Orientation and Membership

Orientation sessions are an opportunity for interested friends and visitors to get to know our Fellowship and Unitarian Universalism better. We schedule them after the last service on three Sundays a year. They last two and a half hours, including lunch. (We treat - no brown bags required.)

You should tell us in advance if you plan to attend; that way we know how many mouths we'll have to feed. Tell us if you will need child care, too. Call the office at (209) 545-1837.

You will meet some members from the Board of Trustees, some members of the Membership committee and our minister. We start the orientation session by going around the room. Each person - old members and newcomers - tells us how they came to be here. Rev. Grace gives a brief history of our denomination. A board member tells you how we are organized. A committee member tells you about our church finances. Another committee member tells you about our programs and social activities.

As meetings go, they are not spectacular. They are better than some; no one reads a from bulleted list in a monotone, but no one dances on a table with a rose between her teeth, either. Every once in a while, though, as we go around the circle telling our stories, someone who has felt like an outcast for years will break into tears. They realize that finally, they are not alone; that even if they are Wiccan, Agnostic, lesbian, gay, a recovering alcoholic, a disenchanted Catholic, or a fundamentalist who has lost faith in the literal truth of the Bible, there is someone here just like them, someone who has walked miles in their shoes and knows exactly how they feel. They realize they will be welcome here. They realize we really mean that line about valuing the worth and dignity of every person. Then we old members bite our lips and swallow hard, remembering the years before we found the fellowship, when we too felt cold and alone.

You are not required to join our Fellowship if you attend an orientation session. You are, however urged (not required, urged) to attend an orientation session to if you want to join our Fellowship. You'll have a better understanding of the history, privileges and responsibilities of membership. The orientation is an opportunity for friends and visitors to become familiar with us and to ask questions.

Attending the orientation does not make you a member of our Fellowship. To become a member you must be over 16 years old, express an interest in joining and sign our membership book. We schedule New Member Sundays throughout the year so that everyone has an opportunity to join. New Member Sundays are joyous occasions; they celebrate our commitment to each other and our community.

New member Sundays involve a short ceremony. We introduce you to the congregation and you formally sign the membership book.