Learn about our volunteer committees, activities, and congregational management. 

Community Life

Volunteer to help, or simply attend.

Auction

This is one of our largest fundraisers and is also a lot of fun.

Read more/less

Members contribute items and services. Some are auctioned off and others are displayed around the room for people to bid on silently. The items are interesting and diverse, and the food is yummy. Some of the service opportunities have included yard work, airport rides, and bread making lessons.

Chili Cookoff

This fun family event is an all hands effort every fall where folks make their favorite chili recipes to share.

Read more/less

Best vegetarian and best meat chilis win a small prize. We also need help setting up, cleaning, up, and bringing side dishes. The Program Council runs this event.

Fellowship Supper

This activity, held on the third Thursday of each month from September through June (except December), is a Fellowship wide potluck dinner.

Read more/less

We gather at 6PM in the UUFCC Fellowship Hall. Everyone who is able brings a main dish, side dish, salad, or dessert to share. It’s a great time for food and fellowship, and to get to know other UUs in an informal setting. We always take a few moments to honor those who have birthdays during the month and to introduce newcomers. No need to register ahead of time, just show up! Drinks, plates, and utensils are provided. For folks of all ages!

Freedom Seder

A Seder is a ceremonial communal meal held on the first night of the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Read more/less

The UUFCC Freedom Seder combines elements of a traditional Seder with tenets of the Unitarian Universalist religious tradition. It includes an intergenerational Passover service, followed by a potluck dinner. To stage a successful Seder, volunteers are needed to serve on the planning committee, to prepare food, and to assist with set up and clean up.

Hospitality Teams

Recognizing the many details involved in creating our Sunday morning experience, we rely on Hospitality Teams to keep things running smoothly.

Read more/less

Teams of about 20 individuals work together to greet visitors, usher, provide refreshments, set up for coffee hour, and tear down. Each team helps for four consecutive Sundays, roughly twice a year. Not only is the team work fun, you also get to know others informally. It’s a great way to expand your friendship circle.

SEE PAGE

Volunteer Money Counter

Assist the Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer to prepare the weekly bank deposit, including counting the offertory plate collection and reading out details of checks during data entry.

Read more/less

This process takes approximately an hour, beginning around 11:30 AM after the Sunday service. Requires signing a confidentiality agreement. This position can be shared on a rotating basis among several volunteers.

Yard Sale

Fellowship members participate in collecting, sorting, pricing, and displaying donations before the sale, which is on the third Saturday in August.

Read more/less

During the sale, people help customers, collect money, and pack up goods. It is a great way to get to know people!

See Page

Opportunities

We invite your participation.

Adult Choir

The Adult Choir is open to anyone, high school age or older, who enjoys singing.

Read more/less

Music reading is helpful but not necessary, and there is no audition. The choir rehearses on Thursdays at 7:00 PM in the sanctuary and provides music for Sunday services two or three times per month.

Covenant Circles

This fun family event is an all hands effort every fall where folks make their favorite chili recipes to share.

Read more/less

Best vegetarian and best meat chilis win a small prize. We also need help setting up, cleaning, up, and bringing side dishes. The Program Council runs this event.

Diving Deep

Diving Deep is a women’s book club that meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 7:00 PM.

Read more/less

We choose our books once a year, and the person who recommends the book generally leads the discussion. The group is hosted by a different member each month. New members and visitors are welcome at any meeting.

Folk Dancers

Please join this group of folks passionate about dancing to international folk music. Explore different cultures through music and dance.

Games Nights

We play games every Wednesday starting at 6PM in the Fellowship Hall. Anyone interested in playing games or learning new games is welcome to come.

Read more/less

We play various types they are not elimination games but ones where everyone plays until the end. UUFCC has a game collection, but anyone can also bring their own games. We welcome newcomers aged 18 and over. Children and youth may also attend with parents present.

Great Solar Car Festival

Each spring around May, KidTech (a local STEM non-profit) runs a small solar car design/ build/race event for ~100 middle schoolers from Centre Country.


Read more/less

The UUFCC has supported this as part of their green initiatives for over 10 years.

If festival day is sunny, we are at the State College Area YMCA. If rainy, festival day is in the UUFCC building. Volunteers help to judge: fastest car, straightest car, hill climb, weight pull, rough terrain, etc. Volunteers are needed 9 am – noon on festival day. No experience necessary, and instructions are simple. Additional volunteer opportunities, starting every January, include: sessions to assemble solar car kits, delivering kits to the schools, and tutoring sessions with teachers and students.
View a 3-minute documentary overview here.

Imagine & Dream Lantern Festival

Our team organizes events in February to celebrate and grow the abilities we all have to imagine, dream, and create positive change.

Read more/less

Fest is centered on recurring themes: imagination, creative change, civil-rights era history & festival lanterns. It also highlights a different true story of how people achieved a pivotal civil-rights era success. The main Fest weekend includes a vegetarian potluck, drumming circle, community-built lantern garden, and Sunday service. For more info, visit our website using the button below.

See Page

Jazz Band

The jazz band is a multigenerational ensemble. Membership requires at least an intermediate proficiency on your instrument and an understanding of all styles and genres of music (i.e., Pop, Funk, Swing, Latin, etc.).

Read more/less

Reading music is a must, and an understanding of jazz soloing over chord changes is a plus. This is a weekly commitment for rehearsal, and the band performs at various times throughout the year for services at the UUFCC and for the Valentine’s Day dance.

Meditation Mondays

Kelle Kersten offers a different guided meditation each week, followed by a period of silence to allow participants to continue with the day’s practice.

Read more/less

The meditation session lasts between 20-25 minutes. The group meets via Zoom on Mondays at 12:30 PM.

Memoirs

The Memoirs Group welcomes new participants who are interested in attending our meet- ings and sharing aloud accounts of their life experiences, each not exceeding ten minutes. The group is open to all.

Read more/less

We meet on the first and third Thursday of every month (holidays excepted).

Song Circle

The UUFCC Song Circle offers a fun, monthly opportunity to make music together with voices, guitars, banjos, ukuleles, drums, kazoos, etc. Anyone from the Fellowship or local community can join us to play, sing, or listen.

Read more/less

We go around the circle with each person choosing the next song, either from our song books or a song they brought to share. We usually meet at 7:00 PM on the second Friday of the month in the Sanctuary.

Soulful Sundown

These lay-led zoom Services are offered by various presenters who offer diverse, spiritually enriching themes.

Read more/less

Opening with a chalice lighting and reading, the hour-long Service begins with a short presentation/video/music, followed by silence as we consider the ma- terial from our lived experience. As participants are invited to share their insights, we listen and expand our perspectives. Services end with a chalice extinguishing and final reading.

See Page

Committees & Teams

Become involved, contribute your time and talent.

AV Crew

The AV Crew helps set up for and run the audio visual for services on Sunday mornings.

Read more/less

Usually two people work together during the service: one person will help monitor and handle the sound (for both Sanctuary and Zoom), and another person handles the slides, camera views, and other computer setup. Crew members are trained to set up the appropriate microphones, correctly coil cables, handle a mixer, use OBS, a video switcher, and host Zoom. No prior experience is necessary.

Aesthetics Committee

We make and place the banners and decorations in the sanctuary.

Read more/less

We need helpers to put these items up and take them down, especially in December. We also supply artwork for the side hallway and are always looking for artists to share their work with us. It’s fun to do and rewarding to view the beautiful results every Sunday.

Building Committee

We are responsible for assuring that the structure, systems, equipment and facilities of the Fellowship building are properly maintained, replaced and rehabilitated, consistent with the architectural integrity of the building, in order to meet the needs of the congregation.

Caring Committee

We coordinate the caring activities of our congregation when needed.

Read more/less

We are a community network of advocacy, support, and information for those who are in need of help and for those who wish to volunteer to help. We can always use people who’d like to deliver meals, provide rides, or help UUFCC members in other ways.

See Page

Grounds Teams: Social Gardening

This is an informal group of experienced and not so experienced folks who like to be together outside and putter in the garden.

Read more/less

Our work is to keep the front gardens of the Fellowship looking tidy, attractive, and inviting. To build our sense of community, we gather at times, both during and after the workday, when at least a couple of people are available. Bringing your own tools is helpful, although there will be some available to borrow. Organizing talent to plan all-congregation spring and fall grounds clean up days is especially appreciated.

Grounds Teams: Mowers

We take turns mowing one-half of the 3 acre lawn (about 1.5 hours to mow) once or twice a month during the April-November season.


Read more/less

We also trim the grass and maintain the UUFCC lawn tractor as needed.

Grounds Teams: Produce Fundraising

We sell vegetables, fruits, and homemade jams and pies after Sunday services in the summer and the fall, and donate the proceeds to the UUFCC.

Read more/less

On occasion we need help with gardening, managing the vegetables, and keeping things in order. You can also volunteer to harvest before church on Sunday mornings, and/or set up tables and help with distribution after service.

Library Committee

Library committee members check in and re-shelve returned books, evaluate gifts, cata- log and process new items, conduct inventories, and promote the use of the adult and children’s collections. There are no formal meetings, just periodic workdays.

Membership Committee

Our committee warmly welcomes members and visitors on Sunday mornings.

Read more/less

We help both prospective and continuing members become more familiar with and connected to the Fellowship, our faith, and the congregation. We follow up on any inquiries or needs of new attendees and members. In addition, we facilitate informative events like “Getting to Know UU” and the “Starting Point” workshops, which enrich participants’ understand- ing of how the Fellowship works and how to get more deeply involved. Our committee cultivates a welcoming atmosphere where both prospective and continuing members feel embraced.

Memorial Garden

The Memorial Garden and Plaque is a space set aside for reflection and remembrance of loved ones, and for internment of loved ones’ ashes.

Read more/less

It is located on the UUFCC grounds directly behind the back wall of the sanctuary. It is landscaped as a garden with a permanent memorial plaque included. We can always use help with gardening.

Song Circle

The UUFCC Song Circle offers a fun, monthly opportunity to make music together with voices, guitars, banjos, ukuleles, drums, kazoos, etc. Anyone from the Fellowship or local community can join us to play, sing, or listen.

Read more/less

We go around the circle with each person choosing the next song, either from our song books or a song they brought to share. We usually meet at 7:00 PM on the second Friday of the month in the Sanctuary.

Soulful Sundown

These lay-led zoom Services are offered by various presenters who offer diverse, spiritually enriching themes.

Read more/less

Opening with a chalice lighting and reading, the hour-long Service begins with a short presentation/video/music, followed by silence as we consider the ma- terial from our lived experience. As participants are invited to share their insights, we listen and expand our perspectives. Services end with a chalice extinguishing and final reading.

See Page