Installing a new kitchen range or remodeling your congregation’s kitchen space? Be aware that you may be required to add a range hood with fire suppression features. That’s what the Unitarian Universalist Church in Meriden, CT, found when it redid its converted farmhouse. Such hoods have long...

Sue Parilla, Jefferson Unitarian Church’s (JUC; Golden, CO) volunteer coordinator, helps people find places to connect within the church. “I ask them, ‘What’s missing in your life? What would you like to do here? You came here for a reason. What is it?’” She keeps profiles on each new...

Tandi Rogers Koerger, program specialist for the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA's) Pacific Northwest District, developed a list of "Thirteen Steps to Start Your Church Year Strong." Here are a few of them....

All of us are welcoming. Right? Visitors come on Sunday morning, and as soon as they step in the door they feel the love, not only from the official greeters, but from everyone else....

Like many churches, the buildings of Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church in Houston were sorely underutilized during the week. So when the church built a new, 23,000 sq. ft....

Q. Our small Unitarian Universalist (UU) church is exploring the possibility of renting out space in our RE wing to a daycare or preschool to increase our yearly income. Have other UU churches done this, how did they begin, and what has their experience been? A. John Levine of the First Unitarian...

Sometimes a new building is just what a congregation needs. Sometimes, if you build it, people will come and fill it. There is nothing worse than having to turn away people because you don't have room for them. And sometimes there are alternatives to a new building. Before you embark on an...

Q. We had an awkward situation recently when our church sold a piece of furniture that a member had donated. The member felt we should have kept it. We felt that once it was donated it was the congregation’s to do with as it wished. Do other congregations have policies covering donated items? A.

After a member of East Shore Unitarian Church in Bellevue, WA, had a heart attack at a church meeting and subsequently died, the congregation bought two automatic external defibrillators. One is kept outside the sanctuary, the other in the education building....

Last fall was not the first time the basement of the First Unitarian Universalist (UU) Society of Marietta, OH (94 members), had flooded. Situated just blocks from the Ohio and the Muskingum rivers, flooding goes with the territory....

Should congregations borrow money from their own members for capital improvement projects? It’s an option that some congregations have used, but it’s not without pitfalls. “There are all sorts of reasons why it’s not a good idea,” said Wayne Clark, the Unitarian Universalist...

The most common cause of fires in church buildings is electrical, says Church Mutual, the insurance company that insures a majority of Unitarian Universalist congregations. Electrical fires can be caused by faulty wiring, electrical arcs, and overloaded circuits....

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....

There are people for whom going to church is akin to visiting a hazardous chemical site. The experience can induce severe allergic reactions. These people suffer from what is sometimes called multiple environmental sensitivities. For these folks someone’s perfume, the chemicals used to clean the...

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?...

When members of All Souls Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church in Kansas City, MO (400 members), began having trouble finding a place to sit on Sunday morning they knew it was time to face the future. There are two solutions to crowded Sundays—expanding the building or adding a service. For All...

When a wedding guest at a Unitarian Universalist church in the Southwest had too much to drink and fell down the basement stairs, he sued the church for many thousands of dollars. The church's insurance company settled the case for $2,000. Said the church administrator, "Had we been actually...

A church in New Hampshire learned a hard lesson last year when an electrical fire heavily damaged its 120-year-old building. The Nottingham Community Universalist Church's insurance coverage fell far short of costs of restoring the building. The renovations are expected to cost around $275,000.

When congregations set out to renovate their buildings, they're thinking primarily about the work to be done, how to pay for it, and how much better the building will be. They're generally not thinking about catastrophes that can happen while the work is taking place....

When a congregation adds to its space by building or remodeling, it has cause for celebration. But there are right and wrong ways to perform these ceremonies. Rev. John A. Buehrens, Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) President, has participated in more than one hundred building dedication...