Membership Month Activities at First Unitarian Church
Do you have friends who are interested when you talk about activities at our church and wonder what a Unitarian Universalist approach to religion and spirituality is all about? March will be a great time to invite them to join you for a service.
All through the month of March, services are being planned with the UU-curious in mind. After each Sunday service, there will be special opportunities to learn about our social justice and music programs, and ask questions about Unitarian Universalism.
We are also planning some special events that will give us an opportunity to welcome guests to our community:
- A March sermon series with the theme “Power:” Each Sunday in March
- Game Night: Peek, Pizza & Prizes: March 11
- The Pittsburgh Community Gamelan Workshop & Worship March 12
- A Walker in The Park (pun intended): March 12
- Steel City Improv: March 25
- Intro to Unitarian Universalism: March 26, after the Sunday service
- Songspace concert: March 32 (OK, it’s April 1)
How to Invite Friends to Church
March is Membership Month. You too can be an evangelist for First Unitarian Church. Follow these simple steps:
- What might interest them specifically?
- Check the sermon topics for March
- Check the activities for March
- Consider Music, Religious Education, Humanist Group, etc.
- Think of friends, family, neighbors, or co-workers you might invite to a service or an event
- If they ask, who are Unitarian Universalists? Give them Rev. Kate’s Elevator speech: “We’re a multifaith community where all religious beliefs are welcome, where diversity is celebrated and questions are expected.”
- Offer to accompany them to service or an event as feasible and appropriate
You can do it!
Whether your friends are interested in learning about Unitarian Universalism, getting involved in social justice initiatives, or simply looking for a fun evening activity, there is something for everyone at our church this March. So, please take a moment to invite your friends and family to join us. We can’t wait to welcome them!
Game Night: Peek, Pizza & Prizes
Mark your calendars for 6 p.m. Saturday, March 11, and join us for a few games of Peek, a First Unitarian Church favorite (because we made up the rules). This event is open to everyone, so bring your friends!
This even is BYOP (Bring Your Own Prize), so please bring a small item from home — something you might like to win as a prize such as a small toy, game, non-perishable snack or a book — and wrap it or bag so we can’t see what it is!
There will be pizza, but please bring some snacks or a side dish to share. Suggested donation of $5 per person to cover the pizza. Please RSVP!
The Pittsburgh Community Gamelan Workshop
First Unitarian has been hosting a new ensemble in Pittsburgh dedicated to the study and performance of Sundanese gamelan music. During the March 12 service, The Pittsburgh Community Gamelan will perform.
After the coffee hour, the group will lead a free, hands-on workshop. Participants will learn to play a simple piece of gamelan music. No prior experience is required, and all are welcome. Please be prepared to sit on the floor and remove your shoes in accordance with the cultural practice of this music.
A Walker in The Park
Rev. Kate Walker will lead an hour-long walk in Frick Park at 2 p.m. March 12. Meet at the Beechwood entrance, which is by the Blue Side Playground picnic shelter.
Sermons for March
March 5: “Who’s Got the Power?”
Power is fascinating and an essential part of life, yet we humans rarely comprehend its role in our personal and communal lives. The Theme of the Month is Power, I’ll look at how religious leaders such as myself, have a rocky and complicated history of how, when and why power is used to save and/or condemn the world.
March 12: “What is ‘Spirituality?”
Many have said they want more spirituality in their lives. Others have said they don’t want anything to do with spirituality. A lot of people, particularly those under 40 years old, have said no to religion, but yes to spirituality. So, what does “spirituality” mean? The Pittsburgh Community Gamelan will perform during worship.
March 19: “The Earth Forever Turning”
In this multigenerational service, we are celebrating regeneration and renewal of hearts and bodies as we welcome spring.
March 26: “Power of Silence”
Silence is elusive in a noisy world, yet life reveals itself between the sounds of grinding tectonic plates, the growls of the bear and the whispers of the leaves answering the wind. Can we humans develop the capacity to sit in silence and hear life’s call?
Steel City Improv
We believe that if you get good at improv, you get better at life. Please come attend an evening of Improv at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 25. We will be in the Undercroft Gallery. Learn how our brand of applied improvisation can expand your comfort zone, make new friends and have fun in the process.
Intro to Unitarian Universalism
If you’d like to attend a meeting to learn more about the history, varied theologies, and organization of Unitarian Universalism, please complete this Intro to UU registration form and check out the path to membership.
Songspace Concert
On April 1 the band “House of Hamill” from Eastern Pennsylvania will perform neo traditional Celtic music in the church sanctuary.
What Members Say About Us
I always used to (half) joke that the reason I left Western Christianity was the uncompromising dogma about Jesus Christ being the only path to salvation. Nothing against Christ, but I would use Gandhi as the unimpeachable example: so one of the purest and loving human beings to ever live is in hell or purgatory if he didn't accept Christ into his heart? That type of contradiction was unfathomable to me for people to ignore. Thus, I was touched when my child went to her first religious education class and it was located in the Gandhi room, across from a library of scriptures from the Quran and the Tao and the Bhagavad Gita. It felt like squaring a circle and arriving home after many years away.”
This church's values line up with me on a profound level. I connect deeply with the readings, songs, and messages on a weekly basis and the human connections feed a spiritual hunger I've had since leaving the Christian faith. I didn't believe that a place like this could exist and I'm happy to call it my spiritual home.”
“The members are our family.”
“This is my Forever Church - this old dog has found her forever home in a community which operates by principles that I've come to recognize as aligned with my own. There are people who, with scarcely concealed contempt, refer to people as "givers" and "takers". I have come to understand that we are all givers and takers, sometimes even at the same time. First Unitarian Universalist has shown me that I am welcome just as I am, and I am invited to give of my means, both material and otherwise. There is a real commitment to the first principle in this church and I am so grateful.”
“I can read each of our seven principles and believe in them without any doubt as a human being. I can apply these principles to the best of my ability each and every day of my life as a guide. One of the most important principles to me, is the 7th principle. The "respect for the interdependent web of all existence" raises my awareness that I am not separate from the world around me. Every choice that I make has an effect in this world. It is like dropping a pebble into a pond: the action that I take ripples from the center of the impact of that choice.”
"It has become my community, my family in Pittsburgh, and my source of strength. I find that I can do more about things that matter to me (issues of climate change, social justice, diversity) through First Church than I can alone and that I am truly not alone.”
A fun place to hang out! But more seriously (and in addition), all 3 of the things you said: the music-filled services, the community of caring souls, and support for social justice action; plus, the Rev. Kate is great!
First Unitarian matters deeply to me because... As much as we'd like to shed them and dive into a glorious future, our traditions are what brought us here and what we rely on to chart a path forward. The Unitarian tradition is not without its bumps in the road, but it is one that is often on the right side of history and has done things in the realm of social justice that make me proud to be a member and to say that I am a Unitarian. Giving money directly to people I know and trust for direct community action will always resonate more with me, and knowing the proud history of First Unitarian Pittsburgh, I can have faith that this money will go towards improving my community for the better.