Our Pastoral Associates are lay members of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville (UUFG) who offer confidential, practical, and emotional support to congregational members in need. Pastoral Associates have trained with the Senior Minister, Rev. Meredith Garmon, and meet with him regularly for ongoing training and support.

Pastoral Associates covenant with the congregation to deepen the loving embrace of this spiritual community through their presence and gifts.

Pastoral Associates work in conjunction with UUFG's professional ministers to meet the pastoral care needs of the congregational community. These needs may include:

• To be present during a difficult time
• To provide you an opportunity to talk and to be heard
• To offer empathy and emotional support
• To refer you to other sources of support or help, such as the Ministers or United Way Help Line (call 211)
• To offer to light a candle for Joys and Sorrows
• To offer to put out a request for help on the News and Needs email
• list serve ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
• To contact the minister or any other UUFG members or family on your behalf

Pastoral Associates provide a caring presence and will gladly refer you to others who might be able to provide respite care, such as meals, transportation, shopping, child care, housing, or medical appointments.

How to Contact a Pastoral Associate

You may call the congregation directly and speak with the Office Administrator (Cam Pierce at 352-377-1669 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it -- note: email cannot be regarded as not confidential). The administrator will gather some basic information and then refer the call to the minister or to a Pastoral Associate. Generally, you may expect a return call within 24 hours . You may also contact the ministers directly at 352-377-1669 or leave a message in their confidential voice mail box, or email Rev. Meredith Garmon at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Pastoral Associate will then contact you and arrange a time for talking or for a visit. After the visit you and the Pastoral Associate will make arrangements for any further visits. If you two determine that there is a need for repeated, long term visits then you can be referred to the ministers or to professional help depending on your needs.

If you know the Pastoral Associate for your area, you may also contact her or him directly. Determine what neighborhood you're in, then see below for the name of the Pastoral Associate especially assigned to your area.

The good ship UUFG Service Auction sails on Saturday, April 23rd for the city of lights! Spend an evening in beautiful Paris, noshing on hors d’oeuvres while wandering “shops along the Seine.” Kate Walker, our bar tender extraordinaire will be serving her special Paris-themed cocktail. There will be both silent and live auctions featuring interesting services and products from UUFG members and businesses all over Gainesville. Don’t miss the chance to steal a deal on a wide variety of super items like:

· Guided paddle on the Santa Fe River

· Weekend condo on the beach

· Works of art and many more items and services

And an extra special treat this year is the dessert bid-off! Bring a dessert large enough for 10 people. Be creative! The first 12 entries will be placed at the front of the sanctuary and each table will offer up a bid. The table with the highest bid selects the first dessert, the table with the second will get the second choice, until all are gone. Send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you intend to bring a dessert for the bidding.

The silent auction and cocktail hour begin at 5:30, hors d’oeuvres at 6:30, live auction begins at 7:30pm.

$15 general admission (includes hors d’oeuvres and drinks)

$5 kids tickets (childcare, pizza dinner and kids’ auction)

Ticket will be sold after service each Sunday and can be purchased at the door.

If you have not yet submitted your donation to the auction, do so no later than April 12 so that it can be included in the auction catalogue. Email the details to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

This Circle of Life is a small, adult a cappella music group that performs occasionally for services and special events. They have performed at fundraising events, memorial services, and recently at other community events, including the Arts Festivals and at the Gainesville Civic Chorus' summer concert.  Their song repertoire spans many genres.  Currently, there are 3 men and 8 women members.

Saturday, Feb 18, 6–9 PM

Join us for a night of food, fellowship, and lots of fun! This is a great way to share a meal with friends, make new ones, and get to know each other better. Please bring a dish to share and any games you may want to play. 

Don’t have any games? Don’t worry! There are always plenty to share! We have card games, word games, party games, board games, classic games, new games, fast games and slow games. And all ages are welcome and
encouraged to come!

This is a very organic gathering, so come at 6 PM to help set up and dig in to food or a game, and stay till around 9 PM to pick up and say farewell. This is a low-key, low-stress, high-fun