UU Marin has many opportunities for you to help make a better world, nurture your creativity, and discover your talents. It is through volunteering at the church that we get to make a contribution, meet other members and make new friends, and bring to life our covenant of right relations.

Keeping the church building in good repair, making sure services run smoothly, providing comfort to those in distress, managing fundraising and finances — these are a few of the essential ways that volunteers keep UU Marin a vibrant community.

Whether you are a programmer, chef, teacher, plumber, contractor, marketing pro, gardener, or number-cruncher, there is a way for you to make a difference. Think about what you enjoy doing and then read below to see if there is a place for you to get involved. You don’t have to be a member of a committee to participate!

Below is a list of Committees, their mission, and contact names. Contact the committee chair and see how you can help. (If no email is provided, consult the Member Directory.)

Committee meetings are open to church members except where noted. Check the Calendar of Events (select the “Church Calendar” view) for meeting times.

Committees

Governance

These committees are like the management team of a company, serving as accounting, human resources, and board of directors. Unlike other committees, you must be a UU Marin member to serve on these committees.

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees is the legal governing body for the church, setting policy and maintaining and adhering to our Bylaws.

The congregation elects nine Board members, with five serving at large, and four serving as officers. Each trustee serves two to three years in staggered terms to provide consistency in policy leadership. The Board of Trustees meets at UU Marin on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. UU Marin members are welcome to attend.

President: Susan Mathews     board@uumarin.org

Personnel

The Personnel Committee serves as the Human Resources department for non-ministerial church staff, including the Administrator, music staff, and Religious Exploration Director. They manage hiring, terminations, job descriptions and goals, and staff evaluations. They also maintain and implement the personnel policy for UU Marin non-ministerial staff. Personnel meetings are open to committee members only.

Chair: Susan Mathews

Finance

The Finance Committee meets monthly to review financial statements and other financial issues. Annually, the Finance Committee proposes a budget for the coming year and presents it to the Board of Trustees and to the Congregation for approval.

Chair: Judi Purdom  finance@uumarin.org

Growing and Ensuring the Future

The Membership, Stewardship, Fundraising, and Endowment committees work to ensure the long and healthy future of the congregation.

Membership

The mission of the Membership Committee to grow the congregation through improvements in our welcoming atmosphere, including more contact with visitors, lobby appearance, communications, and marketing. They design and nurture clearer processes and steps to foster the transitions from being a new visitor to a repeat visitor to a member to an engaged member.

Chairs: Pamela Berg and Dave Hudson

Stewardship

The Stewardship Team works to insure that the congregation has the financial resources to sustain our building, staff, and programs. The backbone of the fundraising efforts is the Pledge Drive, when members pledge their required contribution for the fiscal year. Long-term Stewardship focuses on gifts to our endowment funds. We also solicit donations at the end of the calendar year. We welcome the energy and talents of anyone with an optimistic spirit!

Chair: Thomas Ervin     stewardship@uumarin.org

The Rose Legacy Circle is a subcommittee to Stewardship, and works closely with the Endowment Committee, Adult Spiritual Development Committee, and the Administrator to encourage UU Marin members to include us in their legacy plans. The committee maintains a system of accountability for following through on the intention to give, keeps accurate updates on changes in legacy designations, acknowledges legacy givers annually, and enables easy follow-up by the Endowment Committee when a gift becomes due.

We welcome participation in the team, especially those with experience in legacy funding for non-profits.

Chairs: Joan Smith, Claudia Brown, and Linda Klein

Fundraising

The Fundraising Committee manages one large and several small fundraising events per year to help keep the church within budget.  All fundraisers need lots of helping hands to do everything from posters, set up, clean up, providing food, etc. (Fundraising events have been suspended due to the pandemic.)

Chair: Open!  Fundraiser@uumarin.org

Endowment

The Endowment Committee manages the General Endowment Fund, the Religious Education Enhancement Fund, and the Emergency Assistance Fund. The Committee makes periodic reports to the Board when requested, and annually to the Congregation. The Committee is governed by its own charter, the General Endowment Fund’s charter, the Religious Education Fund’s charter, and the Emergency Assistance Fund’s Board policy.

Chair: Christopher Gilkerson

Education

Religious Exploration

The mission of the Religious Exploration Committee is to provide a strong liberal religious education program that encourages a personal exploration of the great mystery and of what is holy.  With a focus on love, faith development, and service, the REC promotes the learning of the Seven UU principles and the many sources from which UU wisdom is drawn.  The REC also provides support to the Director of Religious Exploration in the areas of curriculum development, intergenerational programming, special events programs (e.g., holiday plays), and service projects within our congregation and for the community at large. To see more on RE programs, visit the pages under Learning.

Chair: Rich Cohen

Adult Spiritual Development

The Adult Spiritual Development Committee is dedicated to offering programs that provide for the exploration of spirituality, intellectual and emotional growth, and the life skills development of the UU Marin community through a variety of opportunities to gather and learn from each other. A more in-depth description of ASD programs can be found on the Adult Spiritual Development page.

Chair: Kate Hudson

Living our Values

Social Justice Team

The Social Justice Team strives to embody our faith’s commitment to peace, liberty and justice in the life and work of our congregation. We work to keep alive our tradition’s vision of world community. Central to this is a mission to involve other UU Marin groups and individuals in making a difference.

The Social Justice Committee focuses on:

• Housing/homelessness
• Racial justice, including immigrants’ rights and Black Lives Matter
• Environmental issues

We are involved with local groups in Marin and the Bay Area to achieve our goals.  This includes attending City Council and Board of Supervisor meetings and rallies, and writing letters to improve conditions for renters, the homeless, and undocumented individuals.

Chair: Victoria Holdridge    socialjustice@uumarin.org

Pastoral Care Team

The Pastoral Care Team aids the minister in caring for our members by providing support to members and their families when they are ill, infirm, or experiencing an emergency.  They keep in touch with members confined to home or hospital, provide in-home meals, essential shopping and rides, and refer members to community services as needed.

Due to the sensitive nature of information shared at meetings, Pastoral Care meetings are open to committee members only.

Chair: Karen Auroy     pastoralcare@uumarin.org

Partner Church

The Partner Church Team maintains our relationship with our partner church in Szovata, Romania. The UUA supports this with their Partner Church program.

Chair: Ali Jenkins

Annual Retreat Team

The annual Retreat is an all-congregational event running one weekend in early spring, from Friday afternoon through Sunday morning at Walker Creek Ranch in West Marin. Its purpose is to provide an opportunity for church members to engage with each other away from our regular lives. Typical programs include hikes, craft projects, music, and dancing as well as poetry readings and philosophical discussions. Help is needed for all kinds of activities including publicity, registration, scheduling of activities,  providing workshops, etc. Consider sharing your talents in a session at the retreat!

Chair: Thomas Ervin

Sunday Services

Our traditional Sunday service provides lots of opportunities for one-time or ongoing volunteering. Volunteers make the service work smoothly by, for example, assisting the minister, providing flowers and refreshments, greeting attendees, and collecting the offering. Volunteers are always needed to help make our Sunday services a special time. Please contact the people listed below to sign up.

Worship Associates

The Worship Associates Team ensures that the pulpit is filled 52 Sundays a year and sees that the service runs smoothly. The committee is responsible for finding outside speakers for 1-2 Sundays a month and for all summer services. WAs make sure the room is set up properly every Sunday, assist the speaker, provide information for the Order of Service, and conduct some non-sermon elements of the service from the pulpit, such as announcements and the offering. Worship Associates build experience in public speaking, event planning, and in creating sacred experiences.

For more information, see the Worship Associates page (https://uumarin.org/worship/worship-associates/).

Chair: John Eller    worshipassociates@uumarin.org

Music

The Music Team fosters a high standard of music, aesthetically and in performance, within the church for the enrichment of services and the spiritual benefit of the congregation. The Music committee is made up of the choir and the music director. There is always room for talented musicians to contribute to our services!

Chair: Kristin Jensen   mUUsic@uumarin.org

Hospitality

The Hospitality Team creates a hospitable environment for welcoming members and guests into the fellowship of our Congregation. They supervise and assist with planning and executing events such as potlucks and Christmas Eve Services, keep the kitchen stocked with supplies, and clean it as needed. They also manage the list of people bringing refreshments every Sunday. The simplest way to volunteer is to bring refreshments on Sundays. Kitchen cleanup help is always appreciated!

Chair: Judy Finn   refreshments@uumarin.org

Greeters

As the name implies, Greeters welcome everyone who comes to the Sunday service. If someone is coming for the first time, Greeters make them feel welcome, answer any questions they have, and collect contact information. If you are a cheerful outgoing person who likes meeting new people — or would like to grow into being one —  this is for you!

Contact: Christine Kraemer

Ushers

On Sunday morning, the Ushers serve a vital function of helping people get seated, collecting Joys & Sorrows slips, and managing the collection baskets. After the service they tally up the offerings, and also track attendance at our services.

Contact: Gretchen Leavitt

Touch of Beauty

Each Sunday, a different volunteer brings flowers (or something else, like a sculpture) to place at the front of the room to enhance the appearance of the sanctuary for services. Consider bringing flowers once or twice a year! It is a simple way to enhance our Sunday services.

Contact: Sally Schroeder

Tech Team

UU Marin is now offering access to Sunday services both in-person and over Zoom. To make online viewing possible, our team of techies manages microphones and cameras, plus slides with hymn lyrics, to insure that the online experience is close to that of being there in person. They also provide this service for Congregational Meetings.
If you have experience with audio, video, or internet-based meetings — or would like to get experience — this would be a great opportunity for you.

Contact: Stephanie Guidry

Operations

Facilities

Email: facilities@uumarin.org

The Facilities Team carries out all repairs to the UU Marin facilities and ensures that the property is maintained in a satisfactory manner, including ongoing maintenance and long-range plans. We have a long list of things we’d like to get done, ranging from fixing potholes in the parking lot to getting solar panels on the roof! If you have carpentry, plumbing, electrical, or project management skills, or just enjoy one-time hands-on projects, join us in making our church building and grounds safe, beautiful, fully functional, and sustainable.

A subcommittee to Facilities is the Aesthetics Team, which assists with keeping modifications to the church consistent with the architectural style and the standardized color palette. We give input on projects, find sources for materials, and frame and hang art. Budding interior designers wanted!

Chair: Jim Harrison

Aesthetics chair: Valerie Taylor