Public Ministry Committee

2013-2014 Special Collection Online Nomination Form

2013-2014 Special Collection Hard-Copy Nomination Form

Special Collection Criteria for Selection

The deadline for submission of Special Collection nomination forms for the 2013-2014 church year is Sunday, April 21, 2013.

Public ministry at DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church (DUUC) is carried out by many individuals and units of the church. The Public Ministry Committee (PMC) is a helpful mechanism to advance social witness in the name of the church as a whole. The PMC has three key responsibilities:

     To advocate for and educate the church community about public ministry.  This allows the congregation to more fully live its UUA values, giving evidence that the church has a “voice and knows how to use it” as a “beacon of liberal religious thought and practice.”

     To receive public ministry proposals from church units and individuals, and review these requests in a timely manner to determine disposition. By applying defined criteria, the proposals may be accepted, denied, or used to establish a study process that requires a congregational vote (as with Statements of Conscience expressing a position of the church as a whole).

     To review nominations of not-for-profit organizations as monthly special collection recipients. Special collections are selected once a year in May for the upcoming church year running from September to August (See special collection proposal process link below).  PMC also considers collections for emergency relief on a case-by-case basis.

Current Special Collection Activities

The following Special Collections have been taken during the 2012-13 church year.  These organizations were selected by the Public Ministry Committee during its meeting on May 20, 2012 from nominations submitted by church members.

TOTAL RAISED AS OF APRIL 2013: $18,109.39

Special Collections will also be taken for the following organizations during the 2012-13 church year (dates to be announced):

Family Shelter Service

DuPage Community Clinic  
 
Ecumenical Adult Care of Naperville  

Statements of Conscience passed by the congregation:

Passed in 2005: Civil marriage between any two consenting adults is a civil right.

Passed in 2010: Reproductive rights are human rights. Reproductive rights include comprehensive, values-based sex education, access to effective birth control and quality prenatal care, the right to carry a pregnancy to term, and the right to choose abortion.

Balloting Procedure for Statement of Conscience

Special Collections, 2011-2012:

During the 2011-12 church year, DuPage UU Church raised $15,468.67 for Special Collection recipients.

September 10: 
DuPage PADS  $2,496.00

October 16:  
Holiday Meals on Wheels $1,441.00

November 13:  
Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans $1,502.25

December 11: 
Bridge Communities $4,371.41

January 29:
Tom Galloway Scholarship Fund $1,409.10         
[Note: info on the current COD page is outdated.]

February 19:  
Youth Outlook $1,481.00

March 18:
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) DuPage $877.05 

April 22:
Green Earth Institute $1,205.01           

May 27:
Ecumenical Adult Care of Naperville $685.85    

June 17:
Oracle Productions $1,075.01   

July 15:
DuPage Community Clinic $980.50    

August 25: 
Naperville Cares $599.00   
 

Two emergency collections were also taken last year:

January 24: 
Haitian earthquake relief (for the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee) $5,083.53

June 6: 
Tennessee UU's Flood Relief $1,094.00

About the Public Ministry Committee:

Proposals and requests come from church units or members, and are not initiated by the PMC.  The PMC is not intended to be a sponsoring or advocacy group, but rather a facilitator, and as such it may consider action either by the PMC itself (when apt), or direct communiqués to appropriate church units for consideration (see proposal form link, and procedure and criteria link below).

The PMC is a standing committee of the church comprised of four elected members of the congregation, with a fifth member also serving as the church board’s Vice President of Outreach. The president is an ex officio member of this committee.  The minister serves as counsel to the PMC. Committee members serve for three-year staggered terms. No member may serve more than two consecutive terms. The PMC reports directly to the Board of Trustees and provides monthly activity reports to the Board and the church newsletter. The chair of the committee is internally selected.

Public Ministry proposal process and criteria

Public Ministry proposal form

Special Collection On-line Nomination Form

Special Collection Criteria for Selection

Special Collection Hard-Copy Nomination Form

The Public Ministry Committee is the "Responsible Entity" for the following church Policy:

Use of DUUC Name