Procedures should have the flexibility to change as the organization changes size, staff, technologies and other situational factors.

If you are proposing bylaws for a new congregation, you may wish to include a provision dealing with their initial adoption.

The Bylaws of the UUA require that to be affiliated with the UUA all congregations must have a dissolution clause in their bylaws.

Congregations should include bylaws provisions that enable the congregation to terminate the covenantal relationship when the trust and confidence in the minister has been compromised or eroded.

Very few things that a congregation does affect it as greatly, or are as important, as the choice of a minister. Wonderful ministerial-congregational matches provide new life and purpose to an institution and help lead both parties well into the future....

A decision by vote in a congregational meeting is the highest expression of the congregation's authority. UU congregations generally reserve only major decisions for the membershipas a whole

Bylaws should include two different provisions for removing people from membership. One is for people who have drifted away. The other is for removing a member for cause.

Some congregations want more flexibility in how they approach membership. For the purpose of the bylaws, it's important to clarify who has voting rights.

The minimum requirements for congregational membership should be included in the bylaws. Specific details about these requirements can be articulated in policies and updated as needed.

Spelling out membership in the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) in a congregation's bylaws clearly defines the congregation as a Unitarian Universalist congregation.

The purpose provision of the bylaws distinguishes the congregation from other institutions in the community and sets out the basic parameters for all the activity of the congregation.

Choosing or changing the name of the congregation is an important decision, for it will help shape the congregation's vision and image. Following are some considerations. What Kind of Community? Many descriptive words can describe a religious group that gathers together....

All bylaws need to be amended from time to time. Ideas and thoughts change, and new situations arise that need to be addressed in the bylaws. Bylaws should include provisions on how they can be amended.

Whether you are a new congregation, you are merging two or more congregations, or you are making changes an existing congregation; forming a bylaws task force is an important first step....

The Bylaws provide the formal structure of your congregation and allow for maintaining and changing that structure. Bylaws hold the highest level of authority of congregational guiding documents. Some state laws require that congregations have a constitution, charter, articles of incorporation or...

A shared history is a powerful bond and an awareness of history can foster a sense of pride and a feeling of connectedness. The telling of this history, whether in oral or written form, is one of the most important ways that newer members of a family are welcomed into the group. ...

Annual reports, often published in conjunction with a congregation's annual meeting, provide an opportunity to report on the annual goals that are serving the mission and vision of the congregation

Whenever two parts of a system become uncomfortable with one another, they will turn their focus to a third person or issue as a way to stabilize their own relationship with one another.

Adding services can provide a wonderful, invigorating climate for growth of all sorts, both individual and institutional. But large-scale change without adequate planning not only may doom the change but also may create additional problems. Therefore, ...

Adding a worship service inevitably means more work for the congregation’s staff, both professional and support. The leaders of worship and religious education must not only repeat the service, create a separate special focus, and oversee another religious education program but also do more...