When water began leaking onto the last two rows of pews at the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Society of Greater Springfield, MA (225 members), about eight years ago, it was seen as a sign: a sign that it was time to develop a plan for longterm maintenance….

The search committee has done its job. The new minister arrives next month. You’re excited, but also a little nervous. You want this new relationship to go well. But how to make that happen? The most important part of a ministerial start-up is a facilitated retreat, says Lynn Thomas, district…

Q. We’re thinking about changing how we address absentee and/or proxy voting rights in our bylaws. How do other congregations handle absentee and proxy voting policies? A. Some congregations permit absentee voting, considering it an appropriate way to involve people who may be incapacitated or…

Carmen McDowell, membership director at East Shore Unitarian Church, Bellevue, WA, invites friends and members to welcome visitors by thinking of three personas: “First there’s the Forrest Gump introduction. Forrest wouldn’t miss a beat if he inadvertently mistook a founding member for a newcomer.

When the board of trustees of the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church of Annapolis, MD (500 members), completed a strategic plan a few years ago it realized it would also have to revamp the way it did business….

Jeff Hutchins hasn’t seen the start of a church service in years at the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church of The North Hills in Pittsburgh, PA (174 members). The reason: He’s out in the foyer welcoming just one more late-arriving visitor. When InterConnections asked congregations for names of…

Q. Do any churches have a formal policy on calendar setting? That is, how do you decide when the building may be rented to outside groups and when it should be reserved for the congregation’s use?…

Sometimes it’s not the big things we do for children, but the little things that show how much we care for them and how vital they are to our religious communities. Certainly it’s important that we pair adults and children in Secret Pal Sundays and do Youth Sundays and Religious Education Sundays.

When a man who had just joined a West Coast congregation volunteered to take care of the grounds, the overworked folks in the congregation were thrilled. But when he hacked off all the branches of several small trees, they had second thoughts. More alarms sounded when he forcefully criticized the…

We all know the purpose of the annual canvass is to fund the operating budget, and that if we do it right, we’re set for another year. But the reality is that the canvass sometimes falls short. Consequently many congregations rely on smaller fundraisers to fill the hole. We also know these other…