Frequently asked questions

There are many options for groups. 

Our Leaderhip Directory is intended to provide you with an overview of the lay leadership of First Universalist and the committees and other groupings of volunteers that work  within the church. It includes a listing of the Board of Trustees and our two congregationally elected committees. All other committees, task forces, teams, etc. are open and welcome new members. We invite you to serve on one or more of these and/or take your ideas and concerns about the church to the appropriate group so that the church can more effectively serve members, friends, and the larger community. 

There are different kinds of groups: broadly Social or Common Interest Groups, Caring Circles and Small Group Ministry. Caring Circles are a network of members that could be called upon to minister to the needs of other members in the congregation and they stengthen the community and the ties that bind us. Small Group ministry is about your growth and development. Types of Small Groups include Chalice Circles (groups that meet up to twice a month with a curriculum to structure conversation) and Spirit Groups (to explore spiritual practices).

If you would like to get involved with events, or the information above is overwhelming, please contact Pam Leder, our Connections Coordinator, and she will assist you in finding the group for you.

Signing your name in our membership book and submitting the membership forms to formally become a member of First Universalist Church of Denver is a personal commitment to participate in a process of sharing your talents, your resources, and your energy with others in a quest that is spiritual as well as practical, personal as well as social, individual as well as institutional. Unitarian Universalism challenges you to consider how your beliefs affect your attitude toward yourself and others, and how those beliefs influence what you do. 

Please check with any staff member to arrange to sign the book. Forms are available from Sarah Libert.

The Rev. Jack Mendelsohn reminds us that, "Inscribing your name does not transform you into an instant or born-again Unitarian Universalist. Our religious way of life is not so much an arriving as a becoming -- an ongoing process of thought and life experience. Joining for you may mean fresh steps along a familiar path. It may mean venturing in uncharted territory. In either case, the initiative is yours. You do not sign on someone else's dotted line of spiritual development, and there is no fine print. Your signature is your affirming symbol of commitment to an open-minded, inclusive, reasoned, seasoned, compassionate, and contemporary approach to life."

If you are interested in learning more about Unitarian Universalism and FIrst Universalist, we invite you to attend the monthly Pathway to Meaning class offered by Rev. Kirk Loadman-Copeland. 

Unitarian Universalists often have a lot to say, and can be a little terse about it. It's not intended to exclude people, so here are some common acronyms to get you started:

UU: Unitarian Universalist. As in, "I'm a UU, you're a UU."

FFRE: Faith Formation and Religious Education. Our version of Sunday School.

MDD: Mountain Desert District. Tthe regional grouping of Unitarian Universalist churches.

Happenings

This weekly email newsletter arrives in nearly 900 member email boxes each Wednesday morning. Items are brief; one to three short paragraphs. Time-specific events such as classes, meetings, socials, and so forth, may be included two weeks out from event date.

All-church events (i.e., Fairs, Annual Auction, conventions, etc.) may be listed further than one month out of event date. If you wish for your  all-church event to be listed for several weeks, please consider sending fresh copy weekly, focusing on one different aspect each time (i.e. recruiting leadership and then volunteers, soliciting donations, etc.) to keep reader’s attention.

Exceptions can be made for events with early registration deadlines. Events move up in Happenings as their date approaches and are deleted after event date. Brief “thank you” and/or event recaps may be listed as well. To be most relevant and to have the best impact, please send these shortly after the event.

Please keep in mind that events “move up” in the listing as their date draws near. Events are deleted once they are past-date, or the first session of a multi-session group/class has begun.

The Order of Service (Bulletin, OOS)

Members who attend Sunday services receive this four-page handout, and it is mailed weekly to nearly 70 members who cannot attend services or for households without internet service. While the OOS accepts submissions, please keep in mind that it has finite space, with priority given to service information and all-church events. Although we would love to provide space for each and every item in the OOS, this is simply not possible every week.

Sunday events that have been listed a week out from their date (especially those requiring RSVP/registration) may not appear in the OOS on the same day as the event.

Calendars

Please remember that once your event is booked at First Universalist, members also will see it listed in the calendars (website, Order of Service.) Booked events are pulled from the database to be included in the calendars, there is no member action required. 

Website

For programs and large events, webpages can be created. Discussion of this option is outside the scope of this document. Please contact Janice@firstuniversalist.org for more information.

All-Church Emails

If your event is “all-church,” meaning it’s a one-day, stand alone event that all members are invited to (examples include  All-Church Picnic, Earth Celebration, Halloween Festival, fundraisers such as the Annual Auction, etc.), an email may be sent, reaching nearly 900 people.

Please submit your copy to Rebecca@firstuniversalist.org at least two weeks prior to your preferred send-email date. And, please keep “member courtesy” in mind:  Just one brief, focused email.

Targeted Constant Contact Emails

One email per event (except for all-church events) may be sent to a targeted-member group email list through Constant Contact. Please submit copy to Rebecca@Firstuniversalist.com at least two weeks prior to preferred email send date. If an email list does not already exist for your group in Constant Contact, please also include targeted event demographics so that one may be created (examples of demographics that can be used in the database as filters include: age, gender, area, etc.) For more on targeting your marketing, please see “Marketing 101” below.

The Editor’s Role

Please keep in mind that all submitted copy is edited to:

--trim to fit space as needed

--match First Universalist formatting

--correct typos and grammar errors

--meet the five C’s of Clear, Concise, Comprehensible, Correct and Consistent

Please be aware that in some cases, submitted copy may not be included if content is not a good match for the communication piece or the subject matter is inappropriate.

Finally, while every effort is made to insert copy to match submitter timeline, this is not always possible, with some events/ministries advertising held back for a week or two. This practice is done to ensure that the publicized events/ministries are the most relevant and timely ones, as well as to ensure each program has an opportunity to be advertised for free among the avenues that First Universalist provides.

Submission & Deadlines

Items for Happenings, the Slide Show and the Order of Service are all the same: Tuesday, 2 p.m. to be included in that week’s issue. To maximize the marketing of your event, early submissions are welcomed and encouraged.

Submit your items to: rebecca@firstuniversalist.org. Please be aware that electronic submissions reduce errors as cutting and pasting your original copy is possible, versus re-typing copy from a piece of paper. Copy may be edited to match First Universalist formats and/or trimmed to fit available space.

Best Writing Practices from the Current First Universalist Communication Plan

Writing Principles

• Be frugal when using Bold, italics & all capital letters.  The only information in bold should be the date of the event.  Using all caps takes the focus of the whole article to one word and is more likely to be distracting than having the desired impact.
• highlighted keywords (hypertext links serve as one form of highlighting; typeface variations and color are others)
• meaningful sub-headings (not "clever" ones)
• bulleted lists
• one idea per paragraph (users will skip over any additional ideas if they are not caught by the first few words in the paragraph)
• the inverted pyramid style, starting with the conclusion
• half the word count (or less) than conventional writing
• Can someone understand the basics of the article by reading only the headlines and highlighted items?
• Is every article actionable - is there a contact or way to volunteer or provide feedback?
• Does the first 140 characters have enough essential information that someone can act if they only see the tweet or Facebook comment?
• Bullet