MEMBERSHIP MATTERS>>>

We affirm, promote, and celebrate the full participation of everyone in all of our activities without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, physical or mental challenge, affectational or sexual orientation, marital status, age, or national origin. UUCE is a welcoming congregation, which means our community is consciously open to all. It's nice to have YOU with us.Membership in our Church is open to anyone who is either entering ninth grade or at least 15 years of age , and in general sympathy with our purposes and principles to become a member. There is no creedal test and no obligatory ceremony connected with becoming a member; we encourage you to get to know us and our UU values before making this commitment.
Process of Membership
Orientation Classes

• “GETTING TO KNOW UU” - A Five-Session Newcomer Orientation Series
~~We meet on five Thursday evenings: February 21 and 28, and March 6, 13 and 27. The UUCE Membership Committee welcomes newcomers, prospective new members, and long-time UUCE members as we partake in our bi-annual Newcomer Orientation Series, “Getting to Know UU”. Small-group activities and discussions provide a friendly, intimate chance to ask questions and get acquainted. Over the course of the meetings, newcomers can share aspects of their own journey and get to know others' journeys. The Reverend. Stephen Landale will provide a detailed look at our UU history and review the principles of our religious denomination. Other UUCE church leaders will be on hand to provide an overview of our polity & governance, discuss what membership means, answer your questions, and present aspects of their work in the congregation. These popular two-hour meetings will convene from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary. The final meeting is a potluck dinner, which starts at 6:30pm. Childcare for all meetings is available with advance notice. Sign up at the greeter’s table or in the Social Hall on Sunday mornings through Feb 17th. Contact Nisco Junkins at 968-9200 or mdjunkins@comcast.net

PRINCIPLES

The living tradition which we share draws from many sources:

..... • Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
..... • Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
..... • Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
..... • Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
..... • Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.
..... • Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

PURPOSES

The Unitarian Universalist Association shall devote its resources to and exercise its corporate powers for religious, educational and humanitarian purposes. The primary purpose of the Association is to serve the needs of its member congregations, organize new congregations, extend and strengthen Unitarian Universalist institutions and implement its principles.

The Association declares and affirms its special responsibility, and that of its member societies and organizations, to promote the full participation of persons in all of its and their activities and in the full range of human endeavor without regard to race, color, sex, disability, affectional or sexual orientation, age, or national origin and without requiring adherence to any particular interpretation of religion or to any particular religious belief or creed.

Nothing herein shall be deemed to infringe upon the individual freedom of belief which is inherent in the Universalist and Unitarian heritages or to conflict with any statement of purpose, covenant, or bond of union used by any society unless such is used as a creedal test.

MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES