I was raised a Presbyterian, by conservative parents, in Dubuque, Iowa, where I spent my teen years. Going to church was required. My 4 siblings and I would have much rather stayed home to watch TV, play outside, or go cow tipping. But that was not to be. What was the one thing we truly looked forward to on Sundays? The jelly-filled donuts that we picked up for breakfast on the way home from church. … Continue reading Lea MacNider

FUSF is a large, supportive community filled with bright, creative, and generous individuals with a united purpose, to make the world a better place. Click “play” below to watch my video!

I started coming to FUSF in the mid 90’s and signed the Membership Book in 1997. I’m a long-time member, but I didn’t come easy at first. I grew up Catholic and went to St Bonaventure University, a Franciscan Catholic University where I had a great experience. But something was always off for me from a religious and spiritual perspective. As I aged, I plodded on with my Catholic traditions; it was what I knew. … Continue reading Tom DiGioia

“We pledge to walk together”—to me, these words that start our unison affirmation say so much about this special community that we have here. When we first walked into FUSF over 27 years ago, we had 2 young sons, who were 2 and 4 years old at the time. Though my husband Michael and I were raised in different faiths, we had similar spiritual beliefs and mostly wanted to find a religious foundation for our … Continue reading Julie Sutherland

My name is Jen Neville. My pronouns are she/her. I joined FUSF somewhere around 2018. I first came here to find a place where I could bring my daughters and have them grow up in some sort of spiritual tradition, but I certainly did not want their upbringing to be like mine: full of guilt and fear. At the very first service I attended, Michele shared a song she had written, and I left in … Continue reading Jennifer Neville

As a pastor’s kid in the United Methodist Church, I know a thing or two about religion. When I was 16, after my father’s unexpected death, my faith began a slow unraveling. I went to college, lost a little faith. Got married and started grad school, lost a little more. Started a family and then a career, lost a little more. During that time, I also realized I was transgender and began an agonizing few … Continue reading Birch Duggans-Warf

This past Spring it seemed like everything was falling apart. My town, my country, the whole planet were all changing, and not for the better. I felt anxious and frustrated and nothing seemed to help, not even going to FUSF on Sundays. I started to attend FUSF less and less, only going on the Sundays that I had signed up to be the Fellowship Café Crew Chief. And even on those days I referred to … Continue reading Marian Szymanski

We’ve all found our way to First Universalist Society in Franklin by different paths. Our family had a scout in my husband Mark, who came to church first at the recommendation of his boss. Mark liked what he found, so I decided to check it out as well. My parents were just grateful we had found a church, any church, even if it was “weird.” It was about 30 years ago that I walked into … Continue reading Linda Plukas