Normally, you would find a review of Sunday’s service and my thoughts on it. This time my post will be a little different.
This past weekend I was blessed with the opportunity to go to the annual meeting of our Unitarian Universalist district known as the Prairie Star District. This meeting was a little different than the past meetings in the way that we were having a vote for a historic change that would impact our district and our neighboring districts of the Central Midwest District, and the Heartland District. The theme for our meeting was “Inspire the Future We Envision”.
On Friday night we had the joy of hearing the Rev. Stefan Jonasson. He spoke of the history of our faith in our region from its start in Iowa and fanning out to the rest of the northern Midwest, including the initial steps of Unitarianism right here in Fargo that arrived and established its footing by 1892. He spoke of how we as UU’s have learned to adapt to changing circumstances while preserving, strengthening and promoting our core values. Our congregation can attest to this. We have changed and adapted to survive, and now we are once again on the verge of adapting. Not to survive but to grow and thrive within our community!
In the workshops that I attended on Saturday I learned that this is not just something we tell ourselves to feel good, but it is a fact! In hearing the concerns that many other congregations had about adapting to serve their growing communities, I learned that we are in fact ahead of the curve in what we have accomplished and we find ourselves in an amazing position to create significant changes and service to our community.
We offer many things outside of a “normal” Sunday service. We have a strong social justice involvement fighting for the rights and equality of all. Our members volunteer for many non-profit organizations in the area that are also fighting for change. We offer movies nights once a month (sometimes more) where you can come and see films on issues that the mainstream media typically does not acknowledge. We offer a game night where you can join others looking for a chance to just relax and make new friends all while discovering some great new board games. Periodically we offer classes like Tai Chi, or we may just have smaller groups of people like-minded who get together to discuss topics they have a shared interest in.
Game Night: the third Saturday of the month at 6:30. Bring your kids and your friends!
But here’s the part you may find surprising: These activities and so many more to come are not just for our members. These are things we offer to the community as a whole! These are ways we provide an additional benefit and service to those around us.
In our age many people, especially young adults, are growing disinterested in tradition faith systems. This loss of interest is due to being told what and how they should think; we find FMUU and Unitarian Universalism becoming a home for these people. They are seeking a spiritual home where they can be a part of a supportive community while they search for meaning in their spiritual journeys. We all seek a community of support to embrace us while we grow and learn and really make a difference in our lives, the lives of others’ and in the world.
Peace and acceptance for all can happen and it begins here by joining us as we, once again, find ourselves on the front lines of change as we embrace our rich history, promote our beliefs of equality for all, and provide a fun and exciting environment of activities to truly make you feel alive and part of a community that truly cares.