So… You’ve run some Zoom meetings where a few folks chatted away, enjoying each other’s video and audio. Perhaps you’ve ventured into larger scale production and are conducting Sunday Services via Zoom. But what if you’re called on to stage a full congregational meeting, with formal debate on motions followed by auditable voting?

Kalvin Drake of the First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto created a robust instruction manual or running congregational meetings via Zoom (link below) and has made it available to other congregations. See below for the contents.

• Running Congregational Meetings with Zoom (Google doc)

For reference, the above document refers to a companion document:

• Recommended Zoom Settings for Congregations (Google doc)​
  • There is also a Change Log to keep track of revisions

Running Congregational Meetings with Zoom

Purpose of this Document 3

Planning Considerations 4

• Governance 4
• Participant Profile 4
• It’s All About the Script 5
• Zoom Training 5
• Zoom-bombing 5
• Create Back Channels 6

The Meeting Process 7

• Delegate Registration 7
• Participant Naming Convention 7
• Meeting Check-In Process 8
• Quorum 10
• Voting Mechanism 10
• Non-verbal Feedback 11
• Polls 12
• Phone-in Participants 13
• Proxies & Written Ballots 13
• Chat 14
• Prepare Your Media 14

Meeting Roles, Responsibilities & Tips 15

• All Crew 15
• Zoom Meeting Host 16
• Chair 16
  • Prior to the Meeting 16
  • At the Start of the Meeting 16
  • During the Meeting 17
  • Tips 17
• Meeting Scribe 17
• Presenter(s) 17
• Participant Manager 18
  • As People Join the Meeting 18
  • During the Meeting 18
• ​Poll Manager 18
  • Before the Meeting 18
  • During the Meeting 18
• Breakout Group Co-ordinator 19
  • Before the Meeting 19
  • At the Start of the Meeting 19
  • During the Meeting 19
• Registrar(s) 20
  • At the Start of the Meeting 20
  • During the Meeting 20
• Breakout Room Facilitators 20
  • Before the Meeting 20
  • During the Breakout Session 20
• Phone-In Vote Facilitator (Co-Host) 20
• Meeting Support Co-ordinator 21
  • Before the Meeting 21
  • Before Participants start arriving 21
  • During the Meeting 21
• 1:1 Support 22
• Chat Monitor 22
• Observer 22

Notes on Features 23

• Only Hosts (not Co-Hosts) can... 23
• Alternative Hosts 23
• Spotlight Video 23
• Better Audio (for music, etc.) 23
• Screen Sharing 23
• Polls 23
• Chat 24
• Breakout Rooms 24
• Smartphones 24

Configuring Zoom to Support your Meeting 24

The purpose of this document is to help you:

• Plan and prepare for the meeting
• Identify the various roles and responsibilities to be fulfilled in order to ensure a successful meeting; and
• Configure Zoom to best support the meeting process.