Finding a Church Home, by Mary Kay Fruga
My husband John Luecke and I first came to UUFR in 2011 when we were still living in High Point, NC. We knew that we would be moving to Raleigh as soon as John retired and were in search of a church home. While living in Wisconsin prior to our move to North Carolina in 2008, we had been members of the Unitarian Universalist Church West in the Milwaukee area. We combined occasional visits to the art museum with attending the 11:00 service at UUFR.
It took a number of visits before we ventured down to the coffee hour, expecting that awkward feeling of being a newcomer surrounded by strangers. After all, new is new, even if you are familiar with the beliefs and practices of the church in general. That had been our experience back in Wisconsin, and we didn’t expect anything different here. The coffee was good and strong, and we settled on the sidelines to take in the gathering, planning to leave when our cups were empty.
But then Pat Clark and Art Lieberman spotted us and headed over to chat. What brought us to UUFR? What did we think of the service? They shared their story as we shared ours, completely by passing what could have turned into the usual inquisition. Before we knew it, we were invited to join them for lunch where we met six other UUFR members who gathered around that table. It was a delightful and thoroughly welcoming experience. We came back regularly after that. We knew we had found our new spiritual home. We actually knew a few folks already who welcomed us back with each visit.
So we circled UUFR on the map and began the hunt for the house we still live in today: 17 minutes from door to door with at least four different routes to choose from. For us, UUFR is a place of welcome, a community of fellowship and concern. The community there provides both support and encouragement, challenging us out of our comfort zones and onto the path of serving the larger community we share. We’ve been members for nearly 12 years now and can honestly say that whoever you are, you are welcome here.
