FAQ
What is a typical Sunday service like?
We meet each Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. Wear whatever makes you feel comfortable. We’re an informal group, and the way we dress on Sunday morning ranges from office wear to jeans and sweatshirts.
We have a variety of speakers. Some services are led by our members and others are presented by visiting ministers, college professors, or community activists. Service lasts about an hour, followed by a coffee and a chance to discuss the service, talk with the speaker, KUUF board members, or get acquainted with others in the KUUF community. We have childcare for preschoolers available during the service. School-age children usually stay in the sanctuary for some of the services and then leave for their own program before the sermon. About once a month we have an inter-generational service. More info about childcare and children’s religious education.
Will there be music?
KUUF has an active choir that practices weekly and performs once a month for the Sunday service. We sing a variety of music from hymns, to rounds, to sacred music from other traditions. To join the choir, see any choir member or contact KUUF’s music director, Mike Menefee.
In addition, KUUF has other opportunities to contribute musically. We often feature music from congregants during the service. Please contact Mike at music@kuuf.org if you would like to make some music!
Where do I park?
There’s an upper and lower parking lot. The lower parking lot, to left when you arrive, is closest to the sanctuary. The upper parking lot is closer to child care and also used when the lower parking lot is full.
We encourage all who are able to please park in the upper parking lot so that close-in spots in the lower lot will be available for those who need them. Families with infants and small children are welcome to park in the spaces marked for people with limited mobility.
Are you accessible?
Our sanctuary is wheelchair accessible. Personal hearing devices are available to help individuals with hearing loss enjoy the services better.
Welcoming to LGBTQ?
Each of us has worth and dignity, and that worth includes our gender and sexuality. As Unitarian Universalists (UUs), we not only open our doors to people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, we value the diversity of sexuality and gender and see it as a spiritual gift. We create inclusive religious communities and work for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ justice and equity as a core part of who we are. All of who you are is sacred. All of who you are is welcome.
In 1995 our congregation completed a two-year process of discernment around issues of heterosexism and homophobia and officially became a welcoming congregation in 1997. Many of our members are LGBTQ individuals and families, and still, others are our parents and relatives. We are pleased to see this number growing.
Why is there a Black Lives Matter banner at your entrance?
The suffering caused by racism must be ended if we want to create fair and loving communities. We work to end racial discrimination and injustice, starting within ourselves and moving out into the world around us. We support a multiracial, multi-ethnic congregation and advocate for stopping racist policies like mass imprisonment and attacks on voting rights. Our multicultural ministries continue until there is peace, liberty, and justice for all. Reverend Jessica has compiled a honest look at Black Lives in Universal Unitarianism.
Why are we called a fellowship instead of a church?
Unitarian Universalist congregations use many different names: church, fellowship, society, association, and congregation are the most common.
The use of the word “fellowship” dates to the 1940s and 50s, a time when there were more people interested in coming together in Unitarian congregations than there were ordained ministers to serve them. A program of the American Unitarian Association now known as the “fellowship movement” began, under which dozens of small Unitarian groups led by lay persons were organized around the United States. KUUF came into being under this program.
Like KUUF, many congregations begun during the fellowship movement have grown and called ministers to serve them. Some congregations have changed their names from “fellowship,” to “church” or “society.” We retain the historical term “fellowship” in our name because, in its best sense, fellowship means companionship on the path, friendly relationship, a community of caring. And that is what KUUF seeks to offer: a spiritual community of caring companionship to nourish us to face the challenges our lives bring, and to challenge us to act for the greater good.
Are Unitarian Universalists Christian?
Both the Unitarian and the Universalist faiths arose from liberal Christianity in 17th and 18th century England and America, during the Enlightenment, a time of exciting Biblical scholarship and discovery. Our roots are in the Jewish and Christian religions, but in the ensuing years, our vision has expanded to include wisdom from the world’s religions, earth-centered religious traditions, feminist theology, the arts and sciences, literature and other cultural forms. We view all of these as valuable sources of truth, just as we view the sacred as being an inherent dimension of life. Some of our congregations self-identify as Christian, and some, including KUUF, have “Partner Church” relationships with Unitarian congregations in Romania which are Christian.
What does the UU chalice symbol represent?
At the opening of our Sunday worship service, we light a flame inside a chalice. This “flaming chalice” has become a well-known symbol of our denomination. It combines two archetypes — a drinking vessel and a flame — each of which has many different religious meanings. The flame and the chalice were brought together as a Unitarian symbol in 1941 by an Austrian artist, Hans Deutsch, for the Unitarian Service Committee, which then was helping Jews escape Nazi persecution.
There is no single, official interpretation of the flaming chalice, and indeed, not all Unitarian Universalist congregations use this symbol. For us, the chalice symbolizes the common cup of seeking humanity — it symbolizes our beloved community. The flame is our symbol of creative truth, of illumination, of courage and the passion for justice.
The flaming chalice symbol is often set within two interlocking circles, which represent the two faiths which merged in 1961 — Unitarian and Universalist. The chalice is set off-center, to indicate that we do not believe our way in religion to be the only way.
The symbol which we use here at KUUF, the two faiths — Unitarian and Universalist — are represented by the two mountain peaks that form the chalice which cradles the flame. The mountains also reference our location just east of the beautiful Olympic Range. The flame symbolizes our search for truth, and the enclosing circle represents our fellowship coming together.
How is the Fellowship governed?
KUUF is governed by a seven-member Board of Trustees, which is elected by the members of the congregation. The board meets monthly and has general charge of the property and funds of the fellowship, the conduct of all its business affairs and the control of its administration, including the appointment of committees as the board deems necessary and filling vacancies on the Board itself until the next-scheduled congregational meeting. Learn more about voting & governance.
I want to give KUUF a try, where do I go?
We’re located at 4418 Perry Ave NE, Bremerton, WA 98310, and services are every Sunday at 10:30 am.
You’ll find greeters inside the door who can help you find your bearings, or you can call us ahead of time at (360) 377-4724.
Do I have to be a member to participate on Sundays or in other activities?
No, definitely not. Any activity you find listed here on our website is open to everyone.
I want to join, what next?
Usually, people attend on Sundays for a while before they decide to become official members, but you can become a member at any time, whether it’s right away or two years from now. Once you have decided, becoming a member of our fellowship is fairly easy. All you need to do is:
Find someone with a purple name tag at a Sunday service
Tell them you want to sign the membership book
Be in agreement with our purpose, as stated in Article II. of our Bylaws, below:
“The purpose of this Fellowship is: to seek the truth and deeper insights of all religions, and to draw from the wisdom of all ages and cultures; to respect in each other and in all the authority of the individual conscience and the freedom of the mind; to uphold freedom, amity, and equal rights for all people; to encourage the progressive transformation and ennoblement of individual and group life in accordance with the growing vision of humankind without bondage to creeds. To affirm and promote the use of the democratic process within our congregation.”
Sixty days after you sign the membership book, you become a full voting member, eligible to participate in the Fellowship’s democratic decision-making process.
I’m interested in visiting, but I want to know more?
If you didn’t find out what you wanted to know in the above FAQ, please feel free to give us a call at (360) 377-4724.