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Frequently Asked Questions
For
Newcomers |
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How do I
get there? |
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The address is 595 Townsite Road in
Nanaimo. Here’s a
map. Click on the map to zoom in and out. Once you arrive, there
is adequate free parking on the east side of the building.
There is bus service on Sundays on the
#1 Woodgrove/Downtown route. For up to date transit information,
click
here.
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What do Unitarian
Universalists believe? |
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Unitarian Universalists believe a
wide variety of things. You will find UU Buddhists, Taoists,
Christians, Agnostics, Atheists, as well as people who have trouble
classifying their beliefs. What we have in common are our
Principles and Sources which guide us, and the desire for a
religious community where we can be accepted regardless of what we
believe. |
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Are the Seven Principles a creed or a set of required beliefs? |
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No. The
Principles and Sources are a democratically developed document
voted on by all Unitarian congregations in Canada. They are reviewed
and updated from time to time. Mostly they are thoughtful guidelines
that help us build our own answers for life’s questions. |
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Will I fit
in? |
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The worth and dignity of every
person is one of the
Principles and Sources. We welcome people of all races, ages,
gender, sexual orientation, and abilities. |
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What kind of people come to
FUFON? |
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You’ll find a wide variety of people
at FUFON. We talk about diversity a lot, and strive to welcome it.
Many of our members are people who have attended another church and
found the community valuable but weren’t able to accept the beliefs.
There are older people, middle aged people and young children, young
adults and youth. While most of our members fit under the umbrella
‘middle class’, we have members from all walks of life and economic
backgrounds. There is a stronger LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transsexual) presence here than you will find in most
congregations–same sex couples generally feel very comfortable in
our community.
Acceptance is very important to our
membership. People who feel that their way of life is right and are
determined to save or convince others would probably feel
uncomfortable here.
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What
provisions do you have for people with disabilities? |
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Our building is wheelchair
accessible. We
have a T Loop system for people whose hearing aid has a T Loop
switch. |
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What should I
wear? What should my children wear? |
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You should wear whatever you are
most comfortable in. Most people dress casually (jeans are fine),
but some people dress up. Your children should wear something they
can play in. |
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Is
there childcare and/or Sunday School? What is taught? |
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We have a program for all ages–from
our nursery, located in the Board room, to a youth group. We have a
Religious Education Facilitator, who oversees our children’s
program. See our
kid zone page for more details. |
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My child doesn’t separate well. Can he/she stay with me during the
service? |
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Absolutely. Many parents,
particularly of smaller children, keep their children with them in
the service and we also have a nursery area set up in the Board room
during services. It has toys and a speaker to bring in the service
audio. You are also welcome to breast feed anywhere in our building
or at our events. You are encouraged to do whatever works for your
family. |
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How do you worship together if you don’t all believe the same thing? |
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There are two strategies we
use–flexibility and “taking turns”. Flexibility for us means
choosing things that can mean different things to different people.
A minute of silence can mean prayer, meditation, or reflection.
Lighting a candle can be spiritual or social. Our minister tries to
welcome many points of view and works with the Worship Committee to
provide a balance of services during the year. Some are more
tailored to people with a stronger spiritual side, and some are more
academic. This is worth remembering the first few times you come –
what is said from the pulpit on any given Sunday may be quite
different the following week. |
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What goes on during a
worship service? |
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There are always exceptions, but the
general format of a service involves beginning with announcements,
some music, and some opening words. We then light the chalice and
will often also have a chance for people who would like to light
candles for the joys and concerns of their lives (and say a couple
of words if they’d like).
There is almost always some kind of
address–either a sermon from the minister or a talk by a member of
the congregation or the wider community. We also take an offering
(to which you can choose to donate or not). We tend to close with a
few more words and some more music (which we also use liberally
throughout the service).
Children begin with us in the sanctuary,
where they are invited to come up to the front to enjoy the
children's story before being sung out to the RE classroom which is
located behind the kitchen.
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How
about the offering? Is this church all about money? |
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No! How much or how little you have
or choose to give has nothing to do with how you will be treated at
FUFON. Sure, we take an offering each week and once a year we have a
Canvass or Pledge, asking people to pledge their gifts for the next
year. That helps us plan our budget. Each Unitarian congregation is
a free-standing society responsible for its own facilities,
operations and fundraising. Only a small portion of our budget goes
to supporting the denomination. The congregation responsibly pays
its employees, bills, maintenance costs and program related
expenses. We have commercial renters to help pay the costs of our
operations, but in the end, we have to raise money to keep the doors
open. Our budget and financial reports are open and available to any
member who wishes to see them.
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Will I be pressured to
join or be saved? |
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No. The right to a free and
independent search for truth and meaning is one of the
Principles and Sources. Expect people to be friendly–you will
likely be greeted, offered a program and a name tag, and given an
opportunity to sign our guest book. We are not oriented towards
spreading our religion as much as we are towards making it available
for people who are looking for it. Once or twice a year we offer a
New U orientation course. It’s a small group session hosted by the
Membership Committee and led by the minister. It’s a chance to get
to know a few other people and learn about the history and
operations of the church. At a time and choosing of their own, some
people choose to become full voting members of the church and are
welcomed with a membership ceremony, but at no time will anyone be
pressured to join.
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