What a joy it is to travel both nationally and internationally and visit other Unitarian Universalist churches, meet their members and, perhaps, make a few new friends along the way.  If you would like to share your experiences meeting with other like-minded souls, contact your Web Conduit (connection@uucolumbia.org) sending in a few photos, brief description, and the date of your encounter.

Burlington, VT

On September  9, 2019, Phil Turner visited his sister in Burlington, VT,  and took a side trip to take a look at the Unitarian church,  The church is at one end of a beautiful pedestrian mall.

Bend, OR

The Turners had the joy of visiting their good friends in Bend, Oregon on July 31, 2019.  The friends had recently joined the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon and Lis and Phil were excited to see the beautiful building and grounds.  The Bend Fellowship has 400 members and was given an $8 million gift to design and construct the building.  If only…

Sarasota, Florida

Lis and Phil Turner visited the UU Church of Sarasota on January 20, 2019.  This is a church of over 500 members and what a difference a large congregation makes!  They have two services each Sunday, one rather more serious than the other.  Their pastor, Roger Fritts, turned 68 that day and his sermon dealt with his personal reflections on being a senior citizen.  The following week they were going to have their fund-raising auction and the book of offerings was about 1/4 of an inch thick.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

UU Santa Fe was a friendly and welcoming congregation. Carolyn West and John Logue attended the 10:30 am service (second service), Sunday, July 15, 2018. 
The minister, Rev Gail Marriner, read a homily entitled “An Invitation to move Beyond Words” as an introduction to a service centered on meditation. Congregants were encouraged to participate via one of several activities including simple Tai Chi movements, mandala building, and controlled breathing.

This was accompanied by improvisational music provided by drumming and Native American style flute. The service was very calming and pleasant. It closed with a hand holding benediction.It was interesting to note that the UU Santa Fe Covenant of Right Relations was located on the back of their bulletin.

London

Lee and Julian Minghi traveled to England in July 2018.  They visited with Reverend Sarah Tinker and toured her beautiful church.  Essex Unitarian church is the oldest in London. This new building is less central than the original church location.
Note, the sun is shining… One does not need to walk around with an umbrella all the time

Czech Republic

Thursday, June 14, 2018, was a special day as we walked to the Unitarian Church headquarters for Czech Republic and visited with the Director, Lucie Hrabankova. She gave us a tour of the offices and directed us to the Unitarian Church around the block. It was closed but we did get pictures that we are sending. She knew our Rev. Zsolt and had worked on committees with him.