The communityThe retreat is the door. The community is the home.
Every member of UAF starts the same way: with a retreat. But that is the beginning, not the destination. What follows is a fellowship of people who have been through the same rite-of-passage path and who keep showing up for one another long after the four days are over.
Start with a Retreat →A powerful experience needs somewhere to land.
A retreat can open something meaningful. Then a person goes home to the same relationships, responsibilities, routines, and patterns they had before. Without continued connection and practice, it can be difficult to carry what happened at the retreat into ordinary life.
UAF is built around continuity. The seven-week arc, preparation, retreat, and integration, is the rite of passage that brings someone into the fellowship. After that, membership continues through shared practice, relationships, and community life.
That shared ground matters. You are not starting from scratch with people who have never been through the work. Members share UAF’s spiritual framework and the experience of having completed the same rite-of-passage path, while still making sense of their own experiences in their own way.
You come through the door once. What's behind it has no end date.
A rite of passage retreat
Men of Integrity or Women of Sovereignty. The seven-week arc includes preparation, four days on-site, and structured integration. This is how every member begins.
Membership in the fellowship
Completing the arc makes you a member of UAF. From there, three formal parts of community life begin.
💬Community Chat
Every dayDaily conversation, growth practices, local connection, and Reach Out, a channel for the days when a member needs support. Someone responds within 24 hours, usually sooner.
🌱Growth Groups
Twice a monthFive to seven people who commit three months at a time. The same people return each session, allowing trust and continuity to build.
🏕️Member retreats
Seasonal gatheringsRetreats for people who’ve already done the arc. A return to nature and shared practice, where old bonds deepen and new ones form.
And what members make themselves
Facilitators keep the core rhythm going. Everything else grows on its own — hikes, dinners, and local gatherings that members organize themselves.
This is the part we did not build and could not build. It is also the part that tells you whether the rest of it worked.
Nobody white-knuckles it alone.
Inside Community Chat is a channel called Reach Out. When a member is having a hard day, falling back into an old pattern, facing a relationship or life crisis, or simply knows they should not carry something alone, they can post there and ask the community to meet them.
Reach Out is part of what makes the fellowship practical: the community is not only there for gatherings and good days. It is also there when someone needs to say, “I could use support right now.”
Someone responds within 24 hours, usually much sooner — another member, a facilitator, or someone from the UAF team.
And what comes back isn't advice from strangers. It's other members who have been through their own version of it, who don't need the situation explained or softened first.
Reach Out is community support, not emergency or clinical care. When a situation requires support beyond the fellowship, UAF leaders follow established protocols for referral to professional or emergency resources.
Confidentiality is part of the agreement.
Members agree to protect what others share in retreats, Growth Groups, one-on-one conversations, and community spaces. UAF leaders follow established confidentiality and escalation protocols designed to protect trust while allowing appropriate action when safety or legal obligations require it.
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When does membership begin?
Membership begins when you complete the seven-week retreat arc.
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Does membership expire?
No. UAF membership does not currently expire.
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Are there membership dues?
No. UAF does not currently charge membership dues.
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Do I have to participate in every community offering?
No. Participation in Growth Groups, Community Chat, Member Retreats, and other community offerings is optional.
Ready to walk through the door?
Membership begins with the seven-week retreat arc. Start with a short application, then book a free 45-minute conversation with a facilitator to ask questions, talk through fit, and understand the program before deciding what comes next.
The contribution and reduced-rate options are discussed during that conversation.
Complete the arc and become a member of UAF.