Step 1: Assemble Your Team Your team should include: Staff: Minister and Religious Educator A member of the board A member of the safe congregations team or a congregant with background in emergency management or first response Someone who brings awareness and sensitivity to the particular needs ...

Congregational Emergency Operations Planning Step 1: Assemble your team Step 2: Establish contact with local partners Step 3: Questions Step 4: Determining Roles and Responsibilities Step 5: Approval Step 6: Share Step 7: Train Step 8: Practice Step 9: Congregational Drills Step 10: Review Resour...

Unitarian Universalist congregations have found the following guides helpful in developing safety plans for active shooter and lockdown situations. Please note that several of these resources originate with various branches of the Federal Government....

In the aftermath of a disaster, people turn to their local communities for support. For our congregations, this means that you can choose how you want to be a resource to your local community. Do you have the ability to provide shelter, food, water, and other amenities? What else might your local...

Intentional preparation for disaster requires attention to many details: keeping insurance policies updated (personal and congregational), creating communication plans (personal and congregational, encouraging members to stock emergency supplies at home, keeping the congregation’s building and...

Helping our congregants develop their own emergency plans for home, providing resources and carving out time and space to create their plan is actually the first step in congregational emergency preparedness....

YES N/A ACTION ITEM Are keys to the building marked “Do Not Copy?” Are the keys or security codes given out in limited numbers? Do you keep a record of everyone who has a key or security code to the building? Is a record kept of individuals who have access to safe combinations? Are locks,...

YES N/A ACTION ITEM Do we have a fire prevention plan? Has the local fire inspector gone through the building with us? Does the local fire department have an updated copy of church floor plans? Have evacuation plans been reviewed with our staff and volunteers?...

YES N/A ACTION ITEM Do you have a comprehensive written policy that outlines how all aspects of your congregation’s finances are to be handled? Do you conduct background checks on all employees and volunteers who deal with money? Do you have written position descriptions for all employees and...

YES N/A ACTION ITEM Are roofs inspected annually? Are repairs performed promptly to prevent building deterioration? Are stained glass windows covered with a shatterproof material to prevent damage? Are walkways kept clear of loose gravel and debris? Are there any tripping hazards on the sidewalk,...

YES N/A ACTION ITEM Do all emergency exits open in an outward direction? Are all emergency exit doors equipped with panic opening hardware? Are all emergency exits kept unlocked and free of obstructions? Are there two exits, remote from each other, for each level of the building?...

YES N/A ACTION ITEM Are steps on stairs and stairways designed or provided with a surface that is slip resistant? Are there standard stair rails or handrails on all stairways with four or more steps? Are stairway handrails located between 30 and 34 inches above the leading edge of stair treads?...

YES N/A ACTION ITEM Is the roof inspected annually to make sure that the surface, lashings, caulking, and sealants are watertight? Is there a plan for removing heavy snow or ice loads from roofs to prevent collapse?...

YES N/A ACTION ITEM Is there an easy exit from the kitchen to the outside of the building? Is the kitchen exit located away from the potential source of a fire? Is the kitchen area, including appliances, walls, floors, free of grease accumulation? Are explosion-proof lights installed above the...

Building Safety and Security in Congregations Creating security is an ongoing process. Shocking events reported in the media can cause congregations to take immediate action on emergency and security issues, but emergency planning is a long-term process. Regularly updating plans and policies,...