Joining a committee or group activity is a great way to get involved in the congregation. Volunteers are essential to maintaining a welcoming building and grounds; deepening our worship experience through music; providing hospitality and managing technical tasks during worship; providing caring and service within the church community and in our surrounding community; mentoring and guiding younger congregants; managing fundraising and finances; hosting social events; and much more. Whatever your interest or talent is, we have a group for you. Check out some of what UUCSH has to offer!

Congregational Committees

Please contact [email protected] if you are interested in learning more or in joining any of these committees.

Building and Grounds – This team typically meets monthly to plan, manage, and perform maintenance of the UUCSH church building and grounds.

Caring – This team supports the congregation in times of need and times of joy. Support ranges from sending kind notes to arranging for home-cooked meals, transportation to medical appointments, and addressing other needs.

Community Plate/Offertory – During every worship service and special event, we pass baskets for free-will donation. We donate 100% of these collections to social organizations both in our community and in the larger world. This team determines how these collections are distributed.

Green Sanctuary – This team works to minimize our congregation’s impact on our planet while promoting at-home, Earth-friendly practices.

Membership – The UUCSH Membership Team helps the congregation grow through welcoming and following up with worship visitors, fostering participation and engagement with the congregation as well as exploration of the path to membership.

Service Auction – The Service Auction is our largest fundraiser, typically held each year in the fall. The Service Auction Team updates and maintains a website with the auction catalog, manages auction donations and bidding, and coordinates details for the in-person auction event.

Social Action – This team organizes and promotes a multitude of initiatives and events, including an ongoing Community Course on Racism; blood drives; free film screenings on social justice topics; town halls, vigils, and rallies; and voter education and voting rights initiatives. Please see this page for more information.

Other UUCSH Mission-Based Activities and Groups

Explore Spirituality

CUUPS Group – The CUUPS (Covenant of UU Pagans) group at UUCSH often coordinates and leads worship services based on Earth- and nature-centered religious and spiritual perspectives.

Ushers Team – On a rotating basis, in-person ushers welcome congregants and visitors to worship services, helping with information and logistics.

Engage Community

Adult Choir – Do you love to sing? Even if you have no experience, come join the choir! All are welcome!

Better Than Ever – Kids grown up? Looking for some interesting day trips and outings? BTE kicks off each summer with a planning session followed by monthly events, typically on Saturdays, planned by BTE members. Conceived as a group for senior citizens, BTE has evolved into a wider mix of ages. Visit our calendar for upcoming events.

Better Than Nothing – BTN is a group for younger adults to enjoy relaxed camaraderie at gatherings and outings. Please visit our calendar for upcoming events. Questions? Please email [email protected].

Friday Breakfast Club – Friday Breakfast Club events are not regularly scheduled, but typically occur on Friday mornings at local diners and restaurants. All are welcome. Please check the calendar for upcoming meetings and details.

Women’s Breakfast – These events typically take place at a local restaurant and are listed on our calendar. Open to all who identify as women. Please check the calendar for upcoming meetings and details.

Transform the World

Sandwich Making Brigade – Help make and deliver bagged lunches for those in need. These events are planned periodically and announced ahead of time.

Giving Network – This all-volunteer organization is our congregation’s partner in providing food to people in need in Somerset County. The Giving Network also partners with other organizations and congregations in the area to provide meal support for unhoused families and to coordinate household goods giveaway events for those in need. Please click here to view volunteer opportunities and sign up.

Quarters for Laundry Love – UUCSH is partnering with St. John’s Episcopal Church Laundry Love program to help provide resources necessary for area families in need to clean their laundry at a local laundromat in Somerville. A representative of St. John’s visits the Somerville Express Wash Laundry every second and fourth Thursday to distribute pre-bagged supplies and $10 in quarters.

Please place your quarters in the Coke bottle bank located on the snack table in Fellowship Hall. Thank you for your support!

UUCSH Food Ministry – Will you help? In an effort to help combat food insecurity in our town, we stock our Little Food Pantry on a regular basis with your Sunday pulpit basket donations, as well as other donations. Anyone may put items directly into the LFP or bring them to Sunday service. Just inside the back door of UUCSH, you’ll find a box to hold overflow items that are used to stock the LFP.

Please click here for a printable list of suggested donation items.

Every gift of food is precious, and we will gratefully continue to take large items that will not fit into the LFP to the Somerset County Food Bank Network. Thank you for helping with the Food Ministry!