Membership
Membership
When is the right time to formally join this church? Joining is a decision to make UUCE your spiritual home and your community. It is making a commitment to support the church as you are able, not only through your resources, but also through your involvement. You are ready to join the church when your relationship with the congregation changes from being a guest to being a host. This choice says, “These are my people and I am theirs.”
When you choose to join UUCE, you enter into a covenant with the others who have joined. This covenant defines the way we aspire to interact with one another. It is freely entered into and is mutually binding on the individual and the community. Please see About Our Church for UUCE’s Mission Statement and Congregational Covenant.
When you are ready to join the church, please contact the Membership Committee after Sunday service in the Welcome Room or email membership@uueugene.org.
Member Video Testimonials
The Path to Membership
Think of membership as an ongoing journey to deeper community and deeper faith… a journey along a path.
If you are new, we encourage you to worship with us and to explore various church activities, classes and events that appeal to you.
Visitors and newcomers, as well as long-term congregants, are invited into deepening relationships — to their own inner prompting, to the church and to service, through membership. To help you learn a bit more about our community of faith, to meet our minister, and to have your questions addressed, we offer the following as part of our Membership Program.
Inquirers
The Inquirers Series is offered almost every Sunday in the Welcome Room (South Foyer). Nine topics are covered, one per session, and are repeated throughout the year. Drop in anytime. The series is designed for visitors and newcomers who are looking for a general introduction, and yet the sessions are also appealing to long-time members who want more information about our church. The goal of this series is to provide an understanding of our church and Unitarian Universalist history and practices.
Pledging
One of the requirements to join UUCE is to complete a Pledge form for the current church year, even if you are unable to contribute financially. Members are asked to pledge generously within their means. What does that statement mean? As a member of UUCE, you are asked to look within your heart and determine for yourself the financial commitment that calls you to generosity. In making this decision, we invite you to reflect upon the church’s role in your life, the church’s needs, and your own financial situation.
It is up to you to determine a pledge amount that is generous for you to make. This amount will be different for everyone, as we are all at different points on the financial spectrum. But the encouragement to give generously applies equally to everyone.
Each congregant completes a pledge form annually. The form verifies that you want to remain a member of UUCE and asks how much you can pledge for the following church year (which runs from July to June).
New Member Recognition Sunday
We look forward to greeting you! After you have let the Membership Committee know that you want to join the church, completed a Pledge form, and agreed to and signed the UUCE Congregational Covenant, we will invite you to the next New Member Recognition Sunday.
New Member Welcome Sundays are held four times throughout the year and include a brief ceremony introducing you and welcoming you into the congregation of Unitarian Universalists in Eugene. UUCE has a Membership Book which most members sign. You are welcome to sign the book at the New Member reception after the Sunday service.
More Questions about Membership?
IIf you have more questions, please contact:
Membership Chair, Sharon Roberts: membership@uueugene.org
Minister, Rev. Jen Youngsun Ryu: minister@uueugene.org
For more information about rights and responsibilities of membership, click here <link to text in Membership Web Page Text page 2>.