Our Mission Statement:
Rooted in the Sacred
and strengthened by our diversity,
we equip ourselves to minister through the transformative power of Love.
The First Universalist Church of Auburn, Maine, Unitarian Universalist, is an active religious community! Exploring our spirituality, engaging in lifespan religious exploration, and offering service to others are some of the vital components of our church life.
This overview lists some ways we — minister, staff, lay leaders, and other members and friends — do this work together. If you are new to our congregation and are looking for ways to become more involved and connected, we hope this information about some of our church groups can assist you in your journey with us.
Which of these areas speaks to your heart and interests?
Communications Community Relations: promotes our church presence and programs to members and friends, as well as the community at large. CR coordinates messaging between our various platforms: eblast, newsletter, and social media in the community, to establish our identity as UU’s within the congregation and local community and to highlight the activities, events and accomplishments of this church. Contact: Toby Haber-Giasson Digital Media Ministry: ministers to the online community, through our presence on our website and digital platforms such as Facebook. Often, the first image our congregation presents to newcomers, questioners, and visitors is via social media. This group utilizes personal skills and professional training to provide relevant, professional, and attractive content, framing our electronic outreach postings around our congregational mission, values, and ends. Finance and Fundraising Finance Committee: attends to the financial well-being of the congregation by developing a yearly budget and overseeing the money flow throughout the year. Finance maintains records of all accounts, tracks revenue and expenses, and shares financial information with the congregation. Finance oversees the annual stewardship campaign and assists as needed with other fundraising events. Finance regularly coordinates with the church’s bookkeeper. They are also charged with being attentive to whether or not the congregation is using its money in a way that reflects our Mission and values. Contact: Greg Bianconi Endowment Committee: is tasked with the ongoing oversight of funds donated to the church endowment and the church’s various special-use funds. Working closely with Finance, this committee monitors investment performance, makes recommendations to the church about investment strategy, provides guidance to the church on acquiring and disbursing funds and ensures that these funds are used appropriately, and in a manner consistent with the intent of the donors. Contact: Esther Tucker Service Auction: is one of the two primary fundraisers during our church year. Offering a unique opportunity to bid for donated items, this auction offers an assortment of goods, services, outings, dinners, trips – and some surprises – to other members and friends of the church. Creative donations (small and large) from everyone are critical to the success of this endeavor. Contact: Bill Frayer Gingerbread Fair: is a key annual fundraising event held in November. The fair features gift baskets, homemade pies, baked goods, custom wreaths, crafts, jewelry, books, a silent auction, white elephant treasures, and a raffle – plus our homemade luncheon and the incomparable holiday music of pianist Phil House. It takes a church to ‘raise’ a Gingerbread Fair! UU Theater: speaks our UU values to the congregation and our wider community through a variety of evocative theatrical presentations that fit our Mission. These productions offer onstage or behind-the- scenes opportunities for all ages. UUT raises money for the general church budget and for community non- profit partners who meet our church’s Mission. For 13 years, UUT presented The Vagina Monologues” as V-Day aUbUrn, in partnership with local DV allies. In 2010, UU Theater received the Anne Kempers Award for Social Justice from the regional Northern New England District of the UUA, for supporting human rights through social justice activism. Contact: Toby Haber-Giasson Leadership Board of Directors: serves as the vision bearer of the congregation, setting policies. The Board’s primary task is to be attentive to the life of the congregation and to ask: Are we living our Mission and Vision? Is our current understanding of our Vision and Mission all that it needs to be? How can we as a congregation better live out our faith and encourage and support our members in living their lives of faith? What is our role in society today and are we fulfilling it? Denominational Affairs: keeps the congregation informed about and connected to the wider Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the New England Region (NER). The committee publicizes to the congregation denominational and district events and opportunities, and facilitates connections with other UU congregations. Contact: Anne Kinney Leadership Development: identifies, recruits, and provides training for, congregational leaders. With a vision of creating a sustainable church culture of service and leadership, the committee’s main duty is to identify highly qualified church members to serve in elected positions. This group creates a slate of nominees (officers, committee chairs, and delegates to the NNED and UUA) to be approved by the congregation at the Annual Meeting in June. Committee on Ministry (COM): oversees the ministry of the church and serves as a safe body for people who need to sort out issues with the minister. The congregational Communication Covenant expects that people will speak directly with the minister about any concerns they may have, but if an individual continues to have issues, speaking with the COM is the next step. The COM can facilitate conversations between the minister and church members or between church members who need help having healthy, productive conversations. This group seeks to maintain a broad view of our overall ministry. Contact: Holly Cooney, Bill Frayer, Mary Kay Weisenberger Membership Membership: organizes and oversees new member sessions and is attentive to how well we as a congregation welcome and integrate new members. Membership tries to be aware of the experience of people who are new to Unitarian Universalism and often to the idea of “church” itself, and guides the congregation in creating a welcoming and accessible environment. Contact: Paula Spruill Music Choir: sing sing sing. Contact: Pam Weeks Music Associates: support the music program as an integrated part of the worship life of the church. This group explores the deep potential of music to enhance worship, encourages broad participation in the choir, and works closely with the choir director, organist, and minister to expand our music ministry. Contact: Angela Foss Open Mic/Poetry Slam: celebrates the spirituality of music and the spoken word. Since 2006, this free monthly forum has offered a place for members and the local community to listen and share on the second Friday of each month. Contact: Toby Haber-Giasson Operational Support Building & Grounds: cares for our space – doing repairs as needed or finding professionals better equipped for the task, raising awareness about large projects that are pending, and overseeing the extensive maintenance of our physical plant. The sustainability of our historic church and the appropriate uses of our buildings are key areas of focus. Contact: Greg Bianconi Sunday Ushers: help to create and sustain a welcoming and caring environment for worship on Sunday mornings. Each usher generally serves one Sunday a month. Some of the responsibilities include greeting people, collecting the offering and preparing the candles, batteries, bell-timer. Worship Tech: zoom, zoom, zoom. Contact: Cynthia Grimm Social Justice Social Justice: is committed to making our church a force for positive social change. We advocate for peace, justice, compassion and caring, and we encourage members to be engaged in issues of local, national and global concern. The committee provides forums and study groups to support the congregation’s efforts to advocate, educate, organize, serve, and witness for positive social change. The Social Justice committee collaborates with other groups in the church, other UU churches, other denominations, and civic, labor and social service organizations to build a better world. MUUSAN: Maine Unitarian Universalist State Advocacy Network is a statewide advocacy and public policy network anchored in our Unitarian Universalist faith and animated by its principles. MUUSAN welcomes as partners and collaborators all those who share our values. We link our 26 Maine congregations and many friends in an active legislative ministry. UU Theater: speaks our Unitarian Universalist values to the congregation and our wider community through a variety of evocative theatrical presentations that fit our Mission. These productions offer onstage or behind-the- scenes opportunities for all ages. UUT raises money for the general church budget and for community non- profit partners who meet our church’s Mission. For 13 years, UUT presented The Vagina Monologues” as V-Day aUbUrn, in partnership with local DV allies. In 2010, UU Theater received the Anne Kempers Award for Social Justice from the regional Northern New England District of the UUA, for supporting human rights through social justice activism. Contact: Toby Haber-Giasson Spiritual Development Worship Associates: These lay leaders help plan and conduct worship. They assist the minister, and they may also choose to preach or lead services. The Worship Associates also look at the worship experience as a whole and ask: Is worship providing meaningful, transformative experiences for the congregation? Does worship provide an opportunity to grow in spiritual depth and to experience the presence of the sacred? And more practically- does the worship format work? What other worship experiences might we want to offer? Worship associates look for ways to make the worship service and space culturally relevant. Contact: John Spruill, Jr. Hospitality: promotes the social health of the church. We are in charge of coffee hour, as well as creating and sponsoring events that foster fellowship and good feelings between members, such as contra-dances and family game night. We bring joy into the church in the most direct and immediate manner, by social connection. Contact: Luke Lunt Pastoral Ministry/Caring Web: Pastoral Ministry comprises the minister and a trained lay team who provide confidential support to congregants in need of contact, or in the midst of transition, crisis, troubling concerns, grief, or illness. Pastoral listening, a ministry of presence and acceptance, bears witness and spiritual companionship in sadness or in joy. Through phone calls, cards, and visits, we provide support. We try to stay in touch with members who are home-bound or in a care-giving facility. When the minister is not available, caring responses by lay members assure congregants that there is always someone to listen. Contact: Ginny Starbird, Mary Kay Weisenberger Caring Web: Pastoral ministry team members may ask our “Caring Web” coordinator to arrange meals or other support for members facing medical challenges. Adult Religious Exploration: provides adult learning opportunities for mind, body, and spirit. It is attentive to the evolving needs and desires of the congregation in terms of spiritual and intellectual growth, and encourages discussions ranging around world religions, our UU Principles and beliefs, social justice challenges, and more experiential sessions. New ideas are welcomed. Contact: Charles Nero Religious Exploration: works with and supports our Director of Religious Exploration (DRE) who oversees our children and youth programs. RE’s focus is to create a strong spiritual community for children and youth. RE encourages an open search for meaning, exploration of values and identity, and ties spiritual beliefs to how we live in the world. The committee recruits and helps train teachers, develops safe congregation policies, and ensures that we offer a comprehensive program for children and youth.