First Unitarian Church of Rochester - Congregation, Beliefs and Programs

Congregation, Beliefs and Programs

With a membership of 955 members in 2011, the First Unitarian Church of Rochester in Rochester, New York, U.S., is one of the largest in its denomination, the Unitarian Universalist Association. Its parish co-ministers are Kaaren Anderson and Scott Tayler, and its associate minister is Jen Crow. The church conducts three weekly worship services, two on Sundays and one on Saturdays.

The church is non-creedal, having, in the words of its web site, "No single religious text. No ten commandments. No creed to which you must agree ... This respect for individual particularity and openness to diverse sources of wisdom means our community is packed with a wide array of perspectives and beliefs." The church's mission statement is: "Creating connection by listening to our deepest selves, opening to life's gifts and serving needs greater than our own - every day!" The church school, which has an enrollment of about 300, has a stated goal of encouraging children "to seek their own truths, to clarify their values, and to live lives of meaning inspired by those values."

The church operates on a Policy Governance system by which the board of trustees focuses on the long-term goals of the church while the parish minister oversees its operation. The board specifies the results expected from the parish minister and sets limits for his or her activities. The board does not specify how those expectations should be achieved, but it does evaluate the results. Officers of the church are elected by annual congregational meetings.

In the 1970s the church developed a task force system to coordinate its activities in the area of social concerns. Members interested in a specific activity gather signatures to qualify as one of the church's task forces, which, if approved by the congregation, will be eligible to receive funds from the church budget. Oversight is provided by the Social Justice Council, which is composed largely of representatives from the task forces. Through this system the church sponsors projects that provide classroom support for Rochester schools, temporary shelter within the church for homeless families, free Sunday suppers at a Catholic Worker program, improvements to the quality of life in a small township in Honduras, and other projects that focus on such issues as peace, reproductive rights, and gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered concerns. The Council also oversees grant programs that provide financial support to community organizations.

The church's music and arts programs include adult and children's choirs, a handbell choir, a dance group, a drama group, a chamber music series, a film series, a coffee house and an art gallery.

Interest groups sponsored by the church include Soul Matters groups that focus on monthly worship themes; several types of meditation groups; Wellspring groups with nine-month-long programs of daily spiritual practice; Buddhist groups; book discussion groups; and other groups based on topics ranging from Bible study to qi gong, tai chi and poetry. There are also support groups whose activities include networking opportunities for people searching for jobs and support for the congregation's military families.