PEOPLE LIVING OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES

    Unitarian Universalism is centered in the United States of America.
But there are millions of people elsewhere in the world
who would be interested in our approach to religious questions
if they had some way of being part of this movement.

    Now the World Wide Web and e-mail world-wide
makes the outreach efforts of the UU movement suddenly easy.
The difficult part will be finding ways to make our presence known
to people with Internet access who have never heard of UUism.

    Even many English-speaking countries
such as the British Isles and Australia have very few UUs.
And the educated classes of Latin America, India, & even China
already use the Internet (which is still mainly in English)
for many other purposes.
Why not make UUism known thru these millions of home computers?

    As the First Unitarian Universalist Church of the Internet
grows as an organization, other languages than English can be used.
We will only need a few people who can translate everything
between those other languages and English.
And of course, some of the cyber-sermons
and other communications will originate in other languages.

THE DEAF & SPEECH IMPAIRED

    Because this forms of communication
depends entirely on being able to read words on a computer screen,
the sense of hearing is entirely unnecessary.
People who are hearing-impaired or completely deaf
can participate as fully as any others.

    And, in contrast to some other services for the hearing-impaired,
this organization does not segregate the deaf from the rest in any way.
Persons who become members of the First UU Church of the Internet
need not mention any such limitations.

    Of course, they are free to tell other hearing-impaired people
about this service and to encourage them to participate.
But there will be no ghetto for those who cannot hear.

    Some of us, as we get older, gradually lose our ability to hear.
And this limits our participation in most forms of religious expression,
which depend on being able to hear and speak.

    Others of us were born deaf,
never being able to communicate at all using sound waves.

UU MINISTERS

    Because Unitarian Universalism is a very small denomination,
we are spread very thinly, especially in some parts of the world.
But everyone who has Internet access
can participate as fully as everyone else by means of computer.

    UU ministers who serve parishes are sometimes isolated
from intellectual and spiritual interaction with their peers.
However, if the FUUCI manages to identify and distribute
the very best in UU thinking,
this will be a service not only to all the lay people on the mailing list
but also to the professionals.
They will be able to appreciate what their colleagues
in the UU ministry in other parts of the world are saying.
And they can join in the dialog as fully as anyone.

    Because there is no sacred hour for this church,
people who work Sunday mornings (such as UU ministers)
will be able to take part in all the events of the FUUCI
when they do have the time and leisure to turn on their computers.

    UU ministers who are looking for their first parish
or who are between jobs might find the FUUCI a good place
to continue their ministry in the interim.
When they list their accomplishments,
they will be able to say that they spend some months
as volunteer staff members for the First UU Church of the Internet
and that such-and-such of their proposals were selected
by the subscribers to be Cyber-Sermons-of-the-Month.

PARENTS WITH YOUNG CHILDREN

    Attending a physical church at the appropriate time
may be nearly impossible for parents who are caring for young children.
But the FUUCI is always available:
24 hours a day, seven days a week,
members can take part in the activities of the FUUCI
in whatever depth and extent suits them.
Even if you have only 15 minutes of peace in the middle of the night,
that can be given to reading the Cyber-Sermon-of-the-Month
or sharing your thoughts with one of the volunteer professionals
by means of e-mail.
Being a parent need not mean completely suspending your spiritual quest.

PEOPLE WHO CANNOT GET TO A LOCAL UU CONGREGATION

    Because most UU activities take place at specific geographical locations,
only the people who are physically able to get there can join in those activities.
Many of our congregations have buildings
that are accessible to people on wheels instead of on legs,
but getting in the door and up the stairs is only part of the problem.

    Others are limited by the sheer distance
to their nearest UU congregation.
This is especially true of most of the globe outside of the United States.
Some people in joining the FUUCI note
that their nearest UU congregations is many miles away,
making participation nearly impossible.

    But they have computers right in their own homes.
So at least some of the most meaningful UU content
can be shared with them by means of e-mail and the Internet.

    Also the volunteer professional staff
remains ready and willing to communicate individually
with anyone who wants to engage in private discussion on any subject.

    If you know people who live far away from any UU congregation
who might be interested in what the FUUCI offers,
let them know that this organization exists.

PEOPLE WHO FEEL NOT-AT-HOME IN THEIR LOCAL CONGREGATIONS

    Some UUs do in fact have local UU congregations they could attend,
but for various reasons they do not like
what their local congregations have to offer.
The FUUCI has embraced wide diversity from its very beginning.
All forms of UU thinking and spirituality are welcome.
And electronic participation
enables the people sitting at their home computers
to select exactly those parts of the services and thoughts of the FUUCI
that they find most meaningful.
It is easy to avoid ideas that the particular person finds
too elementary, not relevant, or misguided.

    Because the people on the FUUCI mailing list
vote to decide the next Cyber-Sermon-of-the-Month,
participants are not limited by whatever happens to be offered
on a particular Sunday morning at a particular place.
Literally any ideas that can be put into words
can be shared thru the First Unitarian Universalist Church of the Internet.

    Additional groups of people will be added to this list
as they are suggested by anyone.
What new possibilities do you see opened up
by the electronic nature of this organization?
Send your ideas to the FUUCI webmaster:
James Park: PARKx032@TC.UMN.EDU

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James Leonard Park—Free Library