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To become a member of the Unitarian
Universalist Fellowship of Southern Maryland, all you need to do is sign
our Membership Book after reading and agreeing to abide by our
Bylaws. We encourage you to take the class on Introduction
to Unitarian Universalism.
Although it is easy to become a member of our fellowship,
we do not take membership lightly. Choosing to become a member is choosing to
make a profound commitment to the continued shared ministry of our community.
This commitment is accompanied by the following rights and responsibilities.
 Rights of membership
- The wonderful feeling of ownership and belonging to a welcoming,
fun, spiritually uplifting, intellectually stimulating fellowship that makes
a difference in the wider community.
- A vote in all congregational meetings. Usually our
congregational meetings vote on budgets and Board members, but sometimes our
fellowship votes on social justice issues, to call or terminate a minister’s
call, or other decisions deemed so important to the life of the Fellowship that all members should have a direct vote.
- Being on the Board of Trustees. Only members may
serve on the Board.
- A subscription to the Unitarian Universalist World Magazine published by the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Responsibilities of membership
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Regular attendance.
We don’t
define “regular attendance,” and we understand that
schedules can be hectic. We encourage everyone to come every
Sunday and also participate in our many other fellowship
activities.
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A contribution of record. Every
year we conduct a pledge drive.
This fellowship is built upon the many gifts of time, talent, energy
and
money of its many members and friends. Simply put, we need money to
keep our
doors open, staff paid, and our rental space ours and to plan for
future building; and yet, we don’t ask exclusively for money because we
know that some people have limited means. Therefore we ask
for a “contribution of record” which can be of money, of labor, or a
combination
of the two.
Any monetary contribution is welcome, but
when asked what an appropriate pledge would be, we use a rule of thumb
of between 2% and 5% of household income. Our average annual family
pledge is $1,300 with some contributions exceeding $5,000. Some of our
members are early in their earning careers, thus they contribute less,
while some others strive for a 10% pledge!
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Participation in the shared ministry of the congregation.
The ministry of this fellowship is conducted by our many
marvelous volunteers. We ask members to find volunteer positions
that
mesh
with their passions: singing in the choir, making coffee, being on a
committee Team, teaching Religious Education [Sunday school], bringing
flowers, decorating our worship space, etc. To see a list of our many committees
Teams and task forces, visit the Lay Leadership page.
 That said, we exert no pressure on anyone to become a
member. Many of your long-time church attendees and participants have been “friends” of the
fellowship for years before signing the Membership Book. You are more than
welcome to participate in congregational life for as long as you like before
making a commitment to membership.
If you are ready to make the commitment to membership,
please contact our membership committee, at
membership@uufsm.org
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