Community
The UUCSF’s vitality is based on the ties that connect its members and friends. The congregation is a vibrant organization that creates a beloved caring community. We reach out to our neighbors, work for social justice and create a safe space, nurturing our spirituality as well as our intellectual curiosity. The vision goes beyond the Sunday worship service. These lofty goals are the work of many hands and commitment of the entire group.
The organizational chart below provides some perspective of the scope of our activities and may help you navigate the congregation. More information on the various groups and their charge is available.
Governance
Governance refers to the groups entrusted with ensuring the health and endurance of our Congregation.
Board of Trustees: Responsible for the day-to-day health and operation of the Meetinghouse as well as charting its strategic direction.
Martha Potter – President
Patience Halsey-Sherman – Vice President
Ingrid Krinke – Treasurer
Sara Gordon – Trustee
Katie Legare– Trustee
Committee on Shared Ministry: Works to make the Meetinghouse a place for everyone to thrive. Listens, raises issues and aims to solve challenges.
David Holstein*
Ken Dorph
Sue Penny
Nominating Committee: Identifies candidates to fill key UUCSF positions.
Kent Martin*
Myrna Truitt
Pamela Wittenberg
Finance/Stewardship Team: Caretaker of our financial health and responsible for our annual budget. Works to secure the congregation’s future by engaging members and friends regarding their fiscal commitment, responsibilities, and generosity to the UUCSF.
John Andrews*
Mark Potter*
Tip Brolin
Mark Ewald
Ingrid Krinke
Sue Penny
Carl Wittenberg
Planned Giving:
Members and friends often establish long-term connections at the Meetinghouse. It can be a place where families have grown up or where congregants have found their spiritual home and have lived their values. There are so many reasons that we come together. Above all, we create a community, a family, where we are connected and care for one another. Many want to ensure that the meetinghouse will be there for future generations. Planned giving is a way to impact the next generation and be part of the legacy we leave behind. For more information on planned giving, contact our Stewardship Committee.
Faith Formation
Faith Formation cares for and nurtures our religious identity and spiritual growth.
Worship & Music: Provides the lay leadership in developing unique Sunday Services. Further, they support the Minister in making all our Sunday Services successful.
Rev. Kimberly Quinn Johnson*
Tuna Flores
Diana Lindley
Kent Martin
Ken Ettlinger
Sue Penny
Mark Potter
Pamela Wittenberg
Monika Zasada
Religious Exploration, Youth: Works to create a nurturing environment where our youth can have fun, explore ideas and values, freely express themselves and be involved in congregational life.
Religious Educator: Deborah Marshall
Religious Exploration, Adult: Provides opportunities for adults to explore their beliefs, values and the rich diversity of our congregation and our neighbors.
John Andrews*
Carolyn Holstein
Mark Potter
Outreach
Outreach works on issues outside our four walls. It builds connections in our local and world communities. The emphasis is on social action and justice.
Outreach Committee: Charged to work across areas including social media, marketing, interfaith engagement and community actions to advance social action and justice.
Ella Engel-Snow*
Kathy Engel
Martha Potter
Pamela Greinke
John Andrews
Sue Penny
Michael Daly
Mark Potter
Helping Hand: Makes small grants to East End agencies and groups to meet specific needs.
Carolyn Holstein*
Ingrid Krinke
Martha Potter
High Impact Community Outreach (HICO): Works to be impactful in the five East End towns and the Shinnecock Nation via larger project-based grants to non-profit agencies.
Ken Ettlinger
Celia Josephson
David Holstein
Lora Tucker
Racial Justice East End: Partners with community leaders to encourage reflection, conversation and action on racial justice issues.
Ella Engel-Snow
Pamela Greinke
Care and Connection
Care and Connection focuses on our congregational family, taking the lead in knowing about and caring for our community.
The Committee works to make our Sunday Services welcoming and sponsors events that foster connections and deeper relationships.
Carolyn Holstein*
John Andrews
Hilary Helfant
Carol Mason
Jim Thurman
Pam Wittenberg
Fellowship:
The UUCSF is a caring community. As individuals we face many challenges. Knowing that others are available to hear our sorrows, face our problems or celebrate our successes is an important part of creating a beloved community. We work together to create an environment that is welcoming, understanding, empathetic, engaged, energetic and helpful. It can be as simple as lighting a candle of concern at a Sunday Service, financial assistance or spiritual comfort. The congregation works to be there for one another. Our minister, Reverend Kimberly Quinn Johnson, is always available and can be reached at minister@uucsf.org.
Remembrance Garden:
Our Remembrance Garden is a refuge for a solemn moment at the edge of the Long Pond Preserve. Members and friends of the congregation have inscribed bricks as dedications to loved ones. Please contact the office and Care and Connections Team.
Safe Congregation:
Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Our faith calls us to act in ways that foster well-being in ourselves and others by doing no harm and acting responsibly to create communities and institutions that are safe from all types of abuse and violence. Ours is a covenantal faith, based in right relationships that promote mutuality and equal regard. The goals of the UUCSF Safe Congregations policies are to support leaders in creating a safe space within our congregation, encourage right relations among persons who are part of the congregation, and promote just relations between the congregation and the larger community of which it is a part.
Click here for a complete explanation of the UUCSF Safe Congregation Policy
Building and Grounds
Physical Plant: Endeavors to keep the building and surrounding grounds attractive and easy to use. Members bring their expertise, tackling issues for a building that is used extensively.
Gerald Boyer*
Mark Potter
Ken Ettlinger
John Andrews
Ingrid Krinke
Tip Brolin
Don Schmitz
Aubrey Birch
Aesthetics & Safety: Incorporates art into our Meetinghouse experience. A pleasing as well as a safe environment is a key part of our spiritual home.
Hilary Helfant*
Ingrid Krinke
Michael Daly
Steven Romm
Pamela Greinke
Become a Member
The UUCSF is an open and caring community that welcomes all, fosters spiritual growth, engages our energies, advocates for social and climate justice and works to make our neighborhood a better place to live. Members and friends come for many reasons, generously offer their talents and treasures and enjoy being part of something bigger than themselves.
We are guided by Unitarian Universalism and the Seven Principles which help unify us. There is no dogma and our strength comes from the diversity of thinking plus the varied histories our members have with organized and not-so-organized religion. The UUCSF’s members developed a Mission statement that helps define us to the outside world and a Covenant of Right Relations that ensures we interact with one another appropriately. Members feel the strength of numbers and the power that comes from shared values.
Membership: After attending several services and getting to know us, we hope that you will be excited about becoming an active member of the congregation. Membership is a proactive decision. It implies that you will show up and participate in worship, events, or activities. It is a commitment to fellow congregants to be in the community. It carries with it the ownership that this is my new home.
Becoming a member is relatively easy:
- Meet with the Minister. This a chance for you to get acquainted with Rev. Kimberly Quinn Johnson. She will discuss what it is like to be part of the congregation, some highlights of Unitarian Universalism, and delve into your expectations.
- A financial commitment. A pledge for the upcoming year to donate funds to help sustain our congregation.
- Signing the membership book.
Friend: Some individuals prefer to be active participants in the congregation as Friends and do not sign the membership book. We welcome everyone and encourage their joining in congregational life. You can be extremely active and engaged as a friend. Our only requirement is a financial contribution to help support our Meetinghouse and its mission.
Pledging: Finances are part of every congregation’s well-being. The UUCSF exists because of the financial support of its congregants. There is an expectation that all members and friends will make a financial commitment, a pledge, each year. Pledging is a good faith intention to donate funds over our fiscal year which runs from July 1 – June 30. Pledging is a personal decision and reflects one’s financial situation. It should reflect what you value in the UUCSF — spiritual nourishment, intellectual challenges, opportunities to grow, social activism, a caring community, diversity or a second home. We hope that your pledge aligns with the “benefits” you perceive.
The UUA has created a worksheet and information on suggested contributions based on the two metrics of commitment and income. Click here to download the UUA worksheet. The UUCSF’s only belief is that everyone can give something. Pledges from members and friends represent approximately half of our annual budget.
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