Relationships and organization

• Within UUMC, we are organized as a Church Council and in committees.
  • Church Council
  • Committees
    • for Nurture
    • for Operations
    • for Witness
• We are in relationship with other United Methodist groups.
• We are in relationship with other groups as well.
  

Church Council

The Church Council consists of:

• the Officers of the Council: 
  • Chair
  • Recording Secretary
• the Officers of the Congregation: 
  • Lay Leader
  • Lay Members to Annual Conference
  • Financial Secretaries
  • Treasurer
• the Lay Leaders of Nurture, Operations, and Witness
  Nurture
  • Worship
  • Christian Education
  • Membership
  • Group Ministry
  Operations
  • Trustees
  • Stewardship and Finance
  • Staff Parish Relations
  Witness
  • Neighborhood Outreach
  • City/County Outreach
  • National and World Missions
• the Church Council Board/Committee Chairs

Committees

Committees for Nurture

• Worship Committee - works with the pastor to plan and evaluate worship.
  • Music Team - Provides an outstanding music program to nurture the congregation in meaningful worship.
  • Altar Guild - beautifies the sanctuary with floral and other arrangements and distributes them to homebound members. 
• Christian Education - provides Christian Education opportunities across the life cycle
  • Adult: Bible Study, Forum, Study Groups
  • Youth
  • Elementary
  • Special Adult
  • Nursery Care
• Christian Education Commission - visions, coordinates, and implements educational and youth ministries to help each person grow in faith and understanding of God.
• Leader Selection and Development Team - works with the Listen and respond team to match gifts, needs, and interests of members with leadership and service opportunities in the congregation.
• Care and Share Team - uses one-to-one conversations to learn the interests, gifts, and needs of members, friends, and newcomers; links people to the ongoing work of the church and links the congregation to Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse (A.C.T.S.).
• Prayer Chain - hold members, families, and friends of University church in prayer during difficult periods. Prays for the ministry of the congregation and holds the community, nation, and world in prayer.
• Stephen Ministers - members of the congregation who have been trained to provide a caring ministry to those in need within the church family.
• United Methodist Women - Altar Guild, Evening Guild, Gertrude Brown Guild

Committees for Operations

• Staff Parish Relations Committee - serves as the "Personnel Committee" for the church and represents the congregation on matters relating to clergy and clergy appointments with the Bishop and District Superintendent.
• Stewardship and Finance - prepares the annual budget and monitors income and expenditures throughout the year.
• Trustees - responsible for property and invested funds.
  • Building and Grounds - oversees short-term maintenance and long-range planning for capital improvements to the church building and grounds.
  • Endowment Committee - encourages members of the congregation to give to the endowment funds of the church.

• Communications Team - To create standards and strategies for internal and external publicity of God’s work at University Church and to assess the communication needs of church groups and committees and provide guidance and recommendations.
• History Committee - maintains the historical archives of the congregation.

Committees for Witness

• Local, National, and World Outreach - plans, coordinates, and implements mission emphases within the congregation including support of Dr. Mark Zimmerman, Refugees, Ash Wednesday, and other programs.
  • Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse (A.C.T.S.) - a faith-based community organizing group that is structured to enable member faith communities to take action together based on interests we uncovered by "core teams" (called the L&R Team at University Church.)
  • Fellowship of Congregations - provides opportunities for nine Eastside interfaith worship communities to build bridges and strengthen their ability to work to strengthen the community.
  • Habitat for Humanity - assists the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity with fundraising and volunteers to construct housing in the Syracuse area.
• Outreach Committee - oversees the Neighborhood Linking Project, acquiring and distributing resources (Food Pantry, Clothes Closet), the Neighborhood Breakfast, social activities (quarterly dinners, Ice Cream Social, Christmas Dinner), securing and administering funds for the programs.
  • Hunger
    • Hopps - prepares and delivers meals to the weekly feeding program at Hopps Memorial C.M.E. Church for homeless and nearly homeless men and women. Hopps Sandwich Brigade meets in the church kitchen on Sunday mornings.
    • Food Pantry - supplies weekly food, clothing, books, and other essentials to Eastside residents.