Use your talents and interests to serve the fellowship. We need hands, hearts and minds. That means sharing the work doing the chores, and joining committees. We cannot succeed in our mission without your involvement.

As UU’s we have a strong history of giving back and engaging ourselves in groups that encourage our spiritual and personal growth. UUFSD recognizes that the need to serve is as great as our need to have able heads, hearts and hands on our many committees. Consider volunteering your time and energy today. Thanks in advance!

In building a community together, every person can make a difference.

Service Committees

Here is a list of service committees and contact information (email aliases are HERE). Don’t see any activities you like? Feel free to suggest a volunteer activity you would enjoy.

• Auction
• Brunches
• Buildings and Grounds Committee
• Capital Campaign
• Communications Committee
• Design Review Committee
• Dream Builders Committee
• Finance Committee
• Joy, Fun and Fellowship Committee
• Kitchen Club
• Library Committee
• Membership Committee
• Memorial Walkway Management
• Committee on Ministry
• Nominating Committee
• Pastoral Care Committee
• Personnel Committee
• Religious Education Committee
• Social Justice Action Committee
• Climate Action Task Force
• Stewardship Steering Committee
• Team Usher
• Worship Committee

Auction

The UUFSD Annual Auction is our biggest fundraiser of the year. This event happens in the spring and requires many helping hands to make it a success.

Contact: Rich Macdonald and Jill Ballard at auction@uufsd.org

Brunches

Friend-making and fund-raiser brunches are very popular at UUFSD. Offered to members and guests after services on a number of Sundays, they help support the Fellowship. This committee coordinates the Sunday brunches whereby all members of the Fellowship take turns contributing food dishes & coordinating the scheduled brunches. We welcome involvement, and new ideas for this event. Love to throw parties or host BBQs? Enjoy celebrating special occasions with food and culinary delights? THIS is the group for you.

Contact: Brunches@uufsd.org

Buildings and Grounds Committee

Our grounds are kept in beautiful condition thanks to this committee. We do not hire landscapers or gardeners and have one of the most beautiful UU facilities in the region. Join us!

Building and Grounds organizes a work party, usually the first Saturday of the month, to maintain & improve the appearance and functionality of buildings & the landscape on our six and a half acres. Volunteers do most of the work with an immediate reward of a wonderful lunch prepared by volunteers that prefer to cook than to pull weeds. It’s good to share the load and make our Fellowship a beautiful welcoming place. Help is always welcomed and needed on any scheduled Saturdays.

Contact: Ed Mlakar at BuildingAndGrounds@uufsd.org

Capital Campaign

The Capital Campaign Task Force is responsible for communicating to the congregation the elements of the Master Plan for our capital improvements, and our refurbishments to our campus. and for raising the funds to pay for the capital improvements the congregation votes to implement.

Contact: John Sherman CapitalCampaign@uufsd.org

Communications Committee

Communications is an important, and fun, part of the interconnectedness of our Fellowship. In order to keep everyone up to date, we put information out in a variety of forms. In addition to this website (check out the online calendar of events, archives of past sermons, and UUFSD News), we offer a UUFSD Announcement list, a monthly newsletter, and a quarterly magazine. We also do publicity for events to which the public is invited, maintain the Bulletin Board on the Patio, outside publicity & Facebook and offer an online member list-serve where members can ask questions and share information. If you have interest in writing, editing, marketing, graphic design, website maintenance, or just like knowing what’s going on, we’d love to have your participation.

Contact: Irv Himelblau at Communications@uufsd.org

Design Review Committee

We facilitate and oversee the completion of projects. We welcome artists, landscape artists, designers, interior designers and architects within our community to discuss and plan improvements to the appearance of the UUFSD campus.

Contact: Bob Quick or Irv Himmelblau at DesignReview@uufsd.org

Dream Builders

Contact: Chris Faller at dreambuilders@uufsd.org

Finance Committee

This committee is for UUFSD members only. The function of this committee is to facilitate the collection and distribution of the Fellowship funds in a transparent and orderly fashion. New members are welcome to join the committee. We especially need someone to help manage the e-Scrip program.

Contact: Chris Butler at Finance@uufsd.org

Joy, Fun and Fellowship Committee

This enthusiastic and creative group helps plan, support and facilitate social events such as: Holiday Festival, Seder, Thanksgiving Dinner, 4th of July picnic, potlucks, camp outs, etc. Share the joy! New members are needed always.

Contact: Louise Garrett at office@uufsd.org

Kitchen Club

This dedicated kitchen club is committed to serving beautiful, delicious food, made with LOVE. This committee also leads in keeping the kitchen in good clean running order with organization and supplies so that it can be utilized for all the functions of our community. Volunteers are needed to help with service on Sunday. We encourage you to sign up for a shift. Helping on any Sunday is always welcomed and needed.

Contact: Louise Garret at Kitchen@uufsd.org

Library Management

This committee is responsible for the UUFSD Library, which maintains a collection of UU books and other non-fiction books of interest to members. Books are available for check out by any member for no charge. The committee also raises money for new books and library expenses through the used book “store” which is open most Sundays after the service. The committee has monthly work parties, generally during the day.

Contact: Robin Mitchell at Library@uufsd.org

Membership Committee

This committee works to introduce visitors to UUFSD and guide those interested through the process of becoming members. We greet and inform visitors each Sunday, hold “New to UU” classes monthly and UUFSD Orientation Classes quarterly for those who want a more in depth understanding of Unitarian Universalism in general and our Fellowship in particular. We support new members, and all members in sustaining a meaningful connection with the Fellowship.

Contact: Betsy Gilpin at Membership@uufsd.org

Memorial Walkway Management

This committee has responsibility for coordinating donations, reservations, location selection, inscription and installation of individual memorial plaques on the walls of the UUFSD Memorial Walkway. Consultations are welcomed regarding Planned Giving to the Fellowship as another avenue by which to memorialize members and loved ones. More details are HERE.

Contact:Norma Showalter at MemorialWall@uufsd.org

Committee on Ministry

The Committee on Ministry (CoM) focuses on all aspects of the congregation’s ministry, including professional leadership, music, social justice, religious education, pastoral care, and so on. This model helps the congregation make sure that its ministries are serving its mission and vision using a whole-church assessment model. The settled minister is responsible for forming this committee.

Nominating Committee

This committee is responsible for identifying and recruiting potential members of the board of directors and committee chairs.

Contact: Wenda Alvarez at nomcom@uufsd.org

Pastoral Care Committee

The Pastoral Associates Committee of UUFSD serves members and their families by providing support during times of need, such as loss of a loved one, illness (physical or mental), recovery from surgery, divorce, etc. They provide a readiness to listen, counsel, communicate, and support. The Pastoral Associates work with individuals and their families, is strictly confidential, and they meet monthly to review progress and identify areas in which their help may be needed. It is through their care and commitment that our Fellowship community remains strong and continues to build meaningful bonds among its members.

Contact: PastoralCare@uufsd.org

Personnel Committee

This committee is responsible for dealing with all personnel issues regarding employed staff at UUFSD.
Contact: Dale Gottdank at Personnel@uufsd.org

Religious Education Committee

The Religious Education Program for children and youth at UUFSD is a cooperative program made possible through the volunteer efforts of parents and members and led by Alison McLeod, UUFSD Director, Religious Education. Volunteer opportunities exist working with children from preschool through high school. You can teach or assist in Sunday morning classes, greet families as they arrive, chaperone overnight events, be a driver on field trips, contribute your special talents through managing our online information, in a workshop or other activities. Click here to visit our online sign-up page.

Contact: Kristen BrandleyRE Committee.

Social Justice Action Committee

Unitarian Universalism aspires to make our world a better place for all living things. We view ourselves as part of an interconnected web of existence. To meet our responsibilities, we engage in projects that assist those in immediate need, empower those who require new skills and resources to take control of their lives, and preserve the ecological balance of our planet. Ongoing projects include: A sustained and deepening relationship with the Community Resource Center in Encinitas; Esperanza sin Fronteras, which includes home building, a food program, education programs and community development in Mexico; sponsoring a week of the Interfaith Homeless Shelter and support for the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, San Diego County and a monthly Volunteer night at the San Diego Food Bank. We also are increasing awareness of environmental issues in our community, as well as creating environmental health on our campus and motivating community action toward healing our fragile environment.

Contact: SocialJustice@uufsd.org

Climate Action Task Force

Climate Action is a task force of the Social Justice Action Committee. It facilitates consciousness-raising about climate change and green initiatives at UUFSD and actions in the community. There are 5 areas of particular interest:

• water conservation
• energy production & use
• socially responsible investing
• transportation & urban planning
• food & waste

If you wish to stay informed or get involved, please join our discussion group on Nextdoor and send an email request to be included on our email list.

Visit our GSuite website for more information, and check out our Climate Action brochure.

Contact: Sarah Miller at climateaction@uufsd.org

Stewardship Steering Committee

Stewardship Steering Committee is responsible for overseeing fundraising and promoting a culture of generosity at UUFSD. There are four major events every year that we focus on: Pledge Drive, Annual Auction, Dining for Dollar$ and the Art Fair. In addition, we are the clearinghouse for any other group or committee at UUFSD that wants to hold a fundraiser to support their activities. Whether you want to give a lot or a little, we welcome your creative energy and input.

Contact: Rich Macdonald at stewardship@uufsd.org

Usher Committee

The Usher Committee is responsible for recruiting, coordinating and training usher volunteers for Sunday services. In addition, the committee maintains an updated calendar of the usher schedule.The usher volunteers arrive 20-30 minutes before services and put the order of service in the designated music book; greet and pass out books to members and guests at the entrance to the service; pass and collect baskets for donations and deliver donations to UUFSD office. It’s really an opportunity to help people feel welcome, meet new people and feel good about contributing to our community.

Contact: Alana Schuler at Ushers@uufsd.org

Worship Committee

This committee, under the leadership of our minister, coordinates with our professional staff to plan and present Sunday morning worship services as well as other services and spiritually based events throughout the year. We currently meet on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 2:00 p.m.. There are many aspects/elements that create a meaningful worship experience, and a diversity of talents and ideas are important. If you would like more information please contact Chris Byrnes, Angie Knappenberger and Mary Anne Trause at worshipchair@uufsd.org