About Us

Most of Cedarhurst’s members live within 25 miles of our sanctuary in small cities and towns (in Maryland) like Westminster, Sykesville, Eldersburg, Hampstead, Owings Mills, Reisterstown, and Glyndon. The majority of us are not native to this area; rather, we are transplants from other places. Our congregation was formed by twelve people just fifteen years ago, and first met at a local women’s club and in a spare room above a hardware store. From those humble beginnings, we have grown steadily. CUU received the O. Eugene Picket Award in 1998 in recognition of our congregation’s dedication and adherence to Unitarian Universalist ideals. Today, Cedarhurst boasts a membership of over 100 active adult members and over 60 children and youth enrolled in Religious Education. A congregational survey in the Fall of 1999 revealed a wealth of information about our community.

We are a generationally diverse congregation. Members’ ages range from 16 to 91, but the average age is about 49. Women outnumber men about two to one in our congregation, and women returned more surveys than men. With regard to race, marital status, sexual orientation, and education our congregation (like the population of Carroll County as a whole) is rather homogenous. We are a largely heterosexual, married, "European American" congregation. Our members are well educated (over 74% completed college and 34% hold advanced degrees), fairly affluent (average income $56,800), and quite generous in their financial support of our community. Our recent pledge drive saw our average pledge increase to over $1,000 per unit. Given their education, our members are employed in many different technical and professional positions: Medical/Health, Computer/Technology, Sales/Marketing, Education, Administration, Engineering, and the Civil Service.

Families and children are an important aspect of CUU. One-third of our survey respondents indicated that children’s religion education was a major factor in first coming to Cedarhurst and nearly half list it as why they continue to attend. The children’s RE program is headed by our part-time DRE, Kelley Gordon, and provides a variety of activities, including age-specific RE classes, a Junior Youth Group, and a Senior Youth Group. In addition, CUU has conducted OWL (Our Whole lives) classes on human sexuality for our teenage members.

A typical member has been associated with Cedarhurst for over five years, and about one-half were associated with another UU congregation before joining Cedarhurst. Our congregation, like many other UU communities, draws from a variety of religious beliefs and backgrounds. Nearly 70% of the survey respondents acknowledged a prior association with Judaism or Christianity (Roman Catholic and Methodist were the most common denominations cited), although affiliations with Buddhism and Hinduism were also noted. This Judeo-Christian background is reflected in our member’s requests for special religious services: Christmas Eve, Christmas, Easter, Passover, Hanukkah, Yom Kippur, and other major holidays were listed quite frequently.

However, when asked for their current religious orientations, members indicated a broad diversity of beliefs. Each of the fifteen options (including "other") on our survey received at least one vote. Ethical Religion, Humanism, Eclecticism, Natural Theism, Ethical Christianity, Agnosticism, and Earth-Centered Religion were all marked by at least 30% of the survey respondents.

Although they draw from different belief systems, our survey identified three recurring themes of interest to the members: spiritual development, fellowship, and intellectual growth. The members are nearly unanimous in their desire to have these concepts incorporated into both the content and objectives of worship services and developed as a larger part of congregational life. Our members enjoy certain religious rituals (Candles of Joy and Concern, Chalice lighting) and display a clear preference for fixed formats for Sunday services. We also desire a powerful, consistent voice from the pulpit.

The congregation is of a somewhat mixed mind regarding the future growth of Cedarhurst. Our survey indicates a broad (though far from unanimous) acceptance for controlled, "inclusive" growth of the membership. Our congregation is protective of the sense of community and fellowship developed within our small group and we fear a loss of intimacy brought on by rapid, uncontrolled growth. On one hand, our members have many ambitions, such as expanding CUU’s role in the community, having more impact on social issues, improving our physical plant, and hiring a full time religious education director. On the other hand, we acknowledge that these ambitions cannot be realized without the talents and financial support of additional members. Given Cedarhurst’s location, it is quite likely that our community will continue to expand as more people move to this area and learn about us. A very important aspect of the minister’s role at Cedarhurst is helping the congregation manage the issue of growth.