WELCOME TO NEW RIVER UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST
Join us in Princeton every Second and Fourth Sunday @ 11am.
Stages Music School. 855 Mercer Street, Princeton, WV.
Format for Sunday Gatherings
The hour-long Sunday Service begins at 11:00 am. We begin with our Litany of Welcoming and usually includes music, readings, and a message. Our dress is casual. Coffee and fellowship are offered following each service.
We welcome all types of people.
Our services are lay-led so we have a wide variety of messages that are shared each week. We also hold a monthly potluck luncheon and Open Forums.
Although each service is unique, there is an Order of Service for you to follow. We encourage the congregation to keep the Order of Service to pass along to a friend!
We Share as a Community:
- Holidays in the Judeo-Christian church year and reflections on the celebrations of other religious traditions
- Readings and meditations drawn from sources of wisdom and inspiration from many spiritual traditions and times
- The expressing of Joys and Concerns and lighting of candles is a living tradition in our congregation. This is a time we set aside for the sharing of our lives. It is a covenant we have made to one another: to sustain, support, encourage and love one another. If you have a joy or concern you would like to share, you are welcome to do so.
- The ringing of the bowl to honor the joys and sorrows shared during the opening ceremony.
- Once each month and during July and August our Sunday worship is lay-led. This provides an opportunity for members of the congregation to create their own worship service and share their ideas or passions.
Where do my children go?
We do not, currently have an active Children’s program or childcare available. We try to have at least one Message for All Ages “multigenerational” service each month. We do have a quiet space with young children in mind, so caregivers can help their child take a break if necessary. Breastfeeding is welcome in our congregation. When we do offer RE Classes (Religious Education for Children), Children and youth stay with their families for the first 20 minutes of the service, after which we sing them to their class. We have an RE room for children ages 5 and up.
If you have an interest in a Children’s Program for your child/children – please let us know! The more interest we have, the more we will make an effort to fill this need.
Elements of a typical Unitarian Universalist Sunday morning worship service include:
- Words of welcome
- Lighting a flaming chalice, the symbol of our faith
- A multigenerational segment, such as a “story for all ages”
- Music, both instrumental and vocal and in a variety of styles
- A time for lifting up the joys and concerns of the congregation
- A meditation or prayer
- Readings—ancient or contemporary
- A sermon given by a professional minister, a guest speaker, or a member of the congregation
- An offering, collecting financial donations for the congregation or for justice work in the community.
- From time to time, worships incorporate holiday celebrations, multigenerational plays and pageants, longer musical performances, or special ceremonies to commemorate life’s passages. M
Unitarian Universalism’s 8 Guiding Principles
The living tradition we share acknowledges eight Principles:
- The Inherent worth and dignity of every person
- Justice Equity and compassion in human relations
- Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations
- A free and responsible search for truth and meaning
- The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large
- The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all
- Respect for the interdependent web of existence, of which we are a part
- Journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse, multicultural beloved community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions