History

UUFWS was started by a group of 12 people over 60 years ago.

The Beginning

In 1951, an ad from the American Unitarian Association appeared in the Winston-Salem Journal asking:  "Are you a Unitarian without knowing it?"  The ad suggested you might be a Unitarian if you believed that:

• The Bible is an inspiring human document but not the literal word of God.
• People are not condemned by "original sin" but are inherently capable of improvement.
• Development of character is more important than accepting religious creeds.
• The purpose of religion is to help us live this life well, rather than preparing for an afterlife.

The people who responded to the ad soon formed a Unitarian society and began meeting for informal, lay-led discussions exploring religion, the arts, philosophy and social issues.

Finding a Home

Membership increased, and in 1961 we moved into our first home, a house at 2873 Robinhood Road. Meetings continued to be lay-led until we called our first full-time minister in 1982. We moved into a new building at our present location, 4055 Robinhood Road, in 1997. Our minister, Rev.Lisa Romantum Schwartz, has been with us since August 2012.

Living Our Faith

Our Fellowship has been a leader in social reform through the years. In the 1960s, in support of civil rights, we publicly supported racial integration, equal opportunity in jobs and public office, and women's rights.   Currently, our Social Action Council coordinates our involvement in a wide variety of local and national issues.

Religious Affiliation

Our Fellowship belongs to the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, based in Boston, MA, an association of over 1,000 congregations. We are also members of the Southeast District, which is comprised of congregations from parts of Virginia, Tennesee, and Georgia, and all of North Carolina and South Carolina. Although each congregation is autonomous, we receive assistance and support from our national and district organizations.