The best way to get involved with UUCP is to participate in projects and fellowship with our Ministry Teams. The current list of Team Leaders and active members of these Ministry Teams is available here.

How can you help?

Adult Exploration Team

Purpose: The Adult Exploration Team is responsible for all individual adult programs, including mid-week activities, discussion groups, and special events intended to educate adults. The programs should be designed to increase religious knowledge, foster personal and spiritual growth and well-being, enhance the spirit of community, and provide for the exchange of diverse opinions. The team is also responsible for maintaining the church library.

Examples of how yoUU can help: Lead a Second Hour program after Sunday Service, recruit a speaker or performer to present a program, be the UUCP Librarian…

Building and Grounds Team

Purpose: The Building and Grounds Team is responsible for managing the maintenance, repair and general operation of the physical facilities of the church. This includes the aesthetic and operational aspects of both interior and exterior spaces with attention to eco-friendly practices.

Examples of how yoUU can help: Lead or participate in cleanup or gardening sessions, assist with holiday decorating, do basic yardwork or landscaping around our campus (mowing, trimming, weeding…), organize or participate in work parties for big projects (fencing, power-washing, painting, etc.)…

Caring Team/Pastoral Care Team

Purpose: The Caring Team is responsible for helping to identify the needs of church members and to make efforts to address these needs, especially in times of crisis or emergency.

Examples of how yoUU can help: Write get-well & sympathy cards, visit home-bound and hospitalized members, prepare refreshments for Memorial Services…

Contact: Caring@uupensacola.org

Children’s Religious Education (CRE) Team

Purpose: The Children’s Religious Education (CRE) Team works with the CRE Coordinator to provide a supportive, nurturing atmosphere for children and youth and will provide programs and activities which are designed to increase religious knowledge, foster personal and spiritual growth and well-being, enhance the spirit of community, and provide for the exchange of diverse opinions.

Examples of how yoUU can help: Teach Sunday School or Our Whole Lives (OWL) classes, help the childcare provider in our nursery, donate snacks and school supplies…

Communications Team

Purpose: The Communications Team is responsible for communicating the UUCP message both internally and externally. This includes the church website, newsletter, publicity and marketing.

Examples of how yoUU can help: Write articles for the monthly newsletter The Light, help with update our website, manage our social media presence…

Contact: Communicationsg@uupensacola.org

Finance Team

Purpose: The Finance Team is responsible for developing the annual budget for the church and for organizing efforts to meet this budget through the annual budget drive, gifts, rental fees, and other fundraising activities. The team is responsible for the counting and deposit of the Sunday morning offering and for recording attendance numbers. The team also arranges a periodic audit of the books by a committee of members or a certified public accountant.

The Budget Drive Team is a sub-team of the Finance Team and is responsible for planning and conducting the annual canvass, including any social events with the canvass. It is not responsible for developing the budget.

The Fundraising Team is a sub-team of the Finance Team and is responsible for coordinating all fundraising efforts of the church, which must be approved by the board.

Examples of how yoUU can help: Head up the annual fundraising auction or the Spring & Fall Yard Sales, bring fundraiser ideas to the Finance Team, set up a Faithify Campaign for a UUCP project, be the UUCP Bookkeeper…

Fun and Fellowship Team

Purpose: The Fun and Fellowship Team is responsible for fostering a strong sense of community and belonging among the members and friends of the church. It will coordinate scheduled, organized activities for the congregation, and provide for Sunday refreshments and occasional potluck luncheons.

Examples of how yoUU can help: Plan a picnic or camping trip, organize the annual Circle Dinners or monthly Lunch Bunch, run a craft workshop or other Fun and Fellowship event, provide refreshments for Sunday Coffee Hour; setup or tear down for weekly Coffee Hour or potlucks…

Membership Team

Purpose: The Membership Team is responsible for helping visitors, friends and members feel welcome and included and for integrating them into the life of the church.

Examples of how yoUU can help: Be a Sunday Greeter, attend or help with a Newcomers Welcome session, follow up with recent visitors…

Contact: UUCPMembership2021@gmail.com

Outreach Team

Purpose: The Outreach Team raises the awareness of our church among the local area with the ultimate goal of connecting to like-minded people who might become familiar with us, visit the church, and potentially join. Many people around us are unfamiliar with Unitarian Universalism and would benefit from our church community if they knew about it. The Outreach Team will coordinate with the Communications Team, the Social Justice Team, and the Fun and Fellowship team, and will often overlap in their work, but the team’s focus is to initiate and follow through on efforts to reach new people and build our image in the greater community.

Examples of how yoUU can help: Prep for and/or participate in the annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade, help with outreach tasks such as increasing our visibility on Hwy 29, designing and/or distributing church fliers/handouts, assist with advertising, represent UUCP at outreach events, connect with other groups who may have similar viewpoints. The team is open to brainstorming ways to shine our beacon into the community.

Safer Congregation Team

Purpose: The Safer Congregation Team is responsible for ensuring the safety and security of the UUCP building, along with its members, staff, volunteers, youth, contract employees, visitors, and guests. The team is also responsible for responding to and addressing any cybersecurity concerns involving church members and church programs in a timely manner.

The goal of the Safer Congregation Team is to create and maintain a safe UUCP climate, while still creating a supportive space for learning, growth, and change as well as actively working for the inclusion and safety of all people.

Examples of how yoUU can help: Join the Safer Congregation Team, assess and respond to incidents involving safety and security as outlined above, coordinate with other team members and Board Members when necessary.

Social Justice Team

Purpose: The Social Justice Team coordinates the church’s involvement in community service projects, community outreach, and community education programs on issues of social concern or justice, including racial justice, LGBTQ+ welcoming, environmental activism, and more. This team coordinates with the Sunday Services Team to organize our church’s Fifth Sunday Collection to benefit local nonprofit organizations. The team serves as the congregation’s liaison to the interfaith initiative known as JUST Pensacola (Justice United Seeking Transformation in Pensacola) as well as the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) and the Side with Love coalition of activists.

Examples of how yoUU can help: Prep for and/or participate in the annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade in conjunction with the Outreach Team, attend or become active in UUCP’s JUST Pensacola work, organize or participate in a social justice program, represent UUCP at local social justice meetings and events…

Sunday Services Team

Purpose: The Sunday Services Team is responsible for the planning and presentation of Sunday services when the Minister is not in the pulpit and will work closely with the Minister throughout the church year. (NOTE: UUCP does not currently have a parish minister. Our congregation is lay-led, and all Sunday Services are planned and executed by the Sunday Services Team.) This team will work to provide programs that are intellectually stimulating and rigorous, spiritually uplifting, personally applicable and socially enlightening. Multigenerational services will be coordinated with the Children’s Religious Education team.

The Music Team is a sub-team of the Sunday Services Team that works with the Minister in supervising the services of a church musician and helps to coordinate member involvement in musical performances including a choral group and instrumentalists for Sunday services and other church events.

Examples of how yoUU can help: Share a message from the pulpit, be a guest musician, staff the Sound Room…