Monthly Update to the Congregation

This email provides updates from your UUSS volunteer leaders, and this month includes information from the Board of Trustees, the Program Council, and the Social Justice Coordinating Committee (SJCC).

Board of Trustees

• Auction Results
  The Board wishes to express its gratitude to the Auction Committee and its many volunteers, donors, and bidders for a successful event which raised $46,737, in addition to $22,700 for the Memorial Wall Mosaic art installation (our Fund-a-Need auction item). Subsequent to the Auction, an additional $8,923 was donated for the Memorial Wall art installation. (Correcting earlier information, we have not yet received donations to match the $5,000 challenge grant, but are on the way.) Thank you all for your generosity.
• Safety Committee
  UUSS is forming a new Safety Committee and seeks members with experience (preferred but not required) in law, health, or emergency management, as well as those with other experience who bring awareness and sensitivity to the diverse needs of our community—including elders, persons with disabilities, and those from marginalized groups. To learn more or express interest, email . We thank the previous Safety Committees for their valuable work. Patty Innes is the Board liaison for this committee.

Gratitude for UUSS Staff

The UUSS staff work hard every day in service of UUSS with dedication and grace. The Board of Trustees and ministers invite you to remember our non-clergy staff by contributing to a holiday cash fund. To make a gift, you may write a check to Roger Jones, and mail to church, or hand it to him at church. Cash is welcome too! If necessary, you may send a donation to Rev. Lucy’s PayPal account. (Please do not write your check to UUSS, since those donations are handled by our staff – let’s keep this a surprise!) Please contact Rev. Roger for more information. Thank you!

Program Council

Program Council completed its annual Retreat on November 15, joined by both Ministers. We are grateful for their insight and thoughts, as well as to Rev. Lucy for facilitating a very productive series of discussions. At our Retreat, the Program Council reviewed the Strategic Plan adopted by the Congregation, as well as feedback given through the JET Survey, and developed three primary areas of focus for the year.

1 – Communication and Group/Class Development, with a particularly around engagement and developing meal and fellowship opportunities.
2 – Accessibility and Inclusion at UUSS
3 – Welcome

A desire for transparency in leadership was made clear to us by the Congregation (pun always intended) and the Program Council echoes that desire. To that end, we are working with the Board of Trustees and the Social Justice Coordinating Council to fully document all the affiliated groups, suborganizations, committees, and programs at UUSS with their associated leadership group(s).

Finally, the Program Council is planning to change the way we interact with groups, committees, and the general Congregation. How? We are working that out and will begin one or more test pilots in a different approach shortly. We hope to transition completely by the Spring Congregational Meeting and launch a ‘PR campaign’ to help everyone to understand the who, what, how, and the why of Program Council and the change. Please reach out to us with ideas, complaints, compliments, suggestions, good opening and closing readings (we always need more of those), or your interest in volunteering or in a group (or to start a group!), at.

Soup Sunday

The Soup Sunday team is seeking someone to step into the role of Soup Sunday Coordinator starting next fall. This is a key position that keeps one of our community’s most important fellowship traditions running smoothly! If you are interested in leading this valued program, please reach out to g for a chat and more information. An ideal candidate will have been active in the UUSS community for more than 1 year, have experience with Soup Sunday, and have some experience organizing group hosting and/or catering events.

Social Justice Coordinating Committee (SJCC)

The SJCC expresses gratitude for UUSS engagement and support of our Community Partners program. Our October Community Partner, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte received $3,715, and our November partner, Sacramento Native American Health Clinic (SNAHC,) received $4,470!

Our Community Partners for 2026 are:

January – Sacramento Area Congregations Together
February – The Creation District
March – Wellspring Women’s Center
April – NorCal Resist
May – National Alliance on Menial Illness
June – Opening Doors
July – Mercy Pedalers
August – Loaves and Fishes
September – River City Food Bank
October – Planned Parenthood
November – Sacramento Native American Health Center
December – Family Promise
5th Sundays – Effie Yeaw Nature Center
Christmas Eve – Sacramento Food Bank

How to get in touch with your volunteer leaders:

• Board of Trustees:
  Your elected Board of Trustees meets monthly, usually on the fourth Thursday. Our next meeting will be Thursday, January 22, at 6:30 PM, on Zoom (by accessing the same Zoom link as the Sunday morning services): Meeting ID 916 483 9283 Passcode 1234. You are welcome to join us! The Board’s role is to oversee issues of UUSS finances, facilities, personnel, and long-range planning; it makes decisions on policies rather than management decisions. You can find more information about the Board and read the minutes and Treasurer’s report here uuss.org/board. To contact the Board, email .
  UUSS 2025-2026 Board of Trustees: Andy Cramer – President, Janet Lopes-Vice President, Victoria Owens – Treasurer, Fred Pannek – Secretary, Members-at-Large:  Carl Crain, Dawn Huebner, Emily Moran-Vogt, Mathew Espinosa-Castro, Patty Innes
• Program Council:
  The Program Council meets on Zoom the third Thursday of each month. It will meet this month on Jan. 22, at 3:00 p.m. Persons interested in attending a meeting or contacting the Program Council can email
  2025/2026 Program Council members are: Sean Fountain – Chair, Joyce Ownbey, Jim Glidden, Michael Feliciano, Dave Paul.