Newcomers
Hello and welcome! Curious about joining us on a Sunday morning? Visitors and newcomers are always welcome. Our team and members are available to help you navigate, answer questions, and unlock the wonders of FUS membership.
Hello and welcome! Curious about joining us on a Sunday morning? Visitors and newcomers are always welcome. Our team and members are available to help you navigate, answer questions, and unlock the wonders of FUS membership.
The centerpiece of our shared life is our Sunday Assembly, which takes place at 10:30 a.m. Attend in person, or stream online via our website. With poetry, music, philosophy and thought-producing talks, our Assemblies offer humor, joy, and inspiration. Together, we explore what it means to be human. Afterward, we gather in our Lower Assembly Hall for conversation and our scrumptious mini meal. We also offer learning, justice, and social events at other times.
We offer regular events for children, youth, families, and friendly folks of all ages.
First Unitarian Society is a community. Find your calling and connect with fellow members through our many groups.
If you’re new to our community, or if you’ve been around for a while, and are ready to learn more about our Pathway to Membership, you’re in the right place. Newcomers to FUS will find a warm welcome and an invitation to get to know the congregation, which is made up of members and friends.
Contact our Membership Director, Suzanne, for more information.
Members are those folks who have committed to membership, make an annual pledge if possible, and have voting privileges at our annual meeting. Friends are those who are involved in the life of the congregation, who may support FUS financially, but do not vote at the annual meeting.
Some folks know they have found their people here and join fairly quickly. Others may remain friends for several years before joining. We want what is right for you!
We are more interested in helping you find that you fit, rather than rushing you into membership. At the same time, we value the benefits of membership in this self-governing and self-supporting congregation.
Here are some ways you can to check us out: attend several Assemblies (that’s what we call our Sunday morning worship time), participate in various affinity groups and classes, engage in social justice activities, lend a hand to volunteer efforts, participate with your family in our Ethical Education program; all these are great ways to get to know the congregation, which we encourage you to do as you think about becoming a member.
Our Pathway to Membership includes 3 steps which are listed below.
Welcome to FUS (WTF) happens every first Sunday of the month at 12:15pm, (Room #307).
This is a time to to learn more about FUS in a half-hour welcome session with Membership Director, Suzanne. We look forward to getting to know you!
These sessions, offered several times a year, provide a deeper dive into humanism, congregational leadership and pledging, the meaning of membership, and life at FUS. If you’re ready to become a member after attending this, then you can take part in…
New Member Sunday: a semi-annual ceremony during Assembly to welcome you and renew our covenant with each other. We expect to be changed by your presence, and we expect you to be changed by your participation here. The problems of the world are so challenging and daunting; it’s good to be together as we face them in community.
You have questions and we’re here to answer them. If you cannot find what you are looking for, send us a message and we’ll help you as soon as possible.
We are a gathering place for people of various religious and philosophical traditions. Rather than readings from only one tradition, we use excerpts from poetry, novels, non-fiction titles, and the news of the day. Rather than preaching from scripture, the ministers talk about what was happening in the here and the now.
Since ”church” is a word specifically meaningful in a Christian context, people at First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis tend to prefer the word “congregation,” an inclusive term. Congregational humanists are humanists who choose to congregate–that is, join together for companionship, mutual support, mutual inquiry, and social activism.
We strive to achieve the best aspects of a caring congregation, a beloved community. A place to be and a place to belong.
Humanism is the proposition that human beings can solve human problems. By this proposition, Humanists accept moral responsibility for humanity, all living things, and the planet itself.
The human search for truth has led to the creation of many religious and philosophical traditions. We respect all of them, insisting that human beings are more important than our ideas. Human ideas, at their best, serve the human need for meaning and purpose in this world, now. So, many humanists are atheists. Many are agnostic. And many are unconventional in their views.
Humanism is a worldwide, grassroots movement reflecting human cultures in their many varieties and the sheer number of humanist options reflects this. Varieties reflected in the United States include secular humanism, religious humanism, and congregational humanism.
As congregational humanists, we congregate! We gather in groups and celebrate the joys, sorrows, and milestones of our lives together.
First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis is the birthplace of congregational humanism. As a congregation, FUS has been instrumental in the development of humanism in its several forms. Our goal is to be radically inclusive in thought, word, and deed.
We invite you to join us in the quest for meaning and purpose in the here and now.
In Unitarian Universalism, you can bring your whole self: your full identity, your questioning mind, your expansive heart. We think for ourselves, and reflect together, about important questions. Read more here.
Together, we create a force more powerful than one person or one belief system.
We are covenantal rather than creedal: it’s more important how we behave with each other and in the world than what we say we believe. We ask ourselves to think critically, value reason, live harmoniously, and love and serve one another and the world.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. Our shared covenant is based in seven values with Love at the center.
Sundays center around our weekly Assembly, beginning at 10:30 and running until 11:40. On most Sundays, Assembly is followed by a mini-meal and social hour in the Lower Assembly Hall. We welcome visitors at our Assembly and Mini-Meals, and hope to see you there.
All of our assemblies are intergenerational! Children of all ages are invited to attend Assembly and utilize the quiet, calming activities and materials provided. Located along the window-side of the UAH; ask an FUS greeter to direct you.
However, we also provide free childcare during assembly time (suitable for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers), as well as specific programming aimed at grade-schoolers and older kids throughout the year.
Absolutely! Everyone is welcome.