About Us

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MISSION STATEMENT: The mission of the Juneau Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is to be a spiritual home for all people who are engaged in a search for truth and meaning. We are a liberal religious community which nourishes personal growth through worship, fellowship, education, celebration and service. Our actions extend from our Unitarian Universalist principles and beliefs.

HISTORY: The Juneau Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (JUUF) was founded and officially recognized in 1957 by a small group of Juneau residents who valued Unitarian principles and wanted a church home in which their children would be exposed to those principles and values. Over the years, JUUF has met in a variety of places, ranging from private homes to "borrowed" churches to the Zach Gordon Youth Center. JUUF currently meets in a rented facility that we have named Chalice Hall in recognition of the importance of the chalice as a symbol of our liberal religion. Because it is important to the membership to have a home of our own, JUUF is currently looking for a suitable property for purchase. JUUF has welcomed a variety of visiting ministers over the years, and in 2007 we contracted with Rev. Ken MacLean as our first UU consulting minister. Having our own minister is one of the long-range goals of JUUF.

A WELCOMING CONGREGATION: In 2006, after a series of awareness workshops and a unanimous vote of the congregation, JUUF was designated as a Welcoming Congregation by our national organization, the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA), in recognition of our public welcome of lesbian, gay, and transgender people into our congregation.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

What do adults wear? You are welcome to come in whatever makes you comfortable. Most people wear what could be called "Juneau business casual." Children in Religious Education (RE) classes may need to dress appropriately for art and other projects.

Are children welcome? Absolutely! Children usually remain in the service for the first 15 minutes for a gathering song and story. Then they go to age appropriate RE classes for the remainder of the hour. Childcare for infants and toddlers is always available. Once a month there is usually an intergenerational service, during which the children may remain for the entire service or a larger portion of it.

May I go to class with my children or keep them with me? Do whatever is most comfortable for you and your child. If you would like to have a sense of what is happening in the classroom, or your child feels more at ease with you present, feel free to go to the class. You will be assured that your child is safe, comfortable and in good care with attentive teachers. You may then stay for the class or return to the service. If you and your child would like to stay together in the service, feel free to do so.

Will I be pressured to join or to be saved? No. We'll welcome you at the door. We'll send you our newsletter for a while, if you ask for it. We'd be happy to have you join us, but we won't try to push ourselves onto you. We'll never pressure you to be saved, either. We don't believe in salvation by grace. That is where the "Universalist" part of "Unitarian-Universalists" comes in.

Does your congregation have diverse beliefs? Most of us started out life in another religion. Some may still consider themselves Christian or Jewish Unitarians. Some of us are agnostics or atheists. Some of us believe in an earth-based spirituality. Some of us are Buddhists. We all believe in the search for truth and a deeper meaning in life. We all believe that how we act is more important than what we believe.

How can an agnostic or atheist go to church? By private automobile, bicycle or on foot. Seriously, this is one of the things about us that puzzles people. Why would an agnostic (atheist, humanist...) go to church? We give people a place to explore and grow spiritually. We provide religious education for their children. Finally, there is the social aspect of a church. Even agnostics like potlucks.

What is a "fellowship?" The lay-led fellowship movement was a twenty-year experiment in do-it-yourself religion. Begun by the American Unitarian Association in 1948 as a growth strategy, the movement gave birth to small, lay-led fellowships from Cape Cod to Honolulu. Today these comprise more than a third of our Unitarian Universalist congregations. The fellowship movement officially ended in 1967, but its influence lives on today -- in a freer and more participatory style of worship, increased focus on shared and small group ministry in our larger congregations, and the way we start and nurture new congregations. Many fellowships have grown into churches with fulltime ministers and some of those retain "fellowship" in their name.

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