by Maddie Farris, William & Mary UU Circle Co-chair
“No, it doesn’t matter if you’re not UU! We’re all at different parts of our journey. It’s not our path to keep people away from us: all are welcome here. All are worthy. And part of our story—of our purpose—is to be an interconnected community that thrives on learning and growing together. You could’ve learned about us just yesterday—and you’d still belong. So welcome!”
That’s a paraphrase of one of the highlights of my interactions with new members during the Activity Fair last Tuesday—one of many. But let me backtrack and explain. On the 30th of August, or Tuesday, the Unitarian Universalist Circle had the opportunity to table at the Student Activity Fair, which ran from 8-9:30 pm.
By the end of the night, Ellie and I (co-chairs of the UU Circle this year) had met about five to six interested freshmen, as well as a senior and a junior who had only recently grown interested in us after visiting UU congregations in their respective hometowns. After the Activity Fair, we also received membership requests from about three other individuals via our “TribeLink” student organization website; in total, we met ten to eleven new members that night, which increased the overall signups in both GroupMe (our student messaging app) and TribeLink by about 45%.
But what is the bottom-line? Why are we so excited about this event?
The UU Circle at W&M is looking to extend its branches over campus: to spread our message of loving kindness who need to hear it the most. From plans of bimonthly meetings to concepts of a bonfire and a community drumming circle with all interested undergraduate and graduate students—as well as congregation members—we have big ideas this year.
We’re very welcoming, we’re excited to be on campus, and we are very happy to be offering tolerance, loving kindness, and mentoring to young people from all faith traditions and personal journeys, we’re hoping to liaise with and serve the church by spreading the UU message—and we’re looking for both guidance and direction as we pursue this openhanded mission.