We gather in worship each Sunday at 10:30 am, both in the Sanctuary and via Zoom, to seek greater connection, meaning, wisdom and compassion in our lives. You are always welcome to come as you are.

For our zoom participants, when you join us on the Sunday Service Zoom Channel you will be greeted with a slide welcoming you to our service. On it you will find the link to the Order of Service for the day as well as a way to sign up for our weekly newsletter, the Chirp! Once the service begins you will notice two First Unitarian Zoom host accounts. One shares the view of the pulpit and the other acts as our virtual greeter. Our virtual greeter will at times share their screen as well as drop any important information or links in the zoom chat. If you have any questions during the service, you are welcome to message the virtual greeter. After the service, zoom participants are invited to join a small group discussion via a zoom breakout room. Here you can chat with the other zoom attendees and discuss that day’s service or just get to know each other a little more.

For folks attending on-site, you will notice that most of us choose to dress casually, which includes jeans or shorts. As you walk into the sanctuary, you will be met by a greeter who can answer any questions you may have. If this is your first time, you will be invited to make a temporary name tag and offered the opportunity to sign up for our weekly newsletter, the Chirp! From there you will be handed the day’s order of service and you can make your way into the sanctuary.

For our friends who come to service with children, we offer child care in our nursery for children ages 4 and under as well as religious education classes for all other children. Children are of course welcome to stay in the sanctuary during service, but these options are available as well.

A typical Order of Service looks like this:

• Prelude
• Opening Words
• Chalice Lighting
• Extending the Hand of Fellowship – an opportunity to shake hands and greet follow worshipers
• Opening Hymn
• Story for All Ages
• Singing the Children Out – children will leave the sanctuary to go to their religious education class
• Welcome and Announcements
• Sharing Joys and Concerns
• Reading and Meditation
• Sermon
• Offertory
• Closing Hymn
• Extinguishing the Chalice
• Our Covenant
• Postlude

Readings are sourced from a wide variety of traditions and may be in the form of a poem, short story, or excerpt from an essay. Hymns are often set to traditional tunes, but the lyrics are sometimes quite different, as references to traditional Christian dogma and male-centric words such as mankind and brotherhood have been changed. During the Story for All Ages, all children are invited to the front of the sanctuary for a short story, and afterward they head to their religious education classes.

Sermons are delivered either by our minister, a member of our congregation, or a guest speaker. They usually explore a variety of topics, such as living into our values and principles, how to live an ethical and meaningful life, social justice, philosophy, and current issues. Each week is different, but the goal is to touch something deep in each listener’s heart to help guide the way toward wholeness and peace.

Some of the church’s favorite annual worship services include the Water Ceremony, a “welcome back” and kick-off of the formal church year each September, and our June Flower Ceremony, to mark the ending of the formal church year. From time to time, worships also incorporate holiday celebrations, multigenerational services, and longer musical performances.

Every week is different. We strongly encourage new visitors to attend more than one service to gain a better understanding of our congregation. You can see what our upcoming sermons will be about here. You can also learn more generally about our worship here.

Thank you for your interest in First Unitarian and we look forward to meeting you soon!