What's a UU Society?
What's a UU Society?
A UU Society is a gathered community of people who find the principles of religious freedom, personal integrity, and respect for diversity to be important values. Through a covenant of memory and promise, we become partners in a long history of the growth of human liberty, with a commitment to increase that heritage for future generations. Such a community may take the name of a:
- church
- congregation
- fellowship
- society
The choice of name reflects the philosophy of the members at the time the congregation was established. The First Unitarian Society was established in 1881 as liberal religious community welcoming all people, including those who were not comfortable with the designation of a church. When the Unitarian and Universalist denominations were consolidated in 1961, neither the First Unitarian Society (FUS) nor our sister congregation, the First Universalist Church (about 10 blocks south, at 34th and DuPont) wanted to give up its identity as “First”. Both continue to be thriving congregations, and the distinction of “Unitarian Society” and “Universalist Church” helps provide clarity as to which entity is meant. The First Unitarian Society functions as a church community, and many of our members refer to their attendance as “going to church.”
