Our Committees

The vitality of our church relies on the sustained and coordinated effort of many dedicated hands. When you are so moved, our community will gratefully receive your contribution of time and talent. Below are many opportunities in which you may participate and add value to our community. Find a place for yourself!

​​Adult Faith Development
Contact: [email protected]
“Religion at its best is not a friend of the status quo. Religion transforms people; no one touches holy ground and stays the same. Religious leaders stir the pot by pointing to the contrast between life as it is and life as it should be, and urging us to close the gap. Religious insights provide the handhold that people need to criticize injustice, rise above self-interest, and take risks to provide healing to a wounded world.” –Dan Hotchkiss - The Paradox of Organized Religion.
Adult faith development classes, programs, and experiences engage the paradox of religion in five essential ways:

• We nurture you as a spiritual being.
• We help to sustain you through challenging times. 
• We offer options to lead you to feel more “at home” in the universe, as well as more connected to others within the congregation.
• We support you in identifying and exploring ways in which you are uniquely called to bring more love and justice into the world.
• We provide a safe space for you to grow and deepen your understanding of what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist. 

Come along and join us on an adventure of belonging, believing, and becoming here at UUCY and beyond!

​​Auction Committee
Contact: [email protected]
The Annual Auction is the church’s largest fundraiser and is usually held in November.  Auction items range from vacation rentals, house wares, art work, jewelry, dinners, hikes, home services and more. Volunteers are needed to plan, organize and run the event. Tasks typically include:  
Administrative:

• Manage online catalog (Auctria)
• Create advertisements and posters

Silent Auction:

• Solicit, collect and display donations.
• Create and record bid sheets

Live Auction:

• Plan event details (entertainment, decorations, food, etc.)
• Coordinate Auction process (auctioneers, recorders, raffles, etc.)
• Coordinate with Sound Team and other church volunteers

• Arrange for childcare

​Buildings & Grounds
Contact: [email protected]
[email protected] for the whole committee
Function- 
From the 2010 long range plan - “UUCY seeks to provide the physical space required by a growing and active congregation, and to maintain the safety, beauty, sacredness, functionality, and structural integrity of its buildings and grounds.”  

General Tasks-

• Coordinate Campus wide cleanups
• Coordinate seasonal mowing and grounds upkeep to include maintenance of tools/equipment
• Maintenance of buildings and systems to include coordinating contractor support and completing hands-on repair tasks as they arise.
• Coordination of snow removal to include both contracted snow removal as well as congregation led snow removal.  
• Research contract options for larger projects related to structural upkeep. 
• Communicate with the staff, board, other committees, and the congregation regarding volunteer opportunities, status on maintenance projects, and budgetary needs. 

 
​​Collaboration Council​
Contact: [email protected]
The Collaboration Council was established in the Fall of 2021. It serves to bring together the collective voices of the standing committee chair people. The purpose is for the committees to update each other and the congregation on the projects they are working on and discern if some work can be shared between committees. The Collaboration Council will be the go-to place for congregants to bring new ideas for church projects. In addition, the Collaboration Council may decide to sponsor some social activities to bring congregants together. The Council does not have governance authority but should, when necessary, make recommendations to the Board.

Finance
Contact: [email protected]
The Finance Committee’s mission is to faithfully steward the church’s financial resources, ensuring transparency and accountability, so that the church can effectively fulfill its mission and vision. In addition, the Treasurer’s report is distributed monthly to members for review and comment, generally ahead of monthly UUCY board meetings. Sundry projects are undertaken as needed and appropriate.

Membership
​Contact: [email protected]
The Membership Committee is responsible for

• Welcoming newcomers, 
• Leading the Pathway to Membership classes twice a year.
• Engaging and retaining current members, 
• Maintaining and updating membership records, 
• Developing communication materials, procedures and processes. 
• Update information and photos for the online directory, 
• Maintaining the bulletin board in the lobby, 
• Participating in Collaboration Council monthly meetings, and 
• Preparing name tags for members and sustaining friends.

The Membership Committee supports the Mission of UUCY by providing a warm welcoming greeting to all newcomers and members regardless of age, gender, political affiliation, nationality, race, cultural heritage or religious upbringing.  We also support the Vision of the UUCY by striving to make connections with newcomer talents and interests with existing committees, social justice initiatives and affinity groups.

​​​​Nominating
​Contact: [email protected]
As directed by the Bylaws this committee consists of five members (two identified by the Board and three voted in by the Congregation).

This committee is tasked with recommending a slate of Board Officers and Directors, as
well as Standing Committee Chairs for a congregational vote at the May Annual
Meeting.   The nominating Committee also seeks ways to create leadership development opportunities.
 
The committee’s work includes:

• identifying potential congregational leaders, 
• informing them of open leadership positions and 
• noting the opportunity leadership provides in developing new skills and contributing to the UUCY community. 

• tracking candidates for future leadership roles by working closely with the membership committee which maintains records on members’ skills and interests as well as keeping informed throughout the year of all those contributing to the community. 

Personnel
​Contact: [email protected]
This Committee manages all issues related to paid staff, including salary and benefits, contracts, annual evaluations and paid leave.

Religious Education | Children & Youth
For complete information on this vital team, go to our Faith Development page.

The purpose of the Religious Education Program (Faith Development) is to prepare our children to live spiritually, responsibly, compassionately and intentionally in a complex world.  Our efforts are driven by the vision of “growing the soul” and helping children and youth to become excited about and come to cherish spiritual life while we guide and support children and families on their journey as lifelong Unitarian Universalists.  We oversee the work of our professional and volunteer staff, and help manage our programs and classroom environments to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Safety
Contact: [email protected]
The UUCY Safety Committee is tasked with supporting the physical safety of the congregation and the UUCY campus. While promoting a free and open community based on the core values of Unitarian principles, the committee takes a pragmatic view of mitigating perceived or actual threats in the day-to day activities of the congregation while they visit the church and campus. 

This balanced and “common sense” approach to security is accomplished via

• staff and congregational trainings on safety (an annual fire drill, and presentations on AED use and verbal de-escalation techniques, for example),  
• physical hardening of the campus (improved audio/ visual security technology, interior emergency lighting, and safety oriented signage, for example)

• partnering with supportive agencies in the law enforcement and mental health service providers. 

Social Justice
For complete information on this vital team, go to our Social Justice page.

​​Stewardship
​Contact: [email protected]
Main functions:

• Develop and conduct an annual campaign to encourage pledging by members
• Maintain and update pledging records throughout the year
• Prepare and distribute year end pledging records to each pledging congregant
• Collaborate with Finance Committee, Treasurer and Membership Committee to ensure that records of current congregants are up to date

• Provide financial waivers for those congregants as appropriate when unforeseen situations arise

​Worship
​​Contact: [email protected]
The Committee is mindful that a liberal religious community such as ours holds diverse opinions on worship and, therefore, provides ample opportunity for input and feedback from the congregation regarding worship. Worship Committee provides a conduit for input and feedback about worship from all members of the church community. 
 
The purpose of the Worship Committee is 

• to promote excellence in our worship services, 
• to assist in planning and carrying out worship services, and 

• to support the technology that makes accessibility for all an option.