating. They attend the Sunday service for the first half of the program, including a Time for Children, and then are excused to their classes. The Fellowship also has nursery care for infants and toddlers. Children's Religious Education classes offer a variety of lessons, including world religions; right relations; social justice; and Unitarian Universalist history, values, and principles. The classes are planned and directed by educators, parents, and members of the Children's RE Committee. The children also plan and host up to five intergenerational programs each year, including a Christmas Eve program. They learn the purpose of holding services and develop their planning and presentational skills. These programs build bonds between the children and adult members of the Fellowship. We seek to provide a nurturing and growing experience for our children and youth as they develop into adult Unitarian Universalists. |
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Choir Our Fellowship Singers perform at almost every service and conduct several special Sunday musical programs each year, including Winter Solstice, Valentine's, and Mother's Day concerts. They also perform at area nursing homes, such as Country Manor and St. Benedict's Senior Community. |
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Many Fellowship members are individually active in the community on social justice issues. The role of the Social Justice Committee is to support these efforts as well as to provide a framework for collective action. Each year the committee identifies a social justice priority and an action plan. Our present focus is Ethical Eating. The committee has established a community garden behind the Fellowship building and has provided various educational events on this topic. In addition, the committee organizes ongoing social justice activities, such as Salvation Army bell ringing, food and financial support for our community battered women's shelter, participation in the annual St. Cloud Pride festival, and educational events on environmental issues. Our committee also partners with other religious groups, such as ISAIAH's Great River Interfaith Partnership (GRIP), to address community social justice concerns. Unitarian Universalists, in particular the St. Cloud UU Fellowship, are known for their strong social justice focus. We encourage and welecome new members who have an interest in and passion for justice. |
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| Becoming a Member Most people visit UUF services a few times before they decide to become a voting member of the congregation. While membership is not required to participate in most aspects of church life, such as attending events and classes, only members may vote on matters that come before the congregation. To become a member, you contact the minister or someone on the Membership Committee and sign the membership book. If you are new to Unitarian Universalism, it is helpful to attend New Member Orientation classes when they are offered. There you will learn about the history of our religious movement and about our congregation. |
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The UUF Community Garden consists of 12 8X8 individual plots and a 20X30 common garden. Neighbors and community members are invited to participate along with Fellowship members. A wide variety of standard crops are tended and grown. Individuals care for their own plots. Those who work in the common garden share the harvest and donate excess produce to the Catholic Charities food shelf. |
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| Contributions People may give to the Fellowship in a variety of ways, including active participation, financial contributions, and in-kind donations of material and labor. Visitors and non-members are invited to make financial contributions during the Offering at our Sunday Service. In the spring all members are asked to look ahead to the coming fiscal year, which starts July 1, and assist planning by making a financial pledge of the amount they intend to give during the next year. There's also a chance to complete a volunteer survey and indicate how they want to be involved in the coming year. |
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| Circle
Dinners Circle Dinners involve small groups of 7 to 10 people who enjoy having dinner together. The style is casual and potluck, the talk is good, and the food delicious. Each group arranges its own schedule, but most groups get together about every 4 to 6 weeks. Members of the Circle usually host one dinner during the year. Circle Dinners provide an opportunity to get to know Fellowship people well and have a good time. Each fall the Circles are reorganized, giving a chance to be with a different group of people for the next year. Members as well as non-members are encouraged to participate. |
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| Book
Group Book lovers get together to discuss books with a diverse range of topics. Fiction and non-fiction books are selected by participants on a rotating basis. The books are read and then presented and discussed at the monthly meeting in the warm atmosphere of members' homes over coffee, other beverages, and treats. |
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| How to Get Involved | Children and Youth | Minister's Page | Map & Directions |
| Contacts | Links |