One of the most important keys to congregational health and vitality--along with a clear purpose--is a cohesive leadership team.

Good communication habits and healthy boundaries between the laity and the minister make for a sustainable and resilient ministry!

Improve the quality of your process by taking time to create a shared understanding of all of the things that should be taken into consideration.

Your church website is often the first place a seeker will learn about your congregation. Here is a checklist to help make the experience a good one!

Ministers and congregational leaders play a vital role as a voice for Unitarian Universalism in local communities. Here are a few tips for developing a communications/media relations strategy.

Tips and resources for website graphics.

How might we create communities where each member can contribute equitably in service of mission and vision? Circles are an ancient tried-and-true practice.

Have you ever wondered why people sometimes act out of character during times of stress? Here's a fun way of understanding how the Frontal Cortex and Amygdala work together.

This gallery of web-optimized chalice art and is available for informal use. Right-click on any image to save it to your computer. You may edit these images with any graphics-editing software. Please use the current UUA Logo available for public communications of your Unitarian Universalist (UU)...

As a unifying element, the logo chalice is recognized as distinctively UU. It is used for official communications, but can also be adapted as a design element.

The goal of the Unitarian Universalist (UU) brand identity is to create a shared way for Unitarian Universalists to effectively communicate who we are, what we do, and why it matters.

You are streaming a worship service when suddenly random people flood in and cause chaos. They talk, yell, cuss, try to broadcast pornography, have explicit profile pictures, etc. What do you do?

The UUA has negotiated with Zoom, a videoconferencing provider, to provide congregations with a Business Level license for a discounted price.

Our people need to connect with one another. How might we use technology to make that happen during times of social distancing?

Be strategic about your communications via email, including what to share and how often.

The technology in our pockets now makes it possible to provide live translation of speech to text at church.

Healthy groups provide feedback loops so they can learn and grow as a group. One practice is to designate a "process observer" who takes notes on group process.

Any tool, including NonViolent Communication, can be dangerous if it is used as a weapon, so let’s use the best tool for the job – and let’s use it in a way that doesn’t hurt anyone, including ourselves.

Planning to Show a Film? You are legally and ethically required to follow public performance laws.

Your UUA staff loves to use photos from our congregations on the UUA website! Here's how:

Congregations and other Unitarian Universalist (UU) organizations should adopt a permissions policy for photos and video. Here is a sample.

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...

Hackers are getting more sophisticated every day. The best defense is to encourage your employees, volunteers and congregation members to pause and look for warning signs before responding to any unsolicited email.

“He said, she said, they said, and now we have a conflict!” “I don’t remember what we fought about, but I do remember how I felt when you yelled at me.” “When I hid the ‘send’ key, I didn’t expect this reaction!” “Now that we are in the parking lot, let me tell you what I...

Experiential Education theory is a powerful tool for youth ministry: for debriefing, planning activities, and pastoral care.

Leaders don’t need to be the hub through which everything flows, and they know how to help people come together for specific (and general) purposes; they can connect people to ideas, to each other, and to a greater whole.

Leaders are networked in a couple of ways — first, they are aware of how community can be created, sustained, and nurtured through the use of technology; they realize that today on-line connection serves to deepen what a congregation can offer; second, they are not afraid of technology, and know how to learn through electronic means, and are able to find what they need, or find the person who knows, what they need moving forward.

Communication Skills—one of the recommended leadership development competencies—include: Understanding different styles of giving and receiving information. Being able to communicate across different communication styles. Understanding differences in communication across cultures Developing the...

Healthy and transparent communication needs to be mutual, with all parties taking responsibility for their words. Leaders should have firm policies against accepting anonymous feedback. And yet, there are times when cultural differences or power differentials require a nuanced understanding of healthy communication.

The flow of information in an organization is a bit like the flow of water after a rain. Ideally, the information is shared evenly, and the members are able to absorb it like loamy soil. But information that triggers anxiety can be like a heavy rain. Without established channels, information will create its own channels, possible eroding trust or creating other damage.Here are some practices to create healthy communication channels.

Balancing transparency and confidentiality can be challenging for congregational board members, staff, and other leaders who have access to sensitive information. Healthy, vibrant systems need as much open communication as possible. White Supremacy Culture sometimes uses "the need for...

I have a love-hate relationship with surveys, especially surveys used as a part of congregational planning. Frankly, used in this context they can often do more harm than good. When used as one among a number of ways of collecting data, they can get great and comparatively easy way to add peripheral vision to face-to-face methods of gathering response. Here Ian Evison offers a few guidelines for using surveys well.

Surveys that work best come out of an understanding that the job of leadership is not to “make people happy” but to help the congregation live out its mission.  Surveys that are useless at best and divisive at worst typically seek to honor personal preferences about various areas of congregational life (including the minister).

Creates a shared vision of the church, an effective mission statement and dynamic mission-centered goals to implement the mission. Develops and affirms a clear identity and purpose with a strong sense of mission. Mission(s) used as a compass in decision-making. Members can identify the...

The opportunity is great in our congregations for rumors, miscommunication, gossip and, of course, conflict. Examine the barriers to open communication processes and will explore ways in which lay and ministerial leaders can open up channels of communication and create transparent systems where...

Smooth and efficient meetings require planning, structure, transparency and practice!  It takes a lot of practice to be a good facilitator. Even more importantly, good facilitators don't go it alone--they ask other leaders to take on different roles to keep the meeting on schedule and on topic.

In many congregations, meetings are considered a necessary evil.  It doesn't have to be that way.  Learn spiritual and practical ideas for running efficient, effective and faith-based meetings

Discover ways we can engage with one another even when we disagree through compassionate communication. This tool can be applied in any meeting or in 1-1 relationships.

Let me share a fable of two congregations. ...

Download chalice fonts for Mac or PC to use in your publications

In dealing with adapt… challenges (e.g. changing demographics or attitudes toward religious institutions) congregational leaders can learn some wisdom from the old folktale about the 7 Blind Men and the Elephant. Each of the men could feel a part of the creature, and each came up with his own...

The congregational meeting was held right after the Sunday service to guarantee a quorum.  There were a couple of important issues to discuss, including passing a deficit budget to help fund a part time membership coordinator in service of their desire for growth. Standard...

I remember my first church family camp, the Ohio Meadville Summer Institute. At the end of the morning worship, one of the planning committee members would go up to the podium and start singing: Announcements, Announcements, An-NOW-ounce-ments! A terrible death to die, a terrible death to die, A...

Use fewer words and design for skimming. Be sure your content supports your mission, helps your users find what they need, and encourages web visitors to become congregational visitors.

Every few years, we reconfigure the information architecture (IA)—the menus—of UUA.org to keep up with changes in our shared language and priorities. We rely heavily on user input (from surveys, constituent feedback, and data from Google Analytics) and testing (surveys, card sorting, and tree...

Once upon a time there was a congregation that wanted a mission statement. They appointed a committee that worked hard. They held cottage meetings, World Café conversations, and got a real sense of the identity of the congregation, who they were as a "whole"—or their "center." It became time to...

The recommended font is Helvetica Neue, a clear, crisp and accessible typeface. If that font is unavailable, the recommended font is Helvetica or Arial.

Customize your graphics with downloadable design elements.

UUA color palette values in Pantone; Red, Blue, and Green (RGB); Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK); and web codes (Hex). The UUA aims for color contrasts meeting the latest WCAG Level AAA, but requires Level AA.

The new year offers a new opportunity to take stock of how your congregation is serving its mission. Invite your leadership team to take stock of your current program offerings. Is the program bringing in new life in the form of new participants?...