What to Expect On Your First Visit to AUUF
How to find us. The AUUF building is on Thach Avenue, roughly midway between the Auburn Public Library and Auburn University’s Ralph Brown Draughon Library. Our historic white church building, which once housed the Ebenezer Baptist congregation, is on the corner of Thach and a street whose name changes depending on which way you face. To the north, the cross-street is called Debardeleben Street; to the south, it’s Auburn Drive. Enter through the front door, which faces Thach Avenue. There will be someone there to greet you.
You can park your car on Debardeleben (please try not to block our neighbors’ driveways), or you can turn down Auburn Drive and there’s our rustic parking lot to the right, past the two church buildings. We also have a handy bike rack.
How long will the service last? We get underway at 10 am, and the service usually ends about an hour later. Near the beginning, newcomers and folks who still feel like newcomers are invited to stand and introduce themselves. If you are a shy person, please don’t feel under pressure to do so. We don’t want your first time at the Fellowship to be an ordeal. After the service, there is a coffee (and tea) “hour” which goes on until the coffee runs out, or for as long as you want. Please stay for coffee hour so we can get to know you…and vice versa.
What to wear. Anything! Be comfortable.
What can I expect for my kids? For the very young (6 – 36 months), we have a Nursery. The Nursery is not a kiddie warehouse, but rather a stimulating, safe environment with planned activities, a well-trained caregiver, and enough toys to keep the kids happily engaged. There is no charge for the Nursery, which operates from 9:45 am – 12:15 pm. It’s in the small white building right behind the Sanctuary (the building with the steeple).
Older children are in the Sanctuary with the adults during the first 20-25 minutes of the service, trying hard to keep quiet. Just when they think they’ll explode, they are treated to a story, and they are off to the Playground, just outside the Sanctuary, where they can let off some steam (finally!!). A snack is served on the playground. A paid caregiver and several parent volunteers watch over the children on the Playground.
After the service ends, Religious Education (“R.E.”) classes begin at about 11:20 pm, and continue for about 50 minutes. R. E. classes take place in the same building that houses the Nursery, which is called, logically enough, the R. E. Building. There are no R. E. classes during the summer. Learn more about R. E. classes.
Second Sunday — The second Sunday of the month is a little different. Instead of R. E. classes after the service, all of us, young and old, gather in the Sanctuary and eat a Potluck Dinner. Don’t feel that you had to have brought a dish in order to stay and eat. No guilt at the AUUF! Eat! Eat!
Variety is the spice of life…and of the AUUF! Our services can vary wildly from week to week. Some are led by our Minister, others by members of the congregation. Topics, and even methods of presenting the service, are all over the map. Therefore it’s hard to take the true measure of our Fellowship in just one Sunday service. We invite you to sample several Sundays to get a better idea of what we’re about. Learn more about our worship services.