It isn’t only individuals that have a hard time with change; congregations have their hard times, too. Any institution develops systems and patterns of behavior that seem to endure even as the individuals within the organization change. Roles are created and filled, and both written and unwritten...

How might the small church need to change to meet future needs of tomorrow's members?

All congregations must understand that the instruments of congregational polity will vary with the size of the congregation. The practices of governance must be suited to the characteristics of the individual congregation. ...

From the earliest days of recorded history in the Western world, there are stories of vision, mission, and covenant as foundational parts of religious community. These stories have been told in song, dance, and language, and they are the story of community—individual stories woven into an...

If we are not so busy doing church business on Sunday mornings, we will be more welcoming to our visitors and attentive to the fact that they are guests.

Learning to practicie helpful and healthy behaviors allows us to act on our stated beliefs and values.

All congregations must understand that the instruments of congregational polity will vary with the size of the congregation. The practices of governance must be suited to the characteristics of the individual congregation.

An overview of how UU governance developed over time.

Governance is the system by which a congregation exercises its authority. A congregation may use any system to govern itself; it may change systems frequently or entirely ignore the systems it claims as its own, but as long as the congregation lives, it will continue to exercise authority.

The vision, mission, covenant and other guiding documents can be incorporated into the life of the congregation in an unlimited number of ways in order to keep them in front of the members. The following are some suggestions:

To keep your mission, vision, covenant and other guiding documents relevant, it's helpful to revisit them every 5-7 years.

UU Communities can be very different from one another! Use this continuum exercise to see how your congregations understands itself.

Vision statements need to be useful to the leaders. Effective vision statements tend to have common characteristics.

A consensus decision-making model empowers participants to cooperate with one another in order to reach an outcome that is in the best interest of the group as a whole and that furthers the group’s stated purpose.

As your congregation moves into times of discernment, such as doing vision, mission, or covenant work, powerful questions are ways to surface deep understandings and creative ideas.

Looking for a way to reach out to members who are no longer attending? The UU Church of Berkeley shares their script.

When we engage in reconciliation--which is different than an apology or forgiveness--we invite change that will transform a relationship.

Establishing good communication practices and healthy boundaries are essential to attracting and keeping good staff. This article gives an overview of good practices, with special tips for congregations of various sizes.

The authors share their stories of how they started Covenant Groups in their congregations.

Information on planning your first few meeting sessions, choosing focus readings, and finding additional ways to connect, serve, and build relationship.