Membership

Becoming a Member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the South ForkUUCSF is an open and caring community that welcomes all, fosters spiritual growth, wages peace, and works for human and environmental justice.WHAT DOES MEMBERSHIP MEAN?Members of UUCSF participate in this community of faith in ways as intricate and diverse as each individual personality. Congregational decisions arise from members’ hopes, needs, and imagination, and are settled by members’ votes. Our mission was developed and voted upon by UUCSF’s membership. We are guided by this mission along with the seven principles of Unitarian Universalism.Membership offers not only respite from the world’s madness and materialism but also sustenance to go out and engage with that world, hoping to make a difference. Members feel the strength of numbers, the power that comes from knowing their values are shared. Members are not alone, either in their struggles or during good times of accomplishment and fun. 

PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERSHIP

In addition to shaping and continually refreshing UUCSF, members enjoy two important privileges. Although UUCSF’s various committees include members and friends alike, only members can serve on on the elected Board of Trustees that governs the congregation. All members also have a say on how the congregation spends its pledge income because the budget, every year, is reviewed and put to their vote.

A further word on pledging: UUCSF, like every other Unitarian Universalist congregation, is solely responsible for funding its own programs and day-to-day operations. Members see their annual pledge not only as fiscally necessary but also as an opportunity to experience the deep joy of generosity.

WHAT JOINING WON’T DO FOR ANYONE AND WHAT IT MIGHT DO FOR YOU

One thing joining won’t do is deliver dogmatic answers to life’s most difficult questions. Unitarian Universalism is far less about having answers than embracing a lifelong, often exhilarating, process of thought, questioning and experience.

Among this congregation, as with UU congregations nationally, you can find great variety of belief. Some people believe in God or a divine being, some are agnostic, and some atheist. Are we a religious organization? Yes, because “religion” means, at root, what binds us together. Unitarian Universalists are bound together by the values radiating through its principles.

Joining for you could mean discovering fresh insights along familiar pathways. It could mean venturing into uncharted territory. In whatever case, the initiative is yours. When you sign the UUCSF Membership Book, you are not signing on someone else’s dotted line. 

HOW DO PEOPLE JOIN?

Joining is a simple process. If you are fundamentally in sympathy with our mission and principles and willing to support with energy and money that which reflects your values, take a moment to speak with someone on the Fellowship Committee. During coffee after service would be a fine time to begin this conversation.

UUCSF’s minister, the Reverend Alison Cornish, talks with all prospective members before they join. This meeting is an opportunity to get better acquainted, for you to ask questions and hear a bit about the roots and traditions of Unitarian Universalism as well as the workings of UUCSF.

The UUCSF Fellowship Committee has prepared this summary and would be pleased to hear your comments and questions. May UUCSF be for you all you hope.