New to FUUSS
Welcome.
You are always welcome at First UU. We are embracing of many beliefs, welcoming of all genders and sexual orientations, and increasingly accessible to people of all abilities.
We change lives for the better.
As you explore our website and learn about our location, feel free to contact us with your questions. We look forward to meeting you and helping you find what you need.
With love at the center,
The First UU community
Worship Service Details.
Directions
First UU is located at the corner of Waring Road and Nottingham Road. You can find the Google map here.
Parking
We have plenty of parking in our large lower parking lot which has an entrance both on Nottingham and on Waring, there are three handicapped parking spots in this lot. We have an upper parking lot, whose entrance is on Waring just at the corner of Nottingham and Waring. This is all handicapped parking and this parking lot is adjacent to our Sanctuary entrance which is completely accessible.
Accessibility.
Mobility
Our building is fully accessible to those using wheelchairs or mobility aids. We have an elevator to the sanctuary from the back of fellowship hall and a lift to the education wing from the front of fellowship hall. We have accessible and all gender bathrooms on each floor.
Sight
Large print hymnals and Orders of Service are always available. We also have a braille hymnal. Please ask any usher for assistance. If you would like an orientation tour of the campus during the week, contact the church office to make arrangements.
Hearing
We have assistive hearing devices that work with the sound system in our sanctuary and ear plugs if things are too loud.
COMMUNITY HEALTH
Our church is dedicated to radical, preemptive hospitality (this term comes from CB Beal at Peace and Justice Consulting). We hope to be ready to welcome whoever comes in the door.
Based on our values of radical hospitality, we are committed to ensuring the safety of our most vulnerable members to the greatest extent possible. We at First UU recognize the importance of community care. One of the ways we chose to care for our communities is to continue COVID mitigations.
You can find high quality masks for your use outside the sanctuary and just inside the doors from the parking lot
Air purifiers are used in every room. We track CO2 and particulates and will increase ventilation when needed.
We ask that if you have symptoms of illness, please stay home. We offer a Zoom option for many of our events and for all Sunday services
The third Sunday of the month we offer a mask-required service and we will always require masks when wastewater COVID levels are at 50% or higher.
Our “Still COVIDing” group offers many mask-required events and social opportunities. Follow us on Facebook or request to join our weekly email for more information.
Bringing Children?
Great! We love kids. People of all ages are welcome in our services. Some weeks our services are intentionally all ages and everyone stays in service. Some weeks we have children’s programming that begins partway through service. These weeks the children stay in service for about 15-20 minutes. There is a Time For All Ages, where often the children are invited forward for a story or conversation and then afterward the adults sing them out to their programming downstairs.
Our nursery is open every Sunday from 10:15-noon for children ages 5 and under.
Special Needs Children
If you want your child to participate in the religious education program and feel that they may require special accommodation, please contact the Lifespan Faith Development Director in advance so the best possible arrangements can be made. We want all children to feel welcomed.
What to Expect.
It can be a little scary to come to a new church. We get that. Our service starts at 10:30 am and it’s a good idea to get here a little early so you can get settled. When you arrive if you park in the lower parking lot walk on over to the glass entrance doors. There will be a friendly person there to greet you and help you find your way. After you enter you can go to your right, and then through our Fellowship Hall and either up the stairs or up in the elevator to the Sanctuary – the room where we hold our Sunday Service. If you have children with you they can come into worship with you or if you want to have them in childcare that is available to you. Instead of turning right go straight ahead and up about 6 stairs you would get to our childcare room.
During our Sunday Service we gather in worship to find meaning and live more deeply. Worship creates connections within, among, and beyond us, calling us to our better selves, calling us to live with wisdom and compassion.
Unitarian Universalist worship styles vary by congregation, and even within congregations. Some congregations’ worship is contemporary and high tech. Some congregations’ worship is traditional and formal. Some features exuberant music, some includes long periods of silent reflection. Our congregation’s worship is authentic, meaningful, and fun.
Elements of a typical Unitarian Universalist Sunday morning worship service include:
From time to time, worships incorporate holiday celebrations, such as solstice, Christmas Eve, Yom Kippur, or Easter, multigenerational plays and pageants, longer musical performances, child dedications, and coming-of-age ceremonies. We offer childcare and learning programs for children and youth during the Sunday service.
After service there is a chance for conversation and coffee and snacks in our Fellowship Hall. We invite you to visit our welcome table and get a snack or two. We try to be sensitive to food sensitivities. We have part of our kitchen that is dedication Gluten Free, and we have a GF table of snacks. There is coffee and tea also. We will engage you in conversation and we will welcome you without being overbearing. Our coffee time is usually over by 12 noon – plenty of time to do other things with your day.
What to Wear
We are a pretty accepting and flexible group of folk. We have some people who dress up and other folks who wear what they would wear on any other day. You’ll see suits sitting next to tie-dye and jeans. We don’t care what you wear. We care about what is in your heart and how it is with your soul.
What We Believe.
In Unitarian Universalism, you can bring your whole self: your full identity, your questioning mind, your expansive heart.
Together, we create a force more powerful than one person or one belief system. As Unitarian Universalists, we do not have to check our personal background and beliefs at the door: we join together on a journey that honors everywhere we’ve been before.
Our beliefs are diverse and inclusive. We have no shared creed. Rather we have a covenant and shared values.
We are united in our broad and inclusive outlook, and in our values, as expressed in our shared values. We are united in shared experience: our open and stirring worship services, religious education, and rites of passage; our work for social justice; our quest to include the marginalized; our expressions of love.
As Unitarian Universalists, we covenant, congregation-to-congregation and through our Association, to support and assist one another in our ministries. We draw from our heritages of freedom, reason, hope, and courage, building on the foundation of love.
Love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. We are accountable to one another for doing the work of living our shared values through the spiritual discipline of Love.
Inseparable from one another, these shared values are:
Interdependence
We honor the interdependent web of all existence. With reverence for the great web of life and with humility, we acknowledge our place in it.
We covenant to protect Earth and all beings from exploitation. We will create and nurture sustainable relationships of care and respect, mutuality and justice. We will work to repair harm and damaged relationships.
Pluralism
We celebrate that we are all sacred beings, diverse in culture, experience, and theology.
We covenant to learn from one another in our free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We embrace our differences and commonalities with Love, curiosity, and respect.
Justice
We work to be diverse multicultural Beloved Communities where all thrive.
We covenant to dismantle racism and all forms of systemic oppression. We support the use of inclusive democratic processes to make decisions within our congregations, our Association, and society at large.
Transformation
We adapt to the changing world.
We covenant to collectively transform and grow spiritually and ethically. Openness to change is fundamental to our Unitarian and Universalist heritages, never complete and never perfect.
Generosity
We cultivate a spirit of gratitude and hope.
We covenant to freely and compassionately share our faith, presence, and resources. Our generosity connects us to one another in relationships of interdependence and mutuality.
Equity
We declare that every person has the right to flourish with inherent dignity and worthiness.
We covenant to use our time, wisdom, attention, and money to build and sustain fully accessible and inclusive communities.
Unitarian Universalists believe more than one thing. We think for ourselves, and reflect together, about important questions:
We are united in our broad and inclusive outlook, and in our values, as expressed in our seven Principles. We are united in shared experience: our open and stirring worship services, religious education, and rites of passage; our work for social justice; our quest to include the marginalized; our expressions of love.
Learn more about Unitarian Universalists from a variety of beliefs and backgrounds: Atheist/Agnostic, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Humanist, Jewish, Muslim, Pagan, and more.
You can read more about our beliefs on our About Us page.
Music and Choir.
The music ministry at First UU offers opportunities for musicians of all ages and abilities. Most important in this is the use of congregational song. Each hymn supports the message of the morning, and is presented in a way which hopefully invites all in the congregation to participate. Through the act of singing together, we enhance our sense of community and own personal spiritual growth.
Those who wish to sing and deepen the spiritual experience even more are invited to try out our non-auditioned choir. We meet in the sanctuary, Mondays at 7pm and before Sunday services during the church year, 9:00 – 10:10. The choir sings anthems at many services and can expect to help support congregational singing as needed. People who cannot make the every week commitment may join our Pick-Up Choir Sundays, when quick-to-learn pieces are rehearsed and sung on the same day. Short term commitments are also offered for Music Sundays or Christmas Choir.
Instrumentalists may also find a musical outlet at First UU. From accompanying the choir or hymns on percussion or other instruments, to solos or small ensembles, if you can imagine it, we will try to make space for you.
Our building is also home to two dance groups. Although not an official part of our congregation, these groups, along with regular concerts by the NYS Baroque Ensemble and other area ensembles help fill our building space and hearts with music.
Please contact our Music Director, Emery Schramm to find our how you can be a part of music at First UU.
How to Become a Member.
We welcome new members to our UU community! According to our by-laws, membership in this congregation is open to any person who is in sympathy with the Principles and Purposes of the UUA and the Mission of our congregation.
Expectations of Membership
Joining the Congregation
To join this congregation please notify the minister or the First UU office of your intent. Either the minister or a member of the membership committee will contact you about the process of becoming a member.
Process
- 1Sign the Membership Book – Signing the Membership Book is done in the presence of the Minister, President, or Clerk of the Board. Twice a year we try to have a “New Member Recognition Sundays.”
- 2Make a pledge and a “payment of record” – Every member of the congregation is also responsible for an annual pledge and contribution of record. For members who are not able to give financially but still wish to be stewards of our community, a waiver of this requirement is available upon request to the minister.
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