Membership in the FUUCI
is open to anyone, anywhere in the world,
who has a computer connected to the Internet.

    One of the most serious drawbacks of a virtual congregation
is that the members probably will never meet one another in person.

    (If there are enough in any one geographical area,
they could decide to get together occasionally.
But basically we will only know one another thru our computer screens.)

    Facebook is the basic way to join FUUCI.
Go to: http://www.facebook.com
Sign up using your e-mail address and a password.
Everything is completely free.
Once you have established yourself on facebook,
search for the "First Unitarian Universalist Church of the Internet".
You join by clicking to become a 'fan'.
At the beginning of the year 2009,
FUUCI had about 65 members.

    Facebook enables members to create profiles of themselves.
You can provide a picture of yourself
that will appear whenever you write something.
And your profile can include other pictures in albums you create.

    Also, establishing yourself on Facebook
enables you to write a profile of yourself.
For other members of FUUCI,
you might explain your UU connections
and even your particular spiritual path within UUism.

    Your profile will become available to other FUUCI members
only if you agree to become friends with them one by one.
This will probably emerge as we have more interaction
using the various other methods of sharing.

    Some things to keep in mind in creating your Facebook profile:
Be sure to preserve your privacy as much as you wish.
Whenever you agree to be friends with anyone else on Facebook,
they can read or view everything in your Facebook profile.
Do not include your street address,
altho you should say where you live in geographical terms.
Do not include your telephone number.
Your e-mail address will not be displayed,
but your friends can communicate with you by means of Facebook.

   You might have a personal website somewhere else on the Internet.
If so, you can provide whatever links you choose in your Facebook profile.

    (For example, our webmaster James Park,
provides the URL for his website,
An Existential Philosopher's Museum:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/
This allows his 'friends' to visit any of the over 900 'rooms'.)

    If you ever become dissatisfied with your connections to FUUCI,
you can easily drop your membership
by giving up being a 'fan' of FUUCI.

    At some later time, it FUUCI might establish
an e-mail list or electronic group independent of Facebook
for people who only want to receive cyber-sermons
and be able to respond to them.

    Here are some more specific suggestions for creating your Facebook profile,
especially with membership in the FUUCI in mind:
Creating Your Member Profile.