About SFUU

The mission of the Sierra Foothills Unitarian Universalist congregation is to encourage individual spiritual and intellectual journeys as we create an inclusive religious community. We are committed to the responsible and compassionate stewardship of all life through our respect for diversity and interdependency. We serve by reaching out with love and caring to our local and global communities. 

 

The Early Years: A Lay-led Fellowship
The Sierra Foothills Unitarian Universalists have always been a do-it-yourself community, a “co-op church” so to speak. The original 1982 fellowship was created by a small group that gathered in a public library in response to a newspaper article. Of the 14 original members who signed the charter and membership book, four continue to be members today. Those four people are treasured as links to our roots.

From 1982 – 1991, the group met in many different locations – at least 8. We were a traveling church, unloading out of car trunks on Sunday mornings, spinning wheels and energy on keeping track of the coffee pot and RE supplies. Some of the early growth was motivated by families seeking a UU-type of Religious Education experience for their children; thus, our church culture has always placed a high value on quality RE.
 

This early fellowship also had the challenge of drawing from a wide geographic area. Members often lived 50 miles apart so attending activities between Sunday services could be daunting. In general, the largest clusters of members were in the Auburn and in the Grass Valley/Nevada City areas (about 30 miles north of Auburn). However, because the original founding of the group was in Auburn, there was never any doubt that this would be the permanent home of the church.
 

Organizing for the Future
In 1988, the church membership totaled about 30 and we decided it was time to hire a part-time consulting minister who could help us develop a more formal organization. The Rev. Anne Odin Heller, very talented in organization work, great in the pulpit, and a perfect match for us, served the congregation for 3 years. With her coaching, by-laws were established, we became a “congregation” rather than a fellowship, the Board had its first-ever pledge drive, we were energized with adult RE, and we learned how to create worship experiences that went beyond “the lecture.”

From 1991 – 1995, we had a succession of part-time consulting ministers, each serving for a year. Also in 1991, we needed to find a more satisfactory church home. We did that by discovering a small church that could be shared; the rent was right but our time to worship was 4 p.m. on Sundays, which wasn’t optimum. Our membership was growing and the RE space was less-than-adequate.

For four years we shared this church, but in 1995 we decided we were committed to growth and it would be necessary to find a space that would allow us to have Sunday morning services and better RE facilities. The solution was to rent an elementary school’s multi-purpose room and 4 classrooms. We met the challenge of creating a sanctuary each Sunday, under the basketball hoops, for six years.

Throughout these years, we have been blessed to have talented consulting ministers, even though on a half-time basis. Our typical process of hiring has been like a “mini-search,” in which packets are exchanged with candidates and a 1-day interview clarifies whether our situation is a “match.” Our most recent consulting Minister stayed with us for four years. Another of our consulting ministers was with us for three years, one for two years, and the others who were with us for only one year have all shared their varied gifts. Our congregation has been uniquely served by some of the best UU talent on the West coast.
 

Commitment to a Home of our Own
What is important? Is it having a home of our own? Is it having a called minister? Or is it having a community, wherever it is, in which our members care for each other, explore together and worship together, in community? These questions were at the heart of our congregation for many years as we struggled with defining our goals and how to achieve them. Part of the struggle was that the members lived so far apart – the geographical area was so discouraging – and the energy for building a long-lasting community kept dissipating. The commitment to community was there, but no one quite understood how it could be sustained in the long run, especially as folks were aging.

A member who had given land that provided the nest-egg for home-acquisition motivated the group to begin looking at possibilities. Again, the prospect of settling anywhere permanent that would be difficult for either the Auburn or the Grass Valley/Nevada City members to access provided grave hesitation and some ill feeling. Even as a land partnership was established that helped us move toward a larger nest-egg, there was no solid commitment to the location of a home.

By 1994/1995, there were nearly 100 SFUU members and approximately 1/3 of them lived in the Grass Valley/Nevada City area. They decided to form their own congregation, now known as the UU Community of the Mountains. SFUU was its covenanting congregation and we are very proud to have helped in its formation. During the few years after this spin-off, SFUU’s membership was reduced and it has just now achieved the pre-split level.
 

As we re-established our sense of direction without the severe geographic challenge, it became clear that the heart of our church needed its own home. Members were burned out with setting up and taking down on Sundays; we had been too long in an elementary school without a cupboard to call our own. Our Site Search Committee received a loud-and-clear message: find a Real Church Home. After two more years of looking, the perfect-size church for us (for now) came on the market and we were able to buy it.