ABOUT US
Founded in 2007, San Gabriel UU Fellowship are people of many beliefs and backgrounds in Georgetown, Texas: people with a religious background, people with none, people who believe in a God or gods, people who don’t, and people who let the mystery be.
We welcome you: your whole self, with all your truths and your doubts, your worries and your hopes. Join us on this extraordinary adventure of faith. We are curious and compassionate thinkers and doers. We are diverse in faith, ethnicity, history and spirituality, but aligned in our desire to make a difference for the good. We have a track record of siding with love, justice, and peace.
Our Vision
Together we are building beloved community where all are valued.
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Our Mission
We are a congregation that welcomes all, promotes personal and spiritual growth,
and works for a just, peaceful, and sustainable world.
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Our Covenant
As members of our beloved community, we agree to act together in loving kindness to promote justice, equity and compassion. While together, we will practice patience and look for good will and good intentions in each other’s actions. We will seek first to understand then to be understood. By being generous in time, talent and treasure, we promise to work together in support of our mission. We will welcome the diversity among us with genuine curiosity, acceptance and empathy. We commit to resolve differences by speaking directly to each other or through mediation. We promise to work toward forgiveness whenever we fall short of expectations. Moving forward, we will honor our past, embrace change and joyfully celebrate the success of our community.
San Gabriel UU Fellowship
1322 E University Ave Georgetown, TX 78626
FACILITIES
Our Sanctuary
Located near the heart of historic Old Town across the street from Southwestern University at 1322 E University Ave, Georgetown, Texas. Our building is both traditional and contemporary, and reflects our commitment to the inclusion of people of all ages, abilities, and mobility.
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The Sanctuary and other spaces can be scheduled for events and meetings by using our Facilities Use Request form.
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If you have any other questions about our facilities, you can fill out our Contact form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
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Parking
Our parking lot is available for members and visitors.
When our lot is full, we recommend parking in the cul-de-sac on the south side of the building, or along Hutto Road to the south of the church.
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For more information about our facilities,
please contact facilties@sangabrieluu.org.​​
Eric Hepburn (he/him)
Pulpiteer
Eric is the spiritual and worship leader of the San Gabriel Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. You’ll find him in the pulpit here at least twice a month, often more. Prior to that, he was a member involved in lay ministry, small group, and governance work at First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin since 2005. Before attending UU churches, he was a free-will pentecostal and an atheist (at different times). Eric has been acknowledged as a Community Lay Minister by the Unitarian Universalist Society of Community Ministers since 2023. He has been doing weddings and memorials as an ordained spiritual humanist since 2008. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, master’s in sociology, and spent 25 years working professionally in information technology, fabrication technology, and management in higher education. Eric is currently enrolled in the Doctor of Ministry in Social Justice Leadership program at Meadville Lombard Theological School, a UU seminary in Chicago, Illinois. He lives in Austin, Texas with his wife Christie and son Simon. He is an able-bodied, middle-aged, white, cis-het, short male in a trans-racial adoptive family – all of which are things about him, none of which are him.
You can follow his writings on Medium, catch a sermon video on YouTube, listen to the weekly podcast The Pulpiteer (Spotify, YouTube, Apple, Amazon, iHeartRadio, or Castbox), catch his contributions on UUA WorshipWeb or follow/connect with him on LinkedIN, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
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OUR STAFF
John Faber (he/they)
Administrator
In April 2023, John became our all-online Administrator working remotely from the Brazos Valley near Texas A&M University.
John is a husband and father of two, and his family was first introduced to Unitarian Universalism at The UU Church of the Brazos Valley in Bryan, Texas, where they became members and volunteered for several years before the Covid pandemic led to UUCBV hiring John as their Online Administrator and Technical Support. In 2021 UUCBV also hired his wife Allison as their Director of Religious Education.
John is an experienced multi-media professional whose journey as a creative entrepreneur began when he first picked up a guitar in 2003, which unlocked a creative force within him and led to him signing a record deal in 2009 and starting his own studio in 2015. In 2018 he graduated Magna Cum Laude at Texas A&M University – Commerce where he majored in Visual Communication, studying under professional artists, photographers, designers, animators and other creative professionals in the Dallas area, and he also minored in Astronomy. He now utilizes his wide array of talents, knowledge and experience as a passionate artist working to be a positive creative force in the world.
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Hush Childers (they/them)
Childcare
Hush has been providing loving childcare for our Nursery since the summer of 2014, and has seen more than a few of our San Gabriel children grow up right in front of their eyes! They feel that children are the foundation of our community. So, by teaching them good choices and how to have fun constructively with their peers, they hope that they are contributing to society in some way. They also hope that their time with the kiddos will help alleviate some stress for parents while they attend service! In their spare time they like to play all kinds of games, practice their Japanese, and watch everything from fantasy to documentaries. Hush and their partner Liz live with their little schnauzer mix, Rhea.
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Candice White (She/Her)
Director of Religious Education
Candice is an educator, a musician, a mother and recently became a resident of Georgetown with her husband Christopher Brown and daughter Lochlyn White Brown (They lovingly call themselves Team Beige!)
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ELECTED LEADERS
Our San Gabriel Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Board of Trustees is elected each year by our Voting Members at the Annual Business Meeting. The board consists of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, the immediate Past President and Trustees voted at large for staggered two-year terms.
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The Board meetings are announced with both time and location in our email newsletter, The Messenger. The regular meetings are open to all who wish to join us in person or on Zoom. If anyone wishes to address the Board, they may request to have their item included in the meeting’s agenda by emailing the President at least 8 days prior to the meeting.
OFFICERS
President
Rob Berthold | president@sangabrieluu.org
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Past President
Sarah Smith | sundayservices@sangabrieluu.org
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Vice President
Keith Hutchinson | vice.president@sangabrieluu.org
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Treasurer
Tom Robertson | treasurer@sangabrieluu.org
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Secretary
Joe Nesheim | secretary@sangabrieluu.org
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Trustees at Large
Vivian Stidtvent, Billye Adams & Walt Holt | trustee@sangabrieluu.org
TEAMS
Sunday Services
Sarah Smith | sundayservices@sangabrieluu.org
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Caring
Marsha Lovin | caring@sangabrieluu.org
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Facilities
Lou Snead | facilities@sangabrieluu.org
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Habitat
Billye Adams | habitat@sangabrieluu.org
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Social Justice Team
Jeff Nobles | social.justice@sangabrieluu.org
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Religious Education
Religious Education | re@sangabrieluu.org
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Membership
Pam Hibbard | membership@sangabrieluu.org
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Hospitality
Kelly McGinty & Carolyn Sasano | hospitality@sangabrieluu.org
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Artist In Fellowship
Sarah Smith | artist@sangabrieluu.org​
SGUUF is recognized as a ‘Green Sanctuary’ by the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is one of the ways our congregation works towards the vision of a healthier, more sustainable future.
As a Welcoming Congregation we have pledged to:
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Honor the lives of all people equally without regard for sexual orientation
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Celebrate diversity by using inclusive language and content in worship
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Incorporate an understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer experiences throughout our programs, including religious education
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Affirm lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer issues
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Celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer history
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Affirm marriage equality and conduct same-sex weddings
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Advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people
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Promote justice, freedom, and equality in the larger society
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Speak out when the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer persons are threatened
Safer Congregation Policy
Click Here for our printable Safer Congregation Policy
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New Safer Congregation Policy
Your SGUUF Board of Trustees recently adopted a new Safer Congregation Policy at their monthly meeting on June 13, 2024. While it is impossible to make any congregation 100% safe, the adoption of this policy is one of the steps San Gabriel can take towards the goal of a safe and welcoming congregation for all. Please know that SGUUF is committed to being a workplace and a congregation free of sexual harassment of any kind.The Safer Congregation Policy details how anyone within the congregation can report information or concerns regarding sexual harassment or sexual abuse to the Board. Please familiarize yourself with the policy here. Lastly, there are currently no members within the congregation with Limited Access Agreements in place. Please direct any questions or concerns to your Board president at president@sangabrieluu.org.
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Congregation Bylaws
Click Here to view our current Bylaws
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APPROVED:
These Bylaws were approved at the General Meeting on December 7, 2007
Amended December 5, 2008
Attest: President Roe Mackey and Secretary Bobbie Wooll
Amended April 12, 2009
Attest: President Roe Mackey and Secretary Bobbie Wooll
Amended December 4, 2009
Attest: President Roe Mackey and Secretary Bobbie Wooll
Amended December 5, 2010
Attest: President Roe Mackey and Secretary Bobbie Wooll
Amended December 4, 2011
Attest: President Brue Barker and Secretary Shirley Wentworth
Amended December 20 ,2013
Attest: President Genie Barnes and Secretary Kay Walker
Amended December 12, 2014
Attest: President Caroline Mackey and Secretary Sharon Covey
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Amended December 11, 2016
Attest: President Jennifer Van Buren and Acting Secretary Kay Walker
Amended May 20, 2018
Attest: President Sean McClurkan and Acting Secretary Keith Hutchinson
Amended June 21, 2020
Attest: President Mary L Abbey and Secretary Kathryn Williams-Platt
Amended October 18, 2020
Attest: President Marissa Gomez-Palmer and Secretary Kelly McGinty
Revised January 22, 2023
Attest: President Molly Hornbuckle and Secretary Linda Mueller
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