Committees and Contacts

UUSD has two types of committees: Board Committees that are created by the Board of Trustees and Standing Committees that are authorized by the Board of Trustees, whose members are elected at the Annual Meeting. For more information, see the Committee Charges.

Each committee coordinates various aspects of congregation life according to its Charge. Members may join any Board committee in which they have an interest.

  • Board committees elect their own chairs.
  • The Leadership Development Committee is a Standing Committee composed of three to five members elected by congregation members at the Annual Meeting each June.

The dates and times of committee meetings are listed on the UUSD Calendar.

If you are interested in joining or learning more about a committee, contact emails are provided below, or the Leadership Development Committee will connect you with the appropriate person.

Church Council: Provides cross-committee communication, coordination, and collaboration on issues impacting the congregation. The Council is made up of committee chairs or their designees. Responsibilities include promoting effective committees through sharing best practices, providing feedback to the Board of Trustees on important matters, sharing information about new activities and programs being planned, coordinating initiatives involving more than one committee, and sharing any concerns about the church and the congregation. Contact Donna Davis, Chair, at d.davis@uussd.org.

Communications: Promotes Unitarian Universalism and the vision, mission, and activities of UUSD in Sussex County, DE and neighboring areas. Responsibilities include: Beacon at the Beach weekly newsletter, the UUSD website, social media, and advertising UUSD and its activities in local newspapers and media. Contact communications@uussd.org for general inquiries. Several teams operate within Communications; please see the below contact information for specific teams. Donna Davis is the Board of Trustees Liaison.

  • Beacon at the Beach Weekly Newsletter/Publications: publications@uussd.org
  • Graphic Design: communications@uussd.org
  • Photo Team: phototeam@uussd.org
  • Publicity: communications@uussd.org
  • Social Media: communications@uussd.org
  • Website: communications@uussd.org

Congregational Life: Advises the Board of Trustees on the overall congregational health of UUSD, provides support for conflict prevention and mediation, and practices a healthy mediation process. Contact Jim Lesko, Chair, at congregationallife@uussd.org. Adam Emel-Firestone is the Board of Trustees Liaison.

Covenant Council and Affinity Groups: Contact Ruth Lamothe, Coordinator, at covenantgroup@uussd.org.

Denominational Affairs: Informs the congregation about important decisions and activities of the UUA, CER, and other UU organizations and encourages active participation of UUSD members in them. Mac Goekler, Chair, at denomaffairs@uussd.org.

Executive Team: Oversees day-to-day operations at UUSD, including rentals and special events with beyond-the-usual details. Contact Rev. Heather Rion Starr at execteam@uussd.org.

  • The UUSD Techinical Support Team has a new email address to be used when anyone has a technical support issue related to UUSD technology. The new email address is techsupport@uussd.org. If you experience any difficulty navigating Google Workspace, need your password reset, or have any other UUSD IT related questions or problems, send a request for assistance to this new email address.

Facilities Task Force: Working to articulate and address UUSD’s increasing facilities needs.

Faith Exploration: Supports and leads our community in their spiritual and religious lives. Jan Daily is the Board of Trustees Liaison.

  • Lifespan Faith Exploration, lifespanfaithexp@uussd.org
  • Adult Lifespan Faith Exploration, adultfaithexp@uussd.org
  • Children’s Faith Exploration, Michele Warch, Chair, at childrensfaithexp@uussd.org
  • Lending Library, Ellen Lytton, Librarian@uussd.org

Finance: Monitors the overall financial health of the congregation and coordinates the development of the annual budget. Responsible for long-range financial planning, including the update of the strategic financial plan.  Mark Clark is the committee Chair.  Contact the Finance Committee at finance@uussd.org. Nancy Commisso is the Board of Trustees Liaison.

FUNdraisers: Plans and sponsors two annual special events: Our Fall Craft Fair and Spring Auction. Contact fundraising@uussd.org. Ellen Lytton is the Board of Trustees Liaison.

Governance Review Team: The Governance Review Team undertakes a systematic, comprehensive review of UUSD’s governance documents, with an eye to bringing them into conformance with current practice, desired future practice, and one another. Contact Mac Goekler and Rand Lytton, Co-Chairs, at govrevteam@uussd.org .

Human Resources: Supports UUSD’s paid staff. Contact Rev. Heather at Minister@uussd.org.

Leadership Development: Recruits members year-round for potential leadership positions, including service on the Board of Trustees, the Leadership Development Committee, and as committee chairs and members. It supports leaders through leadership education, mentoring, and coaching. Contact a committee member at leadershipdevelopment@uussd.org.

Librarian: Contact Ellen Lytton, Chair, at librarian@uussd.org.

Membership Ministry Team: Welcomes all who are searching for a progressive religious home; greets visitors at Sunday services, and follows up with visits, letters, or phone calls; sponsors events to help visitors, friends, and new members get to know UUSD better and become involved in the life of the congregation. Contact Renee Rocheleau, Chair, at membership@uussd.org. Ellen Loewy is the Board of Trustees Liaison.

      • Ushers and Greeters: Contact Donna Dolce at ushers@uussd.org

Men’s Covenant Group: Ken Loewy, Tom Delany, menscovgrp@uussd.org

Pastoral Care: Assists the Minister in providing pastoral care to members of the congregation. Contact Joanne Saltzberg, Interim Chair, at  j.saltzberg@uussd.org. Nancy Commisso is the Board of Trustees Liaison.

Property Management: Oversees the maintenance and management of the buildings and grounds at UUSD. Several teams operate under the jurisdiction of this committee. Contact Lori Rocheleau, Chair, at propmgmt@uussd.org. John Sykes is the Board of Trustees Liaison.

      • Audio/Visual Systems & Operations:
        Susan Goekler, avteam@uussd.org
      • Energy:
        Allan Cairncross, energyteam@uussd.org
      • Landscaping:
        Co-chairs Mark Clark and Karin Westermann,         landscapeteam@uussd.org

Safer Congregation Committee: Responsible for the overall oversight of the safety ministry. Contact Ruth Lamothe or Peter Bromley, Co-Chairs, at safercongcomm@uussd.org. Jan Daily is the Board of Trustees Liaison.

Social & Environmental Justice: Through advocacy, activism, education, and witness, the committee engages the congregation and community in various local, national, and global issues promoting equality, peace, human rights, and sustainability. Focuses on justice in the areas of Protecting Democracy, Economic, Environmental, Immigrant and Refugee, Peacemaking, Racial, Women, Children, Family, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation. Contact Susan Goekler and Mac Goekler, Co-Chairs, at socialjustice@uussd.org. John Sykes is the Board of Trustees Liaison.

Stewardship Ministry Team (SMT): To provide a vehicle for planning and coordinating a congregation-wide vision of generosity that will sustain a culture of stewardship and enable UUSD to thrive. Stewardship is an ongoing intentional process for giving our care, time, skill, intelligence, gifts, and money. We give freely and joyfully based on our values as Unitarian Universalists. Stewardship requires a reciprocal capacity for both giving generously and receiving the gifts given to us. As a spiritual practice, stewardship is generative and transformative, creating more meaningful connections with each other, as well as deeper levels of engagement with UUSD and the larger world. Contact Linda Lewis, Chair, stewardship@uussd.org. Nancy Commisso is the Board of Trustees Liaison.

The Cloud Legacy Society (planned legacy giving) is a part of the SMT. Contact Isaac Carney, cloudsociety@uussd.org for more information.

UUSD Cares: UUSD Cares is dedicated to building relationships both within UUSD and outside in our larger community. The committee hosts events to bring each other together for fun, learning, and helping our community. Some events include potlucks (often in cooperation with other UUSD Committees), Giving Parades (collecting donations for our local communities in need), and helping to support special events at UUSD such as the 25th Anniversary Celebration. UUSD Cares specializes in helping others while building community and having FUN! Contact Kris Acker, uusdcares@uussd.org.

      • Hospitality:
        Karen Kreiser, hospitalityteam@uussd.org

Worship: Oversees the logistics of Sunday services as well as the programs for those services when our Minister is not in the pulpit. Trains ushers and worship associates to support the Sunday services. Contact Jean Charles or Rick Welk, Co-Chairs, worship@uussd.org. Ellen Lytton is the Board of Trustees Liaison.