Our Ministries
Building Ministry
The Building Ministry maintains our building and grounds.
The House Committee oversees the maintenance needs of the building by organizing biannual volunteer work parties and related projects. This group finds contractors for building repairs, trash removal and snow plowing.
The Garden Committee maintains the sidewalk planters and the garden on the South Clinton Avenue side of our church. Members of the Garden Committee also volunteered their gardening expertise at our annual Service Auction by donating gardening hours to be purchased at the auction.
Finance Ministry
Finance Ministry involves itself in financial administration.
The Finance Committee prepares and reviews the budget and supports our financial officers.
The Canvass Committee conducts the annual pledge drive to raise monies for the operating budget.
This ministry is involved in regular and ad hoc fundraisers such as our Annual Service Auction, Yard Sales and Change Drives. The financial part of capital campaigns, when they occur, are overseen by this ministry as are other ad hoc financial activities, such as a recent energy task force.
Inreach Ministry
The Inreach Ministry cares for our members and friends. Committees in this ministry are the Caring Committee, Small Group Ministry, MOCHA (Ministry of Coffee Hour Activities) and the Membership Committee.
The Caring Committee coordinates volunteers to provide transportation to church, to provide meals during crisis times, to deliver flowers at Christmas and Easter to the homebound. This group holds receptions following memorial services for our members and pledging friends.
Small Group Ministry gets people to meet in small groups to discuss various topics and get to know one another on a more personal basis.
MOCHA (Ministry of Coffee Hour Activities) is most active on Sunday mornings. The MOCHA team provides the food and beverages for volunteers to set up. MOCHA is a great way to meet people.
The Membership Committee greets everyone as they come to Sunday services. Committee members keep in touch with our members and friends and produce brochures for visitors and information packets for new members. This committee published Symbolism in First Universalist Church by Peggy Meeker.
Outreach Ministry
The Outreach Ministry connects us to the larger community.
We are involved in Rochester Area Interfaith Hospitality Network (RAIHN), a group of churches that host homeless families as they make the transition to permanent housing. Three to four times a year, we work with members of St. Mary’s Catholic Church to house and feed multiple families who stay with us for a week.
We have also worked with St. Mary’s Church to hold a vigil for immigration reform and in a refugee resettlement project that involved sponsoring a Turkish family relocating from Eastern Europe.
We participate in the annual Gay Pride Parade in Rochester, NY.
Our church collects food for an interfaith foodbank, Southeast Ecumenical Food Cupboard, on the second Sunday of each month.
On the third Sunday of each month, Social Justice Ministry members identify a local charity involved in social justice work to receive our Sunday plate offering.
The Social Justice ministry jointly produces a radio show with First Unitarian Church of Rochester, called LifeNow! Radio. The show seeks to broadcast the Unitarian Universalist (UU) perspective of religion, namely that it is about living a rewarding and ethical life today, rather than preparing for the afterlife.
The Outreach Ministry coordinator represents our church in Interfaith Impact, an interfaith group concerned with social justice at the New York State level.
Religious Education Ministry
The Religious Education Ministry oversees education for children and youth. The Religious Education (R. E.) Committee works with our Director of Religious Education (D.R.E.) to develop a Sunday morning educational program for our children and youth.
This ministry is responsible for two Sunday services each year. For the past two years, the December service has been a mummers’ play co-produced by the R.E. Ministry and the Music Committee. The June service is the end-of-the-year R.E. Sunday in which the children and youth share what they’ve learned during the past year. R.E. Sunday includes a Bridging ceremony for youth graduating from high school that year.
Sharing Our Faith Ministry
The Sharing Our Faith Ministry publicizes our congregation. The Sharing Our Faith Committee is a team of church members who meet monthly to identify creative ways to get our message out to the broader community through media, activity and marketing strategies.
Activities have included the development of Elevator Speeches that explain Unitarian Universalism (UUism), hosting Focus Groups on the pros and cons of growth, redesigning our church website and sponsorship of a variety of Centennial activities.
A special highlight was the development of our Centennial Cookbook that featured essential facts about Unitarian Universalism and a number of our Elevator Speeches. More than 150 copies have already been sold and profits benefit the church. Additionally, a publicity and press release process has been implemented. We know we have an important and life giving denomination. We’ll be working with our church leaders to find new ways to let our light shine.
Staff Support Ministry
The Staff Support Ministry performs behind-the-scenes personnel tasks.
The Personnel Committee plays a role in hiring all of our employees (except the minister), ensures a reporting and supervisory process for our employees, gathers annual performance evaluations, recommends annual pay increases, instituted routine background checks for all new hires.
The Child Care Committee is responsible for staffing the pre-school care room during Sunday Service.
The Committee on Ministry serves as a sounding board for the minister.
Worship Ministry
The Worship Ministry focuses on the aspects of our worship services.
The Music Committee supports the Music Director and the music programs of the church and keeps track of the historic Hope-Jones organ’s maintenance and repairs. The committee sets the music program’s yearly goals, keeps the music library organized and assists with recruiting for the choir.
The Keepers of the Flame is a group of volunteers responsible for caring for the flaming chalice and making sure there are flowers, table runners, candles, stones and a bowl of water for our Joys and Concerns and any other esthetic necessity for Sunday worship.
The Ushers distribute the Orders of Service each Sunday, take care of the offertory plate collection during Sunday services and provide other services as necessary.
The Lay-led Services coordinator arranges for one lay-led service per month, while our minister has the Sunday off. Speakers for these services come from within our congregation and also from the community.
The Worship Associates assist with weekly Sunday services by providing readings and leading the congregation through parts of the service. These volunteers are trained and work closely with the minister to enhance the worship experience with the words they write and choose for services.
