"At First UU Ann Arbor we do not check our brains at the door but enter a place where we can address things we can't address elsewhere. We find involvement with others who share our liberal religious values exciting and energizing."

These words characterize the energy in our congregation that grew out of our "Sankofa" project-- a congregational conversation that examined what we value most in our long rich history and challenged us to ignite our collective imagination and envision what we can become. The core values we identified in that process guide both our governance and our program development

Our Core Values Guide Our Governance

Our congregational policy document begins with the following articulation of our core values.

The First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor, MI has been deeply committed to liberal religious thought and action snce 1865. We join together in community to encourage and inspire each other’s spiritual journeys, to honor and care for the natural world around us, and to join forces in furthering social justice in the Ann Arbor area and the wider world.

1. Spiritual life
We find inspiration, renewal, and challenge in worship services. Children, youth and adults are enriched by classes and programs that expand religious understanding and nurture spiritual growth rooted in Unitarian Universalist traditions and values.

2. Social Justice and Environmental Action
We live our beliefs by creating, sustaining, and enhancing programs that actively engage congregants of all ages in projects that promote peace, justice, and positive environmental action locally and beyond.

3. Community
We create and foster community by providing an intentionally welcoming and safe environment where all feel valued and cared for, and where all are given opportunity to form meaningful connections with one another. We foster a climate of purposeful inclusion of all. We cherish the diversity of gender, age, race, ethnicity, national origin, range of abilities, sexual orientation, gender identity, financial means, education, and political perspective. We live together in peace, search for truth in love, and help one another.

4. Stewardship
We are all active stewards, serving our congregation and pursuing our ministries through prudent and creative use of our resources, whether physical, environmental, financial or human. We show respect and care for our beautiful building and grounds, for our staff, and for one another. We cultivate right relationships among Members of this congregation and with the wider world.

5. Culture
We are nourished by the culture that has evolved in this congregation throughout our rich liberal religious heritage in Ann Arbor, a culture rooted in our core belief in the inherent worth and dignity of every individual. We learn and grow from our differences. We value our connections, past, present and future, to the Unitarian Universalist world network.

Our Values Guide Our Programs

We continue our congregation's tradition of putting belief into action through programs that reflect our values. As you browse this web site you will see many other outreach projects, community building events, spiritual opportunities and educational programs that speak our values loud and clear.

Faith in Our Future - Strategic Directions

From April through December, 2011 we developed a five year strategic plan for our congregation. Please read more about this planning process. All members were invited to take part in this democratic process that will shape our future.

Conversations That Matter- 2009- In the Fall of 2009, we held a series of "Conversations That Matter" where we explored ideas and thoughts for the future of the congregation Click here for a summary.

Vision - Our Appreciative Inquiry Project

Our Appreciative Inquiry project was an all-congregation conversation about what we value in our membership in FUUAA and how we envision our future. The box at the right provides links to information about the project and to our vision of our future as collected in "Provocative Proposals".

Sankofa Bird Symbol

The Sankofa bird is a mythical creature from stories of the Akan people of west Africa. This bird looks to its past while flying into the future with the gems of knowledge of its people. As in many cultures, the egg, said to contain these kernels of wisdom, is a powerful symbol of potential and of transformation.