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....

Ever wonder why friends and members leave your church? The Membership Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley (UUCB) in Kensington, CA (526 members), did and went to the trouble of conducting exit interviews. It’s a process that can tell you a lot about whether people feel...

Q. Our church administrator has trouble getting work done because of frequent interruptions from people who ask questions they should know the answers to. What can we do? A. The Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, IN, created a three-page document that answers many of the questions that...

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...

The search committee has done its job. The new minister arrives next month. You're excited, but also a little nervous. You want this new relationship to go well. But how to make that happen? The most important part of a ministerial start-up is a facilitated retreat, says Lynn Thomas, district...

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...

Should members of a congregation be hired for staff positions? Members bring enthusiasm and insights to a job that an outsider might not have. But if the relationship goes sour, the situation can be difficult. InterConnections put this question to the Unitarian Universalist Association's (UUA's)...

Q. We lose a lot of members within several years of joining. Should we be talking to these people to find out why they left? Is there an established way to do this? A. Unfortunately, many congregations lose a significant number of members within three years, says Rev. William Zelazny, District...

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...

The archives of First Universalist Church, Denver (609 members), used to be one of its best-kept secrets. Tucked away in boxes in a basement room, few knew the historical documents were there. ...

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 the congregation of the First Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church of Duluth, MN (190 members), made the decision this past winter to begin raising money for a new church building, it seemed like the time might also be right to consider changing the name that would go up on the new building.