About UUFC: Our Mission and Principles
Our Mission
The mission of our fellowship is to nurture and respect each other in our spiritual growth and pursuit of meaning, to create a welcoming and engaging environment through which we work for positive change in our community and the world.
Our Principles
* The inherent worth and dignity of every person
* Justice, equity and compassion in human relations
* Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations
* A free and responsible search for truth and meaning
* The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large
* The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all
* Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part
For more information about Unitarian Universalism, please visit the UUA website, www.uua.org
Our History
2005 - Present
The Rev. Dr. Neal Jones served as the part-time minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Columbia for the last two years before becoming the fulltime minister on August 1, 2007.
1995 - 2005
The Rev. Dr. Patrick Price becomes our minister.
1993 - 1995
Once more the fellowship becomes Lay led in worship.
1989 - 1993
In September of 1989, our new minister, Reverend Mark Allstrom arrived in Columbia. He and his family were warmly received by the UUFC community.
1980 - 1989
During this period, the Reverend Christine Robinson became our second minister. We sold our church building and purchased the current building, the former Tree of Life Synagogue. A local newspaper selected Reverend Robinson as one of the ten most outstanding leaders in the community. With her guidance and inspiration, we experienced a dynamic period of growth -- becoming the fastest growing fellowship in the Thomas Jefferson District. The children's RE program grew at a similarly rapid pace. Our members continued their involvement in such social action issues as protesting the Savannah River nuclear weapons factory, championing a number of environmental causes, and seeking to increase our racial diversity. In 1988, Reverend Robinson resigned to move to a larger congregation in New Mexico, and we launched a search for a full time minister.
1972 - 1980
The hiring of our first minister, Reverend roger Sizemore, in 1972, resulted in rapid growth; membership grew from 45 to 100 members during his six year tenure. Because of this growth, adult services were moved to a school, while RE continued in the UUFC house. This inconvenient arrangement ended with the purchase of an old Episcopal church in 1975.
In 1978, Reverend Sizemore left the UUFC, and we became a lay-led congregation for about two years until members determined that we should begin the search for a part-time minister
1960's
Having reached a size that could no longer be accommodated in private homes, the congregation now began to meet every week in such places as social clubs, schools, or other church buildings. During this turbulent decade, the Fellowship's liberal principles were found intolerable by the general population. In one instance, we were ejected from a meeting place for holding an integrated service. Our first building (a house), purchased in 1962, allowed us the freedom to openly advocate tolerance and social justice. It also allowed room for a religious education program and generally served us well for the next ten years.
1950 - 1960
The UUFC was born in 1950 as a product of the work of Monroe Husband, a Unitarian "missionary" sent by the American Unitarian Association to help potential Unitarian congregations’ organize and develop. Meeting twice a month in each other's homes, the number of members slowly and steadily increased from the nine charter members to 25 members by the end of the decade.
tsc.uufc@bjmeallen.net