Finding your place
You don’t have to join to belong here. Coffee after the service, a small group, the choir, a committee that needs a hand – you’re welcome in all of it, member or not. Here are the ways in, and the path to membership for when it feels right.
Connect, find your niche, and become part of the community.
There are many ways to get involved at A2U2. Here are just a few:
- Stay for coffee and conversation after a Sunday service.
- Join a Spiritual Enrichment Group, our small-group ministry.
- Put your faith into action with the Social Justice Committee, or make signs and write your representatives at the weekly Friday Afternoon Call to Action.
- Volunteer with religious education.
- Find an affinity group that fits you.
You are welcome at anything here, including our spiritual enrichment groups, religious education, social action, and committee meetings. Coming as a visitor is a way to take your time and see whether this community is right for you. After you have had a chance to get to know us, we hope you will consider deepening your commitment by becoming a member.
Small groups and affinity groups
Our small-group ministry is the Spiritual Enrichment Group, or SEG, program: eight to ten people who meet twice a month for two hours, guided by a facilitator. Each meeting opens with an in-gathering and chalice lighting, makes time for every person to share, turns to a focused conversation on something to do with the spiritual life, and ends with a look back at the process and a brief closing. Groups covenant together around confidentiality, commitment, and other considerations. To join one, ask at the office to be connected with our SEG co-coordinators.
Each winter the congregation also reads the UUA Common Read together, a single book taken up across the denomination.
Beyond the SEGs, a number of affinity groups gather through the program year, September to June, around a shared interest. Members and non-members are welcome.
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Dawn Redwood Meditation
Named for the dawn redwood tree in our courtyard. Each week a member picks an online dharma talk we all listen to at home; meetings hold sitting and walking meditation and a conversation about the talk.
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Middle Generations Group
Adults and families in the middle generations (Gen Z, Millennial, and Gen X), gathering for potluck meals and social connection.
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Men’s Group
An open, supportive circle of UU men sharing experience, insight, and good times. Members take turns leading the conversation.
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Queer Community Conversations
A group for LGBTQIA+ identified folks to gather for support and share stories.
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Knitting Ministry
Prayer shawls and lap blankets for members who are grieving or ill, and warm items for organizations serving people in need.
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Food Co-op
A cooperative buying great food at the best prices while protecting the environment and supporting the community. Orders go in every four weeks, and each member works a co-op job of about one and a half to two hours a month.
A few more gather too: a Pagan group, a Lectio Divina poetry group, a moms’ group, a women’s group, and a Climate Café. The calendar has when each one next meets. Watch the weekly newsletter for what’s coming up, or reach any group through the office at [email protected] or (207) 747-3299.
Sing with us
The adult choir sings in many of our Sunday services and rehearses Thursday evenings, 7–8:30pm, under Music Director Dale Churchill, and has a wonderful time doing it. Experience ranges widely, and the choir welcomes and encourages new voices. The selections are eclectic, across a large variety of genres, and always fun to sing. Soloists and small ensembles have a place too, and some members also sing with the Choral Art Society, Portland Community Chorus, and Women in Harmony.
To sing with the choir, take a solo, or join a small ensemble, reach the office at [email protected] or (207) 747-3299 and we will connect you with our Music Director. He’ll be happy to chat, sing together, and see what might be a good fit.
Care in hard times
When life gets heavy, through illness, loss, or a stretch that is simply hard, you do not have to carry it alone. Our Minister provides confidential pastoral care and spiritual support; our lay Pastoral Care Committee follows up on Sunday morning joys and sorrows and offers bereavement support; and our Committee on Congregational Life organizes practical help for those who express a need.
If you or someone in our community could use support, reach the office at [email protected] or (207) 747-3299 and we will get you connected.
Your next step
The simplest way to begin is to come on a Sunday and stay for coffee afterward. Say hello to our Minister, or to anyone wearing a name tag; we would love to meet you.
When you are ready for us to know you, fill out the Welcome Form. It tells us a little about you, and it starts the weekly e-news, so you will hear what is coming up.
You will find good company, too, in our justice work and in the many ways to give. And when this starts to feel like home, you may want to make it official.
Becoming a member
Most people connect first and join later, when it feels right; there is no test, and no fee. Membership is simply a way of saying you are in this with us. It means sharing in the mission of the church and in its ministry: an acknowledgment that we are in this together, and that we can make a greater difference together than any of us could alone.
The path runs through two short classes.
- New to UU
- Where the Unitarian Universalist tradition comes from, and what it asks of us.
- New to A2U2
- How this congregation runs, what stewardship looks like, and the many ways to get involved.
If you were raised UU, or come to us from another UU congregation, only the second class is required. After the classes, you are invited to sign the membership book if and when you are ready, and you are welcomed in a worship service the following month.
Members vote at congregational meetings on the decisions that steer the church: calling a settled Minister, taking congregational stands, the budget, the building. Members can chair committees, serve on the Board, or join a ministry like Pastoral Care. And members may use the building and the minister for weddings, memorial services, and child dedications.
Members are stewards of the congregation and its resources, and are asked to make an annual pledge of time, talent, and treasure, in an amount that fits your circumstances. More on giving.
When you are ready, reach out to our Minister to hear about upcoming New to UU dates.
Related topics: membership, become a member, join, volunteer, small groups, affinity groups, fellowship, get involved, newcomers, committees, coffee hour.