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- Membership
- Worship
- Music
- Caring Network
- Social Action
- Green Sanctuary
- Children's Religious Education
- Youth-Adult (YAC)
- Hospitality
Membership Committee
| Purpose: |
| To help integrate new members into the life of the congregation |
| Structure: |
| 2-4 members serving 2-year or 3-year terms |
| Responsibilities: |
- Welcomes all visitors to the church
- Organizes social functions for new and potential members to meet the minister, lay leadership, and other members
- Keeps name badges up to date
- Collaborates with the minister in offering new UU classes
- Informs and invites new members to the annual Service of the Living Tradition
- Collaborates with the Clerk and the Parish Assistant to maintain the membership roll and parish directory
- Coordinates volunteer greeters
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Worship Committee
| Purpose: |
| The mission of the Worship Committee is to coordinate and provide worship services for approximately ten lay Sundays and during the summer. This committee also gathers input from the congregation on the form and content of worship serices, and on the diverse interests of the church membership.. |
| Structure: |
| 4-6 members serving 3-year terms; meets with the minister on the first Wednesday of each month during the church year; eetings are facilitated by a chairperson; minutes taken on a rotating basis |
| Responsibilities: |
The committee as a whole accomplishes its mission by:
- Seeking and encouraging congregational input to improve the form and content of lay services and the worship experience in general.
- Striving to improve the quality of lay-led services.
- Developing summer services.
Individual committee members participate by:
- Helping set up the church on a rotating basis (approximately one Sunday a month, September through May).
- Coordinating non-resident minister Sundays (lay services).
- Assisting in the preparation for summer services.
- Coordinating volunteer ushers.
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Music Committee
| Purpose: |
| To organize the musical portion of Sunday services and to evaluate and oversee all musical programs at the church. |
| Structure: |
| 5 to 7 members serving 2-year minimum terms. Meets 3-4 times per year and divides a portfolio of tasks to be carried out between meetings. |
| Responsibilities: |
- Select choir director and organist and substitues when necessary
- Select chimer leader and junior choir director
- Negotiate, write, and submit annual contracts to Board for approval
- Act as a liaison between the choir director, organist, minister, the Board, and the congregation
- Work with the music staff and minister to coordinate music programs and schedules
- Work with the Board to evaluate the music staff on a yearly basis
- Engage guest musicians to provide music on non-choir Sundays
- Oversee maintenance of church instruments, including organ, two pianos, harpsichord, and chimes
- Check on robe cleaning
- Provide Sunday coffee for the choir
- Organize production of the annual Messiah Sing-In performance
- Write grant proposals, if available
- Communicate with the church community through the Belfry newsletter
- Plan and prepare an annual budget to present to the Board
- Facilitate other music-related activities or events such as special concerts, purchase of new hymnbooks
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Caring Network
| Purpose: |
| To support the pastoral care of the minister, and to extend assistance to those in need while maintaining confidentiality. |
| Structure: |
| 9 members serving 3-year terms; meets monthly with the minister; chairperson and secretary are selected by the members |
| Responsibilities: |
- Maintain a list of church members and friends who are home-bound, in a nursing home or hospital, are suffering either a chronic or an acute illness, are recovering from surgery, or are bereaved, or in need of support
- Add and delete names from the list as circumstances change
- Visit, telephone, deliver meals, provide transportation, deliver holiday plants, run errands, and send greeting cards to stay in touch, in the event of illness or a death in the family, or to honor other life milestones such as weddings, births, or adoptions
- Identify volunteers who can help with these responsibilities
- If appropriate, record for publication in the Belfry newsletter, the Joys and Sorrows expressed at each Sunday service
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Social Action Committee
| Purpose: |
| To raise awareness of, provide apportunities for, and encourage people to become actively involved in social action. |
| Structure: |
| Seven people serving two-year terms, which can be repeated if desired; meets once each month; all are welcome. |
| Responsibilities: |
- Coordinating the Sharing Our Plate contributions, from selecting the recipients, to educating the congregation about the various organizations, to sending the money out each month
- Serving as a sounding board and informal advisor for members of the congregation trying to organize their own social action projects
- Sponsoring or co-sponsoring informational programs pertaining to social action
- Organizing our own social action projects, such as collecting volunteers to build gardens for Growing Places Garden Project last spring
- Giving recommendations on expenditures of the Social Action Endowment.
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Green Sanctuary Committee
| Purpose: |
| To fully embody the Unitarian Universalist Seventh Principle, "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence." |
| Structure: |
| Two to five members. |
| Responsibilities: |
- To build congregation awareness of environmental sustainability issues
- To build bridges among spiritual practice, religious education, and environmental consciousness
- To promote policies and habits that promote environmental stewardship, both within and beyond the congregation
- To mobilize fellow congregation memers to identify, assess, and rectify environmental injustices
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Children's Religious Education Committee
| Purpose: |
| To support religious education and spiritual growth opportunities for children. |
| Structure: |
| 6-8 members serving three to four-year terms; meets monthly with the DRE as an ex-officio member and holds a one-day retreat in late summer; one member serves as chair, and others spend additional time working on one or more of the following: supporting volunteers, social action, curricula and library, special events, hospitality. |
| Responsibilities: |
The committee as a whole accomplishes its mission by:
- Providing opportunites for ritual and worship
- Offering age-appropriate curricula
- Creating a fun, safe, and nurturing learning environment
- Sponsoring intergenerational activities
- Promoting social action involvement
- Supporting our congregation's mission
Individual committee members participate by
- Assuming ownership of one of the portfolios
- Participating in decisions about programming, including budget, curricula, volunteer staff, safety, physical space, and equipment
- Creating and supporting goals and vision for the RE program
- Acting as a liaison to the larger church community regarding religious education for our children and youth
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Youth-Adult Committee (YAC)
| Purpose: |
| To support religious education and spiritual growth opportunities for youth, ages 12 to 18, in our congregation. |
| Structure: |
| Six members: three adults (one selected from the congregation at large, one youth advisor, and one elected by the RE committee) who serve 2-year terms, and three youth members (selected by their peers from the middle school and senior high youth groups) who serve 1-year terms; the DRE is an ex officio member and acts as liaison to the Board; the committee meets monthly and may hold an annual retreat. |
| Responsibilities: |
The committee as a whole will:
- Create opportunities for ritual and worship
- Recommend age-appropriate learning opportunities within youth groups
- Offer special learning opportunities such as OWL and Coming of Age programs
- Promoting social action involvement
- Support our congregation's mission
Individual members of YAC will
- Help create appropriate policy regarding youth leadership, youth conduct, and oversite of youth programs
- Participate in decisions about the program regarding budget, curricula, youth advisor recruitment, youth leadership development, safety, physical space, and equipment
- Create and support goals and vision for the youth RE program
- Act as a liaison to the larger church community regarding youth religious education programming
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Hospitality Committee
| Purpose: |
| To make sure that there are volunteers, materials, and instructions for carrying out fellowship hour and potluck lunches throughout the church year. |
| Structure: |
| 4 members serving 2 to 3-year terms; meets on an as-needed basis |
| Responsibilities: |
- Organize, publicize, and execute potluck lunches on the first and last Sundays of the Church year (September through June) and on the first Sunday of every month in between
- Update detailed procedures and guidelines for volunteers participating in hospitality for fellowship hour and potlucks
- Inventory supplies for potlucks in the Fellowship Building and for fellowship hour in the sanctuary
- Ensure proper setup of tables and supplies for potlucks
- Work with the parish assistant to publicize the potlucks in the Belfry newsletter and the weekly Order of Service
- Work with the DRE and other committees to assure the calendar events do not interfere with each other, and to coordinate events with other groups which meet on Sundays after services
- Submit an annual report to the church
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