The many ways that UUFSD members participate

UUFSD members find many ways to actively participate with other fellowship members, in the details of keeping the fellowship running, and reaching out to the community.

More than half of the fellowship is involved in supporting other members in some way. Although this isn’t an every day activity, nor is it something formally organized by the Fellowship, it involves more members of hte Fellowship than anything else.

Committees – a mainstay of UU congregational life – also spur involvement by more than half the fellowship. It may come as no surprise that there is a core of members who are more active than others. At present, around one in six members is involved in committee work as often as every week or two. Another one-sixth are involved every 2 to 4 weeks.

Sunday Services also involve involvement by more than half the fellowship. This ranges from participation in the Sunday Services Committee, to periodic lay-led services. These member-guided services, typically held in the summer, include music, dance, and thoughtful “This I believe” formats.

This fellowship has built homes for families across the border in Mexico. Called the Homes for Hope project, each home build has involved a different group of Fellowship members, including some very hands-on JRUU and YRUU members.

A few areas that get narrower participation are leadership, Denominational affairs, and helping in the office.

Preferred content of Sunday Services

The Fellowship want to hear thoughtful ideas about ethics, values, philosophy, personal growth, and personal beliefs. We want our minister to act as a guiding light toward higher aspirations and noble motives. In addition to reconnecting us with our core values, we want examples of how we can apply these through our ethics. Furthermore, we want to relate these to our UU principles.

We also like variety and a breadth of topics. Themes that help us grow personally are welcomed, as are those that motivate us to support the world at large such as through Social Justice and environmental issues.

Well at the bottom of the list are Judeo-Christian or Earth-centered traditions, or history about UUs.

Important Ministerial functions

This Fellowship is clear that it wants a minister who will preach, while at the same time acknowledging that ministers fulfill many functions. Although preaching has a clear majority, most members also  say three other functions are important: building community within the congregation, personal interaction, and promoting UU principles.

This Fellowship wants a minister who can help us get along with each other. This clear message was shouted out by 97% saying that building community within the congregation would be a very important or somewhat important function of the minister.

Several other functions are also important to many members. These include personal counseling, social justice leadership, community outreach, and religious exploration (RE) for adults as well as children.

The function ranked as least important for the minister: committee work/participation. It’s not that members don’t want the minister involved in day to day affairs. They do, although more as an inspiration, guiding light, and team builder, than as an administrator or commitee member.

Survey question: How unimportant or important are the following ministerial functions?

Priorities – where the minister should be spending time

Just as the Fellowship wants a minister who inspires, they understand this takes time in preparation. Most of the members consider spiritual leadership to encompass the minister’s time.

They also expect a minister to be spending some time in social justice activities, pastoral functions, and some facilitation of the UUFSD community and its committees and programs.

At the other end of the scale, members do not expect ministers to be spending much time in the details of running the fellowship, with other congregations and faiths through interfaith activies, nor with UUA affairs in denominational activities.

What were the major reasons you first attended UUFSD?

When asked what brought them to UUFSD, two reasons stood out for over half the fellowship: UU beliefs and sense of community. The members of this fellowship believe in the UU principles, and want to share their exploration and expression of those beliefs with others who have that in common. They may or may not agree on other matters: belief systems, politics, child-rearing, foreign policy, global warming, or who makes the best fish taco in San Diego. But, they’re eager to discuss these and other matters with others who have like-minds as to mutual respect and other principles, and at the same time celebrate and honor unique minds with independent perspectives.

Wanting to make a difference in the world is a core interest, from Social Justice activities to seeing that the next generation has a solid foundation.

Although the UUFSD site with its outdoor amptheater is unique, it’s not mentioned as the first draw for members.

Fellowship life right now – what’s unimportant and important?

What important to most of the fellowship is having a strong sense of community, thoughfully centered around UU values and Sunday Services.

Reaching out through social justice activities or community outreach is strong, although not as strong.

Projects like building homes in Mexico have been well supported, in that they combine Social Justice, community building, outreach, living UU principles, and are fun!

Meditation and prayer are of importance to only a few.

How often members attend the many activities around UUFSD

Sunday services and the coffee hour that follows immediately and the more frequently-attended activities. Social activities rank moderately high, with half of the followship participating every 2-3 months or more often. Children’s/RE events are attended each 1-4 weeks by as many as never attend.

Other activities are attended more sporadically.