The responsibilities are held in common by all officers and directors can be included in a general policy for board officers.

Sample Policies

Board members will attend all meetings. An absence may be excused by a vote of the board at the meeting where the absence occurs.

Board members will receive written reports a minimum of 48 hours before the meeting and will read the reports before the meeting.

Discussions will include all board members sharing and listening deeply. Decisions will be made only after everyone feels that they have been heard. Decisions made by the board will be supported by individual board members.

All officers shall represent the Church on appropriate occasions and perform all duties incident to the office and such other duties as may be requested by the Membership Committee, Stewardship Team, or Minister.

Ex officio members of the Board, including Church staff, make reports to the Board of Trustees. No ex officio member may propose motions or vote on proposed motions.

The board will create a covenant at its first meeting after any new member(s) join the board.

Congregations often have unexpected issues that arise between board meetings that need immediate attention.

If your congregation has built a system of trust and transparency, you might consider empowering an "executive committee" to respond to situations that may arise between scheduled meetings of the full board of trustees.

Typical Executive Committees include the President/Moderator, Vice President/Vice Moderator, Secretary, the elected offer(s) with ultimate financial fiduciary responsibility (e.g Treasurer and/or Finance Committee chairs) and the senior minister as an ex-officio member (voting or non-voting according to your bylaws).

An Executive Committee typically conducts the current and ordinary business of the congregation between meetings of the Board of Trustees.

Sample Policy

• If between meetings of the Board of Trustees, matters arise which, in the opinion of the Executive Committee,
  are not current and ordinary business but in the best interests of the congregation must nevertheless be acted upon,
  or the Executive Committee has been authorized by the Board to be acted upon, then the Executive Committee may act thereon for the Board of Trustees, but only if four or more members vote the action.

Personnel Committees operate like Human Resources departments in that they don't hire, manage or supervise staff. Instead they advise the board and the senior minister on best practices.

Potential Personnel Committee Responsibilities

• Assist the board in developing and updating personnel policies, including policies and procedures for staff grievances
• Ensures that the congregation is in compliance with applicable laws as an employer
• Ensures that the congregation is in compliance with applicable rules for insurance and retirement plans
• Researches and makes recommendations for fair staff compensation (salary & benefits)
• Researches and makes recommendations for fair hiring practices
• The minister, staff and/or board would reserve the authority for hiring and firing.
• The board would reserve the authority to form an ad-hoc task force to investigate any staff grievances. The personnel committee should not hold that authority

Sample Personnel Committee Charter Policy

The Board of Trustees of _____ charters the formation of a Personnel Committee. The Personnel Committee will hold the responsibility and authority to monitor and advise the Board of Trustees on personnel matters, including staff compensation within UUA fair compensation guidelines; compliance with all federal, state and local labor laws; and any rules for participating in Insurance and/or Retirement programs. The Personnel Committee will make decisions that are resonant with Unitarian Universalist values and the church's stated vision and mission. The Personnel Committee will be accountable to the Board of Trustees.

The Personnel Committee will consist of _____ voting members, including the _______ and (give details of members). All voting members must be members in good standing of _____.

Congregations need to follow copyright laws and ensure their leaders and staff are aware of these laws. 
The issues surrounding copyright and worship are complex and often confusing. You will also want to review the resource Copyright Primer for Congregations.

Sample Policy

Any use of copyrighted works in connection with congregational activities must be conducted in accordance with applicable law. Works that may be subject to copyright include, for example, music, recorded performances, written works, videos and movies.

If copyrighted material is to be used during any congregation-sponsored event or activity or in any publication or communication, it is the responsibility of the event organizer(s) to secure any necessary rights to use the material and to provide appropriate documentation of these rights to the Congregational Administrator.

Copyrighted readings and live or recorded music may be used in our Sanctuary for religious services without such permission. Copyrighted video may not be used without permission.

Copyrighted material may not be included in any video or audio recording of the service, nor may we distribute copies of copyrighted sheet music, readings, etc. without permission from the copyright holder.

Permission to show movies or other video must be obtained by the committee or group sponsoring the showing, and documentation must be provided to _________. No movie titles will be listed on the official church calendar, website, Facebook page, or other communications until the necessary rights have been obtained.

While there is seemingly no shortage of models for organizing congregations and the staff who serve them, experience tells us that some models function more smoothly than others. In a multi-staff setting, the most common organizing model is to designate the senior minister as the chief of staff (or general manager, if you will).

The rationale for understanding the senior minister as chief of staff is grounded in that minister’s breadth of oversight and privilege of call. Gary McIntosh, a leading authority on church staffing, notes that “the one thing that sets the senior pastoral role apart from the rest of the staff is the breadth of oversight.” As just one illustration, McIntosh points out that a youth director has a relatively limited breadth of oversight, in relation to the overall program of the church, while a religious education director has much broader programmatic oversight. Yet both positions have a narrower breadth of oversight than that of the senior minister, who is “responsible for the entire church, not just a single area of specialization.”

This has clear implications for supervisory authority and relationships, since the senior minister carries the broadest responsibility among staff members for the overall operation of the church, its ministries and programs. “No matter what size staff a church has,” McIntosh correctly observes, “the people tend to see the senior pastor as the person where the buck stops.”1

In my work with Unitarian Universalist congregations of every size, I have not yet encountered a single one where, when push came to shove, the senior minister (or solo minister, as the case may be) was not held responsible for the overall performance of the church staff. If the minister is going to be held responsible for staff performance anyway, then it is only fitting that the congregation authorize the minister to supervise the other members of the staff.

In any organization, sacred or secular, it is essential that lines of authority and accountability be both clear and congruent. In seeking to characterize the managerial role of ministers in secular terms, McIntosh sees a shift in roles as churches grow in size. He describes the minister in a church with fewer than 250 members as a “supervisor,” while the minister in a church of 250-350 functions more as a “middle manager.” Once a church crosses the 350- member threshold, the minister’s managerial role increasingly resembles that of the “senior manager” in secular organizations.2

Based on my own observations of congregations across denominations, if a minister is incapable of (or prevented from) exercising the managerial role appropriate for a congregation’s particular size and organizational complexity, then the staff team will generally lack focus and direction, decision-making often becomes politicized, the accountability of staff to the membership deteriorates, and lay leaders become distracted by staff issues, instead of addressing the broader concerns of vision and policy. One of the most insightful assumptions of policy-based governance is that boards are not structured to effectively oversee multiple staff members without being drawn into micromanagement and distracted by minutia.

Although the Unitarian Universalist ministry is, in practice, one of least hierarchical expressions of institutional ministry of any denomination, ministerial fellowship and ordination nevertheless carry with them certain privileges and authority, which are commensurate with the high levels of trust and responsibility inherent to the vocation of ministry. As much as it values the role, importance and enormous contributions of its laity, our liberal religious tradition still sets apart its ministers to play a special and esteemed role in the life of its congregations. If Unitarians and Universalists, from the earliest days to the present time, had not intended ordination to convey particular authority and responsibility in the institutional life of our congregations, we would have done away with the practice long ago. The granting of ministerial fellowship, ordination, and the call to serve a congregation are not empty practices—they mean something! The privileges and authority granted to ordained ministers are grounded in the superior training, rigorous screening and demanding vocational standards to which ministers are expected to submit, coupled with the historical expectations and roles associated with the vocation of ministry.

When a Unitarian Universalist congregation extends a call to an ordained minister, it is establishing a unique office in the congregation, unlike any other position for which it might retain staff. Ministers are charged with broad responsibility to oversee the spiritual and temporal welfare of the congregation—a breadth of responsibility shared by no other staff member. Needless to say, when a program professional, religious educator or administrator is also an ordained minister in fellowship, who has been called to their position rather than hired, then the privilege of call naturally comes into play. Under these circumstances, it might be reasonably argued that such a partner minister report directly to the board on a par with the senior minister or parish minister. Even then, however, the overwhelming majority of larger congregations with more than one minister still have such partner ministers (MREs, associates and assistants) supervised by the senior minister!

The unique authority our tradition extends to ordained ministers should not be seen as somehow diminishing the value or importance of specialized programmatic or administrative positions. The various staff positions in a church—religious education directors, administrators, music directors, volunteer coordinators, pastoral care workers, facility caretakers and so forth—are, each and every one, important to the effective and faithful functioning of the church. But none of them entails the breadth of oversight demanded of a senior minister and none of them can be viewed as having parity with the ordained clergy as long as we continue to profess the particular polity we do.

It goes without saying that the ideal staff is one that is generally able to function as a team, where goals are shared, communications are clear, and working relationships are collaborative. But teamwork and collaboration do not preclude leadership; indeed, they require it. All good teams have leaders and in churches the staff team’s leader is the minister.

References

1 Gary McIntosh, Staff Your Church for Growth (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000), 71-73.

2 McIntosh, 79.

Some congregations may wish to create a policy that indemnifies (i.e. defends or holds harmless) members, leaders and staff of the congregation when they are acting in good faith in their roles.

Sample Policies

• The Church shall indemnify any person who is or was an employee, agent, representative, member of the Board of Trustees, or Steering Committee volunteer of the Church against any liability asserted against such person and incurred in the course and scope of his or her duties or functions within the Church to the maximum extent allowable by law, provided the person acted in good faith and did not engage in an act or omission that is intentional, willfully or wantonly negligent, or done with conscious indifference or reckless disregard for the safety of others. The provisions of this article shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which such person may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, insurance policy, vote of members or otherwise.
• Example 2: A duly elected or appointed officer, trustee, employee, or agent of the Church shall not be personally liable to the Church or to its Members for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty, except for liability resulting from: (1) any breach of duty or loyalty to the Church or its members, or (2) acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of the law. The Church shall indemnify any person and his/her estate and personal representative against all liability and expense incurred by reason of the person being or having been duly elected or appointed as an officer, trustee, employee or agent of the Church.

Because of the high value of real estate, the board will want to articulate a process where there is a high bar for selling, buying or mortgaging real estate.

Sample Policies

• At any meeting of the Board or any congregational meeting where the sale, encumbrance, or acquisition by the Church of real property or improvements thereon is to be discussed, notice of the same shall be published in the official Church newsletter at least thirty (30) days prior to said meeting, and read from the pulpit at least two (2) consecutive Sundays immediately preceding the meeting. Any action requiring the sale, encumbrance, or acquisition by the Church of real property shall require a two-thirds (2/3) vote of those voting members present and voting at a congregational meeting with such action in its call.
• The main meeting place of the church shall not be purchased, sold, conveyed, encumbered, or made subjected to any lien; and no church building shall be erected by this corporation unless such purchase, sale, conveyance, encumbrance, or building shall be first authorized by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the Board of Trustees, and three-fourths (3/4) of the voting members in attendance at a meeting of the corporation; each body acting separately, at an annual meeting of either, or at a special meeting of either duly called for that purpose, which purpose shall be plainly stated in the call. Any other real estate purchased, sold, conveyed, encumbered, or made subjected to any lien must be authorized by a majority vote of the Board of Trustees.

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In most cases, a communications vehicle that represents a congregation should be owned and operated by the congregation as a whole, and be used to further the mission and values of the congregation. Along those lines, here are some specific areas that might be helpful for congregations to consider regarding their websites:

• Financial ownership. The best way to ensure that the congregation is the owner of the website is to have the congregation as an entity directly paying for the hosting plan, domain registration, and any other one-time or ongoing costs associated with the website. This is far preferable to having the costs come out of an individual’s personal funds.
• Administrative access. It’s a good idea to make sure that at least one staff person has full administrative access to the congregational website, and at least three people in the congregation (including the staff person) have full administrative access. Full administrative access includes having the username and password that gives the greatest possible control over the hosting plan, the domain registration, the content management system, and any other utilities that are critical to the existence and maintenance of the website.
• Content management access. At least one staff person, and at least three people total, should not only have access to the site, but also be willing and able update the content on the website in a timely manner. To facilitate this process, it may be necessary to provide some training and documentation to help people learn to update the website.
• Accountability and support for people updating the congregation’s website. A communications committee, the governing board, or other bodies within the congregation can regularly evaluate whether the website is furthering the mission of the congregation, and whether or not the people updating the website are adequately supported.
• Respect for copyright. Congregations should consider using copyright notices, Creative Commons licenses, or other notices that explain how content found on the website may be used. And congregations should respect copyright by only posting text, photos, videos, etc. that they have permission to reproduce.
• Internal and external clarity about which communications vehicles represent the congregation as a whole (in which case they should be held to the above standards) and which communications vehicles are the property of an individual. Internal and external clarity about how the congregation’s name may be used. A good rule of thumb is that if the congregation’s name is used in the title of a website, then the congregation as an entity should have control over that website, and the congregation should be represented positively and accurately by that website.

• Sample: Privacy Policy of the Unitarian Church of Los Alamos, NM

CONGREGATION’S NAME Media Release Form

We often take photographs and videos of adults, youth, and children as they participate in congregational events such as worship, religious education programming, social events, and justice events. We use these images to promote our congregation and our faith in print, on the Web, and on social media.

By signing this form, you authorize the use of your image in these photographs and video recordings, as described below. (Note that providing us an image or recording constitutes your agreement to the Congregation General Usage section without your needing to also sign this form.)

No names nor other identifying personal information about individual children or minor youth will be published without your explicitly stated permission to do so in each individual case.

Names of minors (children or youth under 18) covered by this agreement: _____________________

Please check all that apply:

Unitarian Universalist Usage

___ I hereby authorize Congregation Name to grant permission to other UU groups, such as the Unitarian Universalist Association, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, and UUA member congregations, to make use of the congregation’s media that includes me and any minors listed here.

Congregational General Usage

___ In consideration of the benefits I receive from my association with Congregation Name, I hereby authorize Congregation Name to make use of my likeness and voice (and that of any minors listed here) in photographs, videos, or audio recordings on their website, in their social media, in their online photo albums and video channels, and in print. This grant is final and on-going, without any additional restrictions or limitations.

Congregational General Usage with Restrictions

___ I grant Congregation Name permission to do the above, with these additional terms and conditions:

Congregational Internal Usage Only

___ I do not authorize Congregation Name to make use of my likeness (and that of any minors listed here) in photographs, videos, or audio recordings that are shared beyond the walls of the congregation.

Name (printed): ______________________________________________

Signature___________________________________ Date____________

(must be signed by a parent/guardian of a participant under 18 years)