Connection Groups are how we create community and belonging at First Unitarian.
Along with regular participation in worship, involvement in social and service opportunities will help you know others and be known, engage in meaningful service, deepen your relationship with the church, and create a spiritual home for yourself and your family. As you explore your relationship with the church and seek connections, we encourage you to try out groups of interest and to visit several times. Find at least one to join and call your own.
Joining a Connection Group is Easy with Realm
Realm is our church app and communication platform, designed for real-time connection. You can search for new Connect Groups to join by going to Groups > Find Groups and browsing the different categories.
Browse Connection Groups on Realm
Activity Groups: get together and do something!
- Social Justice Rapid Response Network: Want to hear about upcoming opportunities to fight for social justice? Join this group to get alerts about protests, marches, advocacy opportunities, and more
- T’ai Chi Class: Join a weekly T’ai Chi practice for all levels of experience.
- UU Theater Goers: We select a performance from among the community theatres in Albuquerque and attend as a group up to ten or individually, typically once or twice a month according to our interests. Sometimes we gather before or after the performance at a nearby eating establishment and discuss it over food.
Fellowship & Support: make friends, find support, have fun!
- ¡Hablamos Juntos!This is a monthly program of in-person activities where we use our understanding of the Spanish language to connect. All levels of fluency are welcome.
- Bread & Wine Book Club: Enjoy treats and discuss fiction and nonfiction at monthly meetings in members’ homes.
- Coyote Willow Covenant of UU Pagans: Celebrate pagan spirituality in a family friendly environment.
- OHANA Extended Family: OHANA (family in Hawaiian) is a multi-generational family that formed in 2016, with members ranging in age from 10 months to people in their 70s. They gather for meals, visits to the zoo, clothing swaps, and their annual Thanksgiving gathering. They still have room to grown and are happy to welcome you.
- Penguins Extended Family: One of our oldest extended families, the Penguin Family, formed in 1995. They are a strong family with over 30 members. They have lots of fun together, and provide support through all of life’s changes. While most of their members are retired, they are eager to welcome some younger members and families into their group.
- People of Color Group: We welcome all self-identified people of color in our congregation to join us in creating and holding a safe, confidential, and brave place for self-reflection and for the sharing of our individual experiences, to be held in community and compassion.
- Recovery Ministry: We help members of the First Unitarian and extended community with their own recovery journey, support for those with loved ones in active addiction, and act as a clearinghouse for recovery information within the Albuquerque area.
- Senior Women: We offer community and friendship to each other, and will meet on the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month at 2:00 pm in Memorial Hall. We are open to new members, so come join us! Bring your own drink and be ready to share experiences and insights!
- Sip ‘n’ Sup: Enjoy monthly dinners in members’ homes, October-May. Locations and participants rotate.
- Third Monday Book Group: Enjoy fiction discussion and fellowship.
- Together Women Rise: Part of a national Giving Circle organization, where participants come with a dish and a donation—and learn about the month’s featured program to support women and children in developing nations.
- Trans & Nonbinary Support & Advocacy: A group for mutual support and action within the First Unitarian and larger community.
- Wisdom Circle: Monthly potluck brunch & conversation on select topics of special interest
- Young Adults: Meets every Sunday to offer space to partner in church community life, build friendships, and contemplate religious themes together. This group is geared towards those ages 18-35 years old and anyone who feels being in this group would deepen their belonging at First U.
Music: find a place to share your sound!
- Chalice Choir: Chalice Choir is our youth/adult SATB choir, which rehearses Thursday evenings 6:30-8:00 and sings in worship ~1x/month.
- Sol Singers: Sol Singers is our pastoral care choir. All voices welcome. We meet in song circle format every Monday 5:30-6:30 pm, and visit folks in hospital, rehab, and care facilities (as pandemic allows). “Learn music by heart. Share love with the community.”
- String Band: For musicians who play ukulele, guitar, mandolin, bass, hand percussion. Meets Sundays 12:15 in the courtyard or memorial room, option to play in worship quarterly. All ages, all abilities welcome. Repertoire includes folk songs & popular songs.
- Spare Parts Band (by audition): Spare Parts is our contemporary worship band, rehearsing on Tuesday evenings and playing in worship ~1x/month
Service Groups: get together to serve the church and the community!
- ABQ Faithworks: An alliance of congregations seeking wholeness for our community as we learn, serve, and advocate with those living on the margins.
- Adult Literacy & Citizenship Classes: Tutoring English as a Second Language students in language skills, and helping them study for the citizenship exam.
- Afterschool Tutoring Program: Tutor neighborhood elementary students after school two days a week.
- Audio Visual Team: Set up and monitor the sound system, or setup and run the video feed for Sunday services & church events.
- Camp Fundraising Team: Help plan and run events throughout the year to build the UU Kids Camp scholarship fund!
- Coffee Crew: Prepare and serve coffee and other drinks for the after-service social time.
- Earth Web: Address the climate crisis through sustainability practices and education.
- Family Promise: Help families experiencing homelessness by providing meals and supplies while they shelter at area churches.
- Food Pantry: Prepare and distribute sacks of food to our clients for our weekly drive-thru pantry.
- Hospitality & Inclusion Team: Greet everyone as they arrive, answer questions, and make connections.
- Memorial Reception Committee: Provide refreshments for church member memorial services, working with their family, ministers, and staff.
- Social Justice Council: Social Justice is a key element in our Unitarian Universalist DNA. Our Social Justice Council coordinates and sponsors a variety of programs that allow First Unitarian volunteers to make a difference in our community and in the world, and “walk the talk” of our covenant.
- UU the Vote: Whatever issues speak to your heart and your spirit, we invite you to find your place alongside the thousands of Unitarian Universalists who will be working together to UU the Vote!
- Welcoming Congregation: We know that religious spaces haven’t always been welcoming places for all people, especially when it comes to gender and sexuality. We are out to change that. For 25 years we have worked hard to make sure lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people are full members of our faith communities. Being welcoming means striving for radical inclusion, and creating spaces that honor every part of our identities, backgrounds, and experiences.
- Widening the Circle: We seek opportunities to support the members and friends of First Unitarian on our journey of creating a space committed to anti-racism, anti-oppression, and multiculturalism.
