Newcomer Events 

UU 101
Four times a year, we offer an hour-long introduction to our congregation and our larger faith. This interactive workshop includes a light lunch, a brief video, questions, and conversation with our ministers. On-site childcare is available. 2011-12 dates:
Sunday, October 2, 12:15 - 1:15 pm
Sunday, December 4, 12:15 - 1:15 pm
Sunday, February 5, 12:15 - 1:15 pm
Sunday, April 1, 12:15 - 1:15 pm

For more information, contact our Membership Committee chair Patty Cameron or Rev. Sarah Gibb Millspaugh.

Circle Dinners
Dinners are a series of pot-luck dinners that meet once a month from January through May. Circle Dinners link newcomers with established members and old-timers, whether singles or couples. Each group includes 7 to 9 participants who meet at group members' homes. It is not necessary to host a dinner in order to be in a Circle Dinner group. No matter how long you have been participating in the congregation, this is a wonderful opportunity to get to know your fellow congregants better.

Circle Dinner sign-ups will begin this winter. Contact Membership Committee chair Patty Cameron to learn more and get involved.

Becoming a Member
Newcomers are invited to consider joining Winchester Unitarian Society – becoming members.

At a recent gathering, a newcomer to our congregation asked: “If I become a member, what’s in it for me?” That’s a good question, as our congregation welcomes all to participation in our community whether they’re a member or not. We’re not a fee-for-service organization, and membership is not required to walk in our doors, like it is at a health club. We are, instead, about something totally different. Something non-commercial and even counter-cultural: a spiritually-based multi-generational community, walking a path of integrity, service, and joy.

Becoming a member is committing to walk with this community. To say “I belong here” and “I know that I and my family will be better for it.” Becoming a member is committing to deepening spirituality, service, and living your values.

Fundamental to our Unitarian Universalist tradition is a deep respect for the individual conscience. Therefore, if and when you become a member is a decision you must make for yourself. If you’re thinking about it, talk with one of our co-ministers, or sign up for our Roots and Shoots workshops, in the spring. When you’re ready, you’ll be invited to sign our membership book and to make a financial pledge to the congregation, if you are not already doing so. We invite new members to join at any time of year; we recognize all new members from the calendar year at our New Member Sunday in May.

Finally, membership has its privileges. In addition to the more intangible rewards of deeper participation, members can serve on our congregation’s central governing committees, can vote in congregational meetings, and can receive the services of a minister at no charge for memorial services and weddings. And the next time the congregation is looking for a minister, it’s members who get to choose him or her!