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
Seek to connect.
Take time to reflect.
Be direct.
Speak with respect.
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.
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John is an experienced multi-media professional whose journey as an artist and creative entrepreneur began when he first picked up a guitar in 2003, culminating to the art and music studio he started in 2015, and the journey continues to lead him through many creative, logistical and technical endeavors.
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In 2018 he graduated Magna Cum Laude at Texas A&M University – Commerce, recently renamed to East Texas A&M, where he majored in Visual Communication, studying under professional artists, photographers, designers, animators, and crossing paths with many other creative professionals in the Dallas area. He now utilizes his wide array of talents, knowledge and experience working to be a positive creative force in the world.
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John also minored in Astronomy and is a self-proclaimed Space Nerd who will gladly talk space, science, aliens and sci-fi with anyone who wants to chat about space related things.
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Candice White (she/her)
Director of Religious Exploration
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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Kenneth "Spoon" Witherspoon
Youth RE Leader
A Born and bred Baltimorean, Spoon attended Northfield Mount Hermon School and received his BS of Psychology from Vassar College and his MFA in Playwriting from the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. His employment has included : Crisis Intervention Specialist; Accotink Academy in Springfield VA; House Parent, District of Columbia - CHARLEE [Children Have All Rights, Legal, Educational and Emotional] Program funded by the Menninger Foundation ; Playwright in Residence; Young People’s Theatre Program - Center Stage of Maryland. Baltimore Maryland ; Information Specialist; William H. Welch Medical Library; Library Johns Hopkins School of Medicine- Baltimore Maryland; Library Assistant; Hogg Foundation for Mental Health; Project Manager, “YouthExpress, Building Resiliency in Texas Youth through the Arts”; Texas Network of Youth Services; Director, Cultural Warriors; American YouthWorks and Grants and Contracts Coordinator, Big Brothers Big Sisters-Central Texas, El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission, Helping the Aging, Needy and Disabled Inc. Spoon is also a playwright, director, Theatre Historian and Dramaturge performances include Hoke Colburn in Driving Miss Daisy, the role of ex-Negro League baseball player Troy Maxsome in August Wilson’s Fences, Lord Capulet in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, a calypso singer in the American premiere of Pulitzer Prize winner Derek Walcot’s Pantomine, and the Voice of God in the Wakefield Cycles. My plays have won the Baltimore, South Carolina, and National Black Theatre Festivals and performed in New York City, Illinois, Michigan, Washington DC and San Antonio. As a Theatre Historian and Dramaturge I was honored to receive the International Foundation for Theatre Research Fellowship for my research on women and minorities in early American Drama and comparisons of the work of William Shakespeare and Lope De Vega.
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Jessica Beltran (she/her)
RE Leader
Jessica is an AMI Montessori Guide deeply committed to nurturing each child’s natural development. She believes children are inherently capable, curious, and driven to grow into their authentic selves when given the right environment. She honors the child’s inner life, supporting their sense of wonder, peace, and emerging spiritual connection to the world around them.
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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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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 meeting times, dates, and Zoom links are listed on our public church calendar. 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
Bob Gehrman| president@sangabrieluu.org
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Past President
Rob Berthold | treasurer@sangabrieluu.org
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Vice President
(temporarily vacant) | vice.president@sangabrieluu.org
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Treasurer
Rob Berthold | treasurer@sangabrieluu.org
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Secretary
Joe Nesheim | secretary@sangabrieluu.org
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Trustees at Large
Michelle Augustine and Zach Hunter | trustee@sangabrieluu.org
TEAMS
Sunday Services
Sarah Smith | sundayservices@sangabrieluu.org
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Caring
Carolyn Sasano | caring@sangabrieluu.org
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Music & Choir
(temporarily vacant) | Choir@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
Zach Hunter | social.justice@sangabrieluu.org
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Religious Exploration
Candice White| dre@sangabrieluu.org
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Membership
Pat Berthold| membership@sangabrieluu.org
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Hospitality
Carolyn Sasano | hospitality@sangabrieluu.org
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Artist In Fellowship
Carolyn Todd | 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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Safer Congregation Policy
The SGUUF Board of Trustees adopted our current Safer Congregation Policy in June 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. 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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Revised June 9, 2024
Attest: President Sarah Smith and Secretary Joe Nesheim
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Revised June 1, 2025
Attest: President Rob Berthold and Secretary Joe Nesheim
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