Committees
	SouthWest Unitarian Universalist Church
	Berea, Ohio
	The word committee strikes fear into the hearts both of the members of and the visitors to a church. Visions of endless meetings and vague or intractable goals fill their minds. Nevertheless, committees represent very important components to the life and health of any church. For newcomers, they provide a great way to find out what's 'going on'. To find out more about our committees, click on any of those listed on the left. Home
The Board
Finance
Children's R.E.
Membership
Adult Programs
Social Justice
Accessibility
Welcoming Congregation
Sunday Services
Fundraising
Committee on the Ministry

The Board

The Board of Trustees is the elected governing body of the church. As such, it represents the members. The Board works collaboratively with the Minister to establish church policies, create and sustain programs, approve the church calendar, and authorize or approve significant financial transactions. Working with the Ministry Committee and the Finance Committee, the Board evaluates the work of the Minister and determines annual compensation increases. The Board calls congregational meetings and prepares the agendas. It reviews and approves, perhaps with changes, annual budget proposals prepared by the Finance Committee, and presents the same to the members for adoption at the Annual Congregational Meeting. It monitors budget performance throughout the year. The Board approves all committee chairpersons, coordinates but does not direct committee work, and may create new committees. The By-Laws specify that the Board meet as often as necessary but no fewer than ten times each year. In practice, it generally meets monthly except for July and December. The By-Laws specify nine members, four officers and five at large. Members are elected to three-year Board terms and one-year terms as officers. An officer may serve three consecutive one-year terms. The Minister and the Church Administrator meet with the Board. Any member can ask to attend a Board meeting, to present proposals or information, or just to observe. At large members generally spend two hours in each of nine of the monthly meetings, with perhaps two additional hours each month for preparation. The August meeting is a six-hour Saturday retreat, with all committee chairpersons invited. Hours required of the officers vary with the position. Top

Finance

This committee’s mission is to do all that is necessary to assure the financial well being of the church, and to communicate important financial information to the Board and the congregation. This includes: Review the financial policies and practices of the congregation Communicate to the congregation regarding the importance of financial support Plan the Canvass Kickoff as to site, time, date, advertising, program, food, and childcare Conduct the annual pledge drive Prepare a budget for the Board Review and evaluate budget performance throughout the year Plan a capital fund drive when appropriate Look into deferred gift planning (wills, annuities) Preparation of materials is divided between the members, but jointly planned and reviewed. The Administrator keeps the financial records. The Treasurer presents financial reports to the Board. The committee meets six times a year, with a total time commitment of 15 – 20 hours annually, 12 hours devoted to meetings and the balance working individually. Top

Children's Religious Education

The mission of this committee is to provide the children and youth of SWUU with a viable, interesting and informative curriculum. Activities include: Recruit teachers for the year (spring, early summer) Divide classes into manageable age groups Prepare annual calendar with dates for teachers, group activities, and intergenerational services (summer) Select and copy curricula (summer) Hold team meetings with teachers in each age group (late summer) Prepare a flyer describing the year’s program Assist and troubleshoot throughout the year Provide teachers with information, supplies, and support Maintain attendance records for each class Provide the Forum with information on curricula and activities (monthly) Introduce the program to new parents Plan a service to recognize the children and teachers, held each May Encourage attendance for leaders at district educational events There is no formal meeting schedule, although we usually hold 2 – 3 planning/debriefing meetings during the year. The chairpersons choose the curricula and establish the teaching schedule for the year. It is the teachers’ responsibility to follow the chosen curricula or provide an alternate lesson as needed. The chairpersons annually spend approximately one hour or more recruiting teachers and group activity leaders, choosing curricula, copying materials, setting up the schedule with the teachers and planning for Teacher Appreciation Sunday in the spring. Each teacher spends approximately two hours (including class time) for each teaching session. For more information on our religious education program, click here. Top

Membership

The mission of this group is to welcome visitors and to ensure that members and visitors find their niche. We do so by educating the congregation about the meaning of membership, orienting newcomers, and by working to make SWUU a place to bring our friends and family members. Typically, activities include: 1. Maintain and staff the visitors’ table 1. Obtain and create flyers 2. Train and assist greeters 3. Have all visitors fill out the “information” form, the original copy for the minister; the second copy to the Administrator; and the third copy to the Membership chair Distribute informational packets to visitors and prospective members: 1. Packet #1 Basic Information – Distributed by Greeter 2. Packet #2 – Distributed by Administrator 3. Packet #3 – Distributed by Minister Invite newcomers to be a part of the “task list”. Work with task list coordinator Ask newcomers if they would like to be in the next “phone book” Maintain a list of volunteers, thus knowing who is not involved, and review as to who should be contacted Make a weekly headcount at Sunday Services and note who is missing. Make contact (phone, letter, etc.) with those who have not been heard from Work with other committees to have newcomers invited to meetings, activities, etc. When any social gathering is planned, ensure that all newcomers and/or those who have not been participating receive a special invitation (preferably verbal) The monthly time commitment averages 4 – 6 hours, or 8 – 10 hours for the chairperson. Top

Adult Programs

This committee arranges for adult programs led by both professional and lay leaders. Programs typically include Unitarian Universalist history and philosophy, personal spiritual explorations, and other topics of interest to the congregation. We attempt to offer classes each Tuesday night. Specific schedules are noted in the newsletter. The committee meets once a month for 1-1/2 hours, and time commitment is about four hours or more per month. Groups are formed or events planned based on the wishes of the congregation, with voluntary leadership of each group or event. Top

Social Justice

Our mission is to plan a variety of civic, environmental and social justice oriented activities each year and to select organizations for which the congregation will make special financial collections. We try to increase awareness of social justice issues in our congregation and encourage participation at Conversation Café discussions of social justice issues. We focus on a few community organizations that put into practice the principles we affirm. Most of our projects have been with Interact Cleveland and Transitional Housing. Interact Cleveland is an interfaith organization that provides opportunities to serve the less fortunate members of the Greater Cleveland area. Interact sponsors the Homeless Stand Down, a multi-day event that serves over 500 homeless people with hot meals, medical attention, massage, haircuts, toiletries, and winter clothing. Our congregation provides volunteers as well as financial assistance every year. Transitional Housing is a residence for formerly homeless women which provides counseling, job search assistance and life skills classes to enable these women to move on to their own permanent home. Our church has provided welcome baskets of toiletries, holiday cookies, and volunteer tutors and mentors. Each year we remodel and refurnish a resident’s room. Our committee participates in the Greater Cleveland UU Coalition for Social Justice as well as Urban Immersion, a program started by Urban Hope UU Community to expose people to the realities of inner city life. Our focus collections have raised money for the above named organizations as well as the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. Our focus collection organizations vary somewhat every year depending on the needs of the community. We collected money for Hurricane Katrina victims this year. We also designated a focus collection to start a helping hand fund to provide financial assistance to friends and members of our congregation in need. Meetings are held the second Monday of the month from 7:30 to 9 p.m. The time commitment required beyond this would be voluntary depending on the person’s interests. The committee consists of 7 or 8 members, but all are invited to join. Membership in our church is not a requirement. Top

Welcoming Congregation

This committee seeks to assure that SWUU Church is truly a “Welcoming Congregation” as described by the UUA. This means that the members include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons at all levels of congregational life – worship, program, and social events. It also means that an understanding of the experiences and concerns of LGBT people is part of the fabric of our church life, and so is the appreciation for their contributions to our society and culture. As a committee, we: Plan and perform a Sunday Service once a year Plan and teach an RE activity once a year Participate in Pride, usually by having a booth at the festival and marching in the parade (includes reserving a booth, arranging for give-away items, scheduling committee members and others to staff the booth, etc.) Plan and host movie nights, forums, or other events Individual members work with various organizations, such as PFLAG and the Cleveland Lesbian/Gay Center Meetings are usually held once a month during the church year. An estimate of time required is: Teaching RE: 2 – 4 hours in the month or weeks before our teaching day, plus the time actually spent teaching (about 45 minutes) Service: 1 – 3 hours in the month or weeks before the service (assuming an outside speaker) Pride: 2 – 4 hours in the month or weeks before the day of the festival. On Pride day itself, generally a minimum of 3 – 4 hours, although several committee members spend significantly more time than that. Read about SWUU’s support of same sex marriage (click here) Top

Sunday Services

The mission of this committee is to provide, through a shared ministry, the most meaningful, spiritual, and creative Sunday Services that we can throughout the regular church year. Activities include: Review the Order of Service jacket annually, and have it reprinted as necessary Schedule alternative programs when the minister is not leading a Sunday Service: 1. Recruit and make arrangements with other ministers, guest speakers/musicians, and/or church members or committees 2. Ensure that the Worship Associate has prepared introductions, music, readings, children’s focus, etc., as needed 3. Organize and provide Order of Service information to the Administrator 4. Provide information for the newsletter and to the publicity coordinator for special events 5. Ensure that guest speakers are paid by the Bookkeeper Maintain a pre-arranged program for last minute no-shows Review services to ensure quality Arrange Children’s Focus Prepare information for the weekly Flame of Universal Kinship Lead the post-service discussion Meetings are held once a month except during the summer. Total time commitment is estimated at 4 – 8 hours per month. Top

Fundraising

The mission of this committee is to seek or create, organize, and implement creative new means for increasing general operating funds for SWUU, beyond those from annual pledges of members and friends, or those from the collection plate. In doing so, we strive not only to build funds, but also to build community in and outside of SWUU. To this end we need to organize or secure an organizer for regular or annual fundraising events such as: Service and Social Auction Garage Sale Entertainment Book Sales The committee can choose other ideas as they seem appropriate. The time commitment required is estimated at 4 – 8 hours per month, probably in concentrated periods centering on the various events. Top

Committee on the Ministry

Ministry is considered to be everything that is done together by this committee to fulfill SWUU’s Statement of Purpose. The committee exists to keep this Statement at the center of our work, and to keep us accountable for carrying out our congregational ideals. A thorough review of the professional minister and the congregational ministry as a whole is performed on alternating years, or as required by the Ministerial Fellowship Committee. The committee seeks to ensure healthy communication practices within the congregation. It therefore necessarily deals with issues of conflict, and in attempting reconciliation, abides by certain specific standards. The committee performs a thorough review of the professional minister, and the congregational ministry as a whole, on alternating years. The committee consists of at least three members who are appointed by the Board in collaboration with the Minister. Members serve for three-year terms, rotating. There is one meeting per month, plus further communication via email, with a total time commitment estimated at 1 – 2 hours per week. Top