Current UUSD Committees
Board Committees

1. Awards Committee: Coordinates the annual process for the nomination and selection of recipients for the various awards to members and others for outstanding service to the congregation and to the community.

2. Capital Campaign Committee: Formed to launch a campaign to finance the purchase of land and/or a facility that would meet the critical needs of our growing congregation.

3. Communications Committee: Promotes a greater understanding and awareness of Unitarian Universalism as a fellowship and movement and to specifically promote the vision, mission and activities of UUSD in Sussex County, DE and neighboring areas.
Activities:
Publication of the monthly newsletter, The Beacon
Maintaining and updating the UUSD website, Facebook, and other communications media
Advertising UUSD activities in local newspapers
Providing a weekly UUSD update to members and friends

4.  Denominational Affairs Committee: Informs the congregation about important decisions and activities of the UUA, JPD, and other UU organizations and encourages active participations of UUSD members in them.

5. Facilities Committee: Organizes occasional volunteer maintenance, minor repair, cleaning and painting projects involving both committee members and non-members. The committee also monitors fire alarm, heating and plumbing systems, major repair needs, cleaning service, trash disposal, and pest control problems.
6. Finance Committee: Monitors the overall financial health of the congregation, and coordinates the development of the annual budget. It is also responsible for THE CLOUD SOCIETY (Legacy matters), and long-range financial planning, including the update of the strategic financial plan.
7.Fundraising and Activities Committee: Is responsible for church-wide fundraising events and for developing and coordinating other church social activities, among them, the Annual Church Auction held each spring.

8.  Future Home Committee: Provides the analysis needed to determine whether or not to stay where we are in our current rental space, expand the space, or buy our own property and build.

9.  Green Sanctuary Committee: Provides a path for congregational study and reflection, and a call to individual and collective actions in response to environmental challenges. More specifically the program attempts to build awareness of the significance and complexity of environmental issues; encourage personal lifestyle changes; engage in community action on environmental issues; strengthen the connection between spiritual practice and Earth consciousness; and work to heal environmental injustices.
Activities:
Adopt-A-Highway
Adopt-A-Beach
Community Garden (in cooperation with the Social Justice Committee)
Seminars and Adult Education classes with Environmental Justice themes

10.  Lifespan Faith Development Committee: Supports and leads our children and adults in developing their spiritual and religious lives. This committee researches, plans and implements the Sunday School Program for children from birth through high school. The committee is committed to offering our children a comfortable, meaningful and fun congregational life, and supporting the dedicated group of volunteer religious education teachers.  It also offers continuing opportunities for fostering spiritual growth among adults in its Adult Education Program.
Activities:
Sunday school program for children and teens from 10am to 11:30am.
Adult Education Programs on varying spiritual themes including
New UU class
UU History
Owning your Religious past
First Friday Films (with the Social Justice Committee)
Monthly Book Group
Lending Library

11. Long-Range Planning Committee: Monitors progress on existing long range plans, facilitates the development of new long range projects when necessary, and brainstorms solutions to congregational needs based on input from the board, committees and the membership

12. Membership Committee: Welcomes those in our community who are searching for a progressive religious home. We are responsible for greeting visitors at Sunday services, and following up their visit with letters or phone calls. We also sponsor events to help visitors, friends, and new members get to know UUSD better and become involved in the life of the congregation in whichever way is most meaningful for them. Our goal is to continue our dynamic growth, as we continue to deepen our bonds to one another.

13. Music Committee:  Provides input to the Music and Choir Directors on the contribution that music makes to the cohesion of the Sunday service and the life of the community as a whole.  The committee coordinates the music program including the Choir, soloists, instrumental accompaniment, etc.

14. Pastoral Care Committee: Assists the Minister in providing pastoral care to members of the congregation, either in the Minister’s absence, due to Sabbatical leave, vacation or illness, or in the event that the needs of the congregation temporarily exceed the ability of the Minister to attend to them concurrently.

15.  Personnel Committee: Oversees evaluation and counsel with current paid staff of UUSD.

16. Social Justice Committee: Through advocacy, activism, education and witness, the Social Justice Committee is dedicated to engaging the congregation and community in various local, national and global issues promoting equality, peace, human rights, and sustainability.  Among those issues are GLBT rights, immigration, and social and environmental justice.
Activities:
Community Garden (with Green Sanctuary Committee)
Friday Film Series (with Lifespan Faith Development Committee)
Martin Luther Day King celebration
Christmas giving activities including gifts for seniors, children, and homeless veterans
Food bank donations
Gay Pride participation

17.  Stewardship Committee:  Organizes and conducts the yearly pledge campaign.

18. Transylvania Partnership Committee: Works to support UUSD’s ties with Transylvanian Unitarians by becoming a partner to a church in Romania. The committee is in its early stages of preparing activities anticipated to include exchange visits by members of our partner church and UUSD.

19. Worship Committee: Is responsible for the logistics of Sunday worship service as well as the programs for those services when our minister is not in the pulpit. It trains ushers and worship associates to support the Sunday worship services.

Standing Committees:

1.  Committee on Ministry: Tracks the “heartbeat” of ministry within a congregation; how the members…take care of themselves and each other, how the lay ministerial leadership serves a congregation; and how the called minister serves the congregation. It seeks to understand, assess, support, and advocate for robust ministry throughout the context of congregational life.

2.  Nominations Committee: Determines qualified candidates and makes nominations from among UUSD members to serve on the Board of Trustees and the Nominations Committee. The Committee also supports the excellence of congregational leadership through new leadership development programs. The Nominations Committee is a standing committee and committee members are elected by the congregation at the annual meeting.