You come to church. I come to church. We sometimes say “hi” on the patio. We sometimes nod and smile in the parking lot. Sometimes we share a big bear hug. Sometimes we do nothing. You and I come to

church for similar reasons. What we do may be different, but we come for similar reasons.

We build community. We challenge our hearts and minds and spirits to flourish. We touch each other, daily, in large and small ways. Ministers aside, you and I are the spiritual soil in which we grow our lives. You and I learn how to be friends.

Within this church community, there are people who are deeply involved in supporting the structure of the church and there are people who are dedicated to healing the world through programs and activities. There are people who tend the fires of relationship, and people who nurture the hearts and minds of our young. There are also people who quietly partake of the energy and wholeness that is created here, whether member, visitor, or friend.

To create and nurture connections between people is where you and I can be very, very effective. But where to start? There are several paths to finding people with whom to connect. Here are some suggestions to get started:

Join a Covenant Group
A covenant group is a small group made up of six to twelve people who meet regularly in which one can experience a relational individuality that affirms the inherent worth and dignity of every person. People experience themselves, and each other, as a part of the interdependent web of existence of which we are all a part. Together, people establish communities that embody the values of justice, democracy, and human dignity. Each person is treated equitably. Each has a voice and is heard. And each person is respected for his or her own intrinsic humanity. The defining purpose of a covenant group is to bring people into right relationship with each other and with the larger world. To join a group contact Rev. Kathleen Owens at 619-298-9978 or e-mail kathleen@firstuusandiego.org.

Visit a Neighborhood Group
These groups strive to deepen the bonds among members and friends of the church, and help newcomers connect with others in our church community. Church members and those friendly to UU principles meet in their neighborhood area for social mixing, conversation, food and activities. Currently there are active neighborhood groups in the following areas.
• Inland North County
• El Cajon/ La Mesa/East County
• Pacific Beach
• University City
• Mission Hills/Presidio Park/Hillcrest
• Tierrasanta/Serra Mesa
• Point Loma
• South Bay
To connect with your closest group, contact our Inreach Coordinator, Suzette Southfox at 619-298-9978 or e-mail suzette@firstuusandiego.org.

Attend an Adult Religious Education Class
The purpose of the Adult Religious Growth & Learning Program is to nurture and stimulate the religious and personal growth of the adult church community and the community at large, by offering a varied and cohesive program within the context of the larger Unitarian Universalist tradition and religious community.
Classes are offered in the areas of:
• Spiritual Growth
• Personal Growth
• Knowledge and Skills
The current Adult Education catalogue is available in PDF format

Volunteer in the Children & Youth Religious Education Program
The Mission of the Children's Religious Education Program is to nurture and stimulate our children's spiritual and personal growth and to teach and model the values that hold us together as Unitarian Universalists.
All classes, except the Nursery, follow a curriculum. Classes are taught on Sunday mornings at 9:30 and 11:30 for the following age/grade groups:
• Nursery (Birth to age 24 months)
• 2s & 3s (Ages 2 & 3)
• PreK/Kindergarten (Ages 4 & 5)
• Grades 1-2 (Age 6 & 7)
• Grades 3-4 (Age 8 & 9)
• Grades 5-6 (Age 10 & 11)
Programs for Junior High and Senior High are run by the youth and their adult advisors, with help from the Youth/Adult Committee (YAC) and the Director of Religious Education. YAC is composed of youth and adults who are interested in the social and religious growth of the teen-aged members of our congregation. Both youth groups meet during the 11:30 service on Sunday mornings. There is a combined Jr. High and Sr. High curriculum-based class during the 9:30 a.m. service.

To learn about volunteering, free training, and the support that our team of lay teachers receive, contact Kathe Larick, our Religious Education Assistant and youth group advisor. She can be reached at 619-298-9978 or by e-mailing kathe@firstuusandiego.org.

Help Put on a Play!
Looking Glass Theatre (LGT), our church theatre company, is dedicated to presenting theater which reflects UU beliefs and values. For twenty years, this group has been entertaining, inspiring, and educating local audiences. There are always children, youth, and adults working together in our productions. Recent productions include: “Fiddler on the Roof,” “A Christmas Carol,” Shaw’s “Androcles and the Lion,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Night of January 16th,” “Lysistrata,” “Oklahoma,” and “Wizard of Oz.” LGT also produced three west coast /Southern California premieres :
“Alice in Blunderland,” Studs Terkel’s “The Good War,” and “Yanamamo.”

People of all ages are invited to join our crew including: lighting, sound, costumes, sets, singing, hair, makeup, backstage, and much more. More information about LGT can be found at www.lookingglasstheatre.info.

Help Create Sunday Morning!
Doing Sunday volunteer work is more like volunteer play. Like organizing a Commitment Ceremony once a week, there are many people “behind the scenes” that make Sunday happen. Once a month, for less than an hour, is usually all it takes to help create the magic and the meaning. There are plenty of “jobs” that need to be done:

• Book Room Volunteer
• Chalice Lighter
• Coffee Server
• Docent
• Greeter
• Membership Room Helper
• Provide Sunday Flowers
• Religious Education Teacher
• Usher
• Welcome Table

We have positions with the Welcome Table, Sunday Greeters, Docents and the Membership Room. We still have openings. This kind of volunteering makes an important impact on the way visitors, guests, and new members experience our faith community. To join the Sunday Team, call Suzette at 619-298-9978 or e-mail suzette@firstuusandiego.org.

Join the Choir
Our wonderful adult choir adds its glorious voice to church life. The choir performs twice a month at Sunday Services and rehearses each Wednesday evening, except during the summer. Twice a year the choir performs a major choral work with instrumental accompaniment: a Service of Music prior to Christmas, and a formal evening Concert in the late spring. Auditions for choir are held each September. For more information, contact Dan Ratelle, the Choir Director at 619-298-9978 or e-mail him at danratelle@cox.net.

Attend Leadership Training School
Who should attend the weekend?
Anyone who has a desire for personal growth and who wants to help strengthen their participation and grow in their personal life.

What will be learned?
• Working with the diversity of issues and leadership challenges we often find in our daily lives.
• The evolution of our UU heritage and its relationship to our own individual commitments to faith, society, and reason.
• New skills that enable us to make a difference in who we are and how we relate in our interactions with others.
• The sharing of personal reflection and convictions in credo groups.
• Religious celebration in many forms through the creation of our own worship services.

Attend a Concert and Talk to the Person Next to You
Since 1978, the Music Committee of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego has sponsored the Concert Series as an extension of cultural outreach to the community. We present monthly concerts from September to June, featuring a wide variety of musical traditions and styles in a chamber music setting. Unitarian Universalists believe in a Living Tradition that includes the “direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures.” It is the Music Committee’s firm conviction that the lively arts open us to that mystery and wonder. Click here for current events.

Get Involved in a Ministry Team
A Ministry Team is a collection of church volunteers who work and play together in groups to heal our planet, create positive, progressive change, and live out our liberal religious values in meaningful community with one another. A Ministry Team is like a smaller “tribe” within a larger church village. All the activity that goes on in the life of First Church happens through the hearts, hands, and minds of the Ministry Teams. To learn more about the groups involved in each Minstry Team, or to connect with the activities, contact call Suzette at 619-298-9978 or e-mail
suzette@firstuusandiego.org.

Caring Ministry Team
The mission of the Caring Ministry Team of First Church is to strengthen our caring community as we live out our Church Affirmation, “May love be the spirit of this church and service be its prayer”.
• Lay Pastoral Care Associates
• Practical Care Network
• Neighborhood Groups

Denominational Affairs Ministry Team
The mission of the Denominational Affairs Ministry team is to initiate and support activities that connect First UU Church of San Diego to our larger family of Unitarians and Universalists in our district, our association, and our world.
• Denominational Relations
• Friends of de Benneville Pines
• Partner Church
• UU Service Committee
• UU United Nations

Generosity Ministry Team
The mission of the Generosity Ministry Team is to develop financial and spiritual resources for the current and future needs of First Church with integrity and with an awareness of the joy inherent in cultivating generosity as a spiritual virtue.
• Channing Society
• Generosity Group
• Planned Giving

Lifespan Religious Education
The purpose of the Lifespan Religious Growth and Learning Ministry Team is to empower individuals to make a difference in the world by: living our Unitarian Universalist principles and values with integrity; learning to understand the world in which we live and how we engage with it; acknowledging the richness of the past, using it today, and recording it for the future; providing opportunities and support for Personal Growth and Development in age and gender appropriate settings, in cross-age programming, with appreciation and attention to our diversity and our multicultural community, and with an awareness of anti-racism and anti-oppression issues.
• Adult Religious Growth & Learning
• Archives
• Book Room
• Campus Ministry
• Children’s Religious Education
• Covenant Groups
• Leadership Development
• Library
• Preschool
• Religious Education for Children
• Youthful and Openminded (YAO)
• Young Adult Mystery Squad (YAMS)
• Youth / Adult Religious Education Committee

Inreach Ministry Team
The Mission of the Inreach Ministry Team is to build a vibrant, progressive, spiritual community filled with opportunities to develop positive connections and personal meaning while living out Unitarian Universalist Principles and purposes.

• All Church Camp
• Awards
• Community Building
• Dynamic Duos
• Hospitality
• Kitchen
• Membership
• Men’s Fellowship
• Singles (Discovery)
• Singletarians
• Social Hour
• Women’s Federation
• Women Together

Social Justice Ministry Team
The Mission of the Social Justice Ministry Team is to actively support First Church in becoming an increasingly diverse community where all ages learn and grow together in working for compassionate justice in our society and on our planet.
• Clean Elections Task Force
• EarthSpirit Team
• Environmental Action Group
• Esperanza
• Fair Banking Coalition
• Interfaith Shelter Project
• Organizing for Justice
• Peace and Democracy
• Promise the Children
• Rainbow Outreach
• Reproductive Rights
• UU Legislative Ministry Liaison
• UU Service Committee
• UU United Nations Envoy
• Voluntary Simplicity

Worship and Program Ministry Team
The Mission of the Worship and Program Ministry Team is to create worship services and other programs that move hearts and minds, heal the planet, and provide opportunities for sacred learning and spiritual growth.
• Art Guild
• Buddhist Sangha 
• Choirs (Adult, Bell, Children's, Youth) 
• Christian Fellowship
• Communications Action Group 
• Cosmos
• Earth Centered Spirituality Circle
• Flowers
• Helen Meyers Forum 
• Humanist Discussion Group
• Looking Glass Theatre
• Meditation
• Memorial Wall
• Music
• Ushering