First Unitarian Society of Denver - Leap of Faith project congregational information (Script)

1. We are an urban sanctuary for growing souls in love and service. We are the spiritual home for over 350 growing souls, situated in the heart of the Rocky Mountain West. We have been the liberal religious voice of reason, sanity, and compassion for generations of thoughtful, committed, and progressive seekers. We are the First Unitarian Society of Denver.<br />Established in 1871, five years before Colorado became a state, First Unitarian this year celebrates its 140th anniversary as the oldest church in the Mountain Desert District, in a metropolitan area of more than 2.5 million people. We have grown with our beloved city, and cultivated a deep legacy of activism and leadership. Part of this legacy is our commitment to remaining an urban church, and we are proud to be one of the landmark congregations in Denver’s diverse and densely populated Capitol Hill neighborhood, eleven blocks from the State Capitol. The immediate surroundings of First Unitarian are mixed residential and commercial city street, with major hospitals, fine restaurants, thrift stores, work programs, and homeless shelters all within walking distance. <br />The vast majority of our members are urban dwellers, living within five miles of the church, and by and large we tend to be working people…; teachers, small business owners, civil servants, University and non-profit employees... We have a scattering of doctors, lawyers, and professors; a scattering of poor and homeless; and experience a steady stream of transient seekers from every conceivable economic reality. <br />Throughout our history First Unitarian has been on the forefront of social justice in Denver. From prison reform and women’s education in the 19th century to civil rights throughout the 20th, our congregation is widely recognized for our work in desegregation, anti-racism, homelessness, and actively advocating for marriage equality. We became a Welcoming Congregation in 2001, and in 2007 became the first congregation in the country to complete Living the Welcoming Congregation. In 2006 First Unitarian began an annual public witness called “Standing on the Side of Love,” held on the steps of the Colorado State capitol. For this annual event, we close the church on Sunday morning and bring the whole congregation to the state house. This year almost 600 people and three area UU congregations joined us for what we believe is a fundamental right of every human being—the right to marry the person they love. <br /> First Unitarian is committed to the religious exploration and spiritual development of children and youth. We have an enrollment of 140 young people who are engaged each Sunday with cutting edge curricula and lessons, some of which are designed by the children themselves. First Unitarian also offers outside of Sunday school spiritual growth and practice through offerings like Dances of Universal Peace, Intergenerational Services and Family Chapels, Holiday Pageants, Youth led Services, Coming of Age programming, and Our Whole Lives sexuality education. We view the religious journey of these young people as something done in partnership—between the children and their adult mentors and advocates. Thus, not only are Sunday classes taught with this in mind, but each worship service also includes youth participants, performing chalice lightings, greetings, announcements, and A Time for All Ages. We even have youth members and participation on our Religious Education Committee and our Board of Trustees. First Unitarian Society is honored and blessed to have so many young growing souls as a part of its community and as such, we are dedicated to empowering each child with the faith, knowledge, and practices which allow them to fully evaluate and embrace their spiritual possibilities.<br />We are proud of the fact that we are one of the few urban teaching congregations in the Association. Six of our last seven ministerial interns have been ordained, and five of them are currently serving Unitarian Universalist congregations. We LOVE our student ministers, and see the training and preparation of the next generation of UU clergy as a natural and necessary component of our ministry. <br />In recent years, First Unitarian has demonstrated a culture of abundance and generosity, allowing us to donate two of our Sunday collections each month to a growing network of interfaith and non-profit partners. Organizations like the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, Metro CareRing, Denver’s Road Home, Urban Peak, New Genesis, Capitol Hill Action and Recreation Group, The Gay and Lesbian Center, Colorado Council of Churches, the Interfaith Alliance, and Capitol Hill United Ministries allow our church to extend its resources far more effectively than we could do alone. We have given away over $85,000 since 2007. <br />In addition to money, we commit a week every quarter in conjunction with the Interfaith Hospitality Network to house transitional homeless families in our building. We mentor homeless families through Denver’s Road Home program, make hot meals for New Genesis shelter for men, and are an overflow shelter for homeless women in bad weather. Being an urban sanctuary allows us to minister to the lonely and the hurting, and we view these daily and weekly drop-ins as part of our larger ministry. We are a permanent food drop for MetroCareRing and collect hundreds of pounds of food each year for Denver’s needy. Justice and service are woven into this community.<br />These are only a few of the highlights that have arisen from the faithful and positive spirit of our church. Over the past eight years, our membership has grown by over forty percent, even after a thorough cleansing of our rosters. Attendance at Sunday worship has more than doubled, frequently approaching and sometimes exceeding the number of members, and our Religious Education program has tripled in active registrations. In that same time frame we have created a Young Adult Group, a Small Group Ministry Program, added a second Sunday service, doubled our music budget, adopted new by-laws, created comprehensive Personnel Policies, added three new staff positions, refurbished the building to add an elevator and a multi-purpose room, and much, much, more. In the past eight years our average pledge has doubled to over $1,700, and our annual budget has nearly doubled. The congregation is debt-free, owns its own building, has a healthy endowment, and is in the first year of overhauling and professionalizing our financial and administrative practices. <br />Harder to describe is the feeling of being at church on a Sunday morning. There is energy in the air. Amazing music fills the worship space. Our new chalice flames brightly, and laughter is a steady component of our gatherings. Since our minister’s sabbatical almost eighteen months ago, Sunday services have had much stronger experiential elements, more focus on daily living, and an insistent message of connection and hope. Our congregation holds dearly three beliefs that we display proudly in the front of our sanctuary: there is a unity that makes us one, all souls are sacred and worthy, and salvation in this life. These principles resonate deeply in the larger community and as a result we have experienced unprecedented growth in families with children, young adults, and people thirsting for community. <br />Energized by these three principles, First Unitarian feels itself in a time of strength, growth, and expectation. As part of an evolving spiritual vision, and recognizing our growing edges, we have formed a “Great Expectations” task force to articulate faithful and compelling philosophy for membership and stewardship with the goal of integrating these necessary and faithful functions. We are working diligently on Leadership Development. We believe there are leadership qualities in everyone, and we seek to become a community of leaders. We are exploring new models and innovations in Social Action to further integrate the church community, and to build and expand our community partnerships. We see ourselves boldly taking our rich legacy and our saving faith in new and innovative directions of religious vitality and organizational health.<br />We are driven, willing, and hungry to be a better church. We are thrilled to be here and eager to begin this journey. We are the First Unitarian Society of Denver.<br />