Safety policies help to prevent interpersonal harm as well as safeguards for your assets such as money and building.

While the requirements for membership are in your bylaws, you also need policies ithat define participation, financial support, etc.

The UUA doesn’t dictate any particular governance model, but congregations have historically explored new models in "waves."

Members of your Southern Region worked with Team LeaderLab & UU Institute to bring the new Leading Large Board Retreat to our large congregations this summer....

This training shares the history of covenant, theological and ethical concerns, how to think about accountability and responsibility, and some tools for transformation in your congregation.

When your congregation is developing or revisiting "guiding documents" for leaders that are endorsed by the congregation as a whole (e.g. mission, vision, covenant, bylaws, strategic plan), you will want to have an effective and inclusive process that makes space for creative ideas to emerge.

This “next level” training for boards goes into its roles as fiduciary agents, spiritual leaders, strategic thinkers, and change agents.

It’s that time of the year again, when new leadership joins congregational boards. Summer is a time of transformation for some congregational leaders. I often receive questions around this time on how to hold a board retreat. Last year, Pat Infante and I held a webinar on holding a board retreat.

Boards may find that delegating part of their fiduciary work to committees (e.g. safety, finance, personnel) and/or task forces helps to free them up for more strategic work.

Policies and procedures are a way of telling future boards “this is our best thinking and guidance on this subject.” 

Bylaws guide the congregation’s board in governing by articulating board structure and key fiduciary committees and processes for key decision-making.

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

When we lean into creative conflict, doing our best to create courageous space, we must understand that it can’t be accomplished without setting boundaries. I would never suggest that anyone should put up with any kind of abuse. In loving relationships people should know one another’s needs,...

Rev. Erica Baron invites us to think about the words as the map to the covenant, and the covenant is the landscape. The covenant is always there and is beyond words.

“Have you been to the bathroom yet?” It’s not the typical pre-workshop conversation my colleagues and I share as we set up projectors, easels, and workbooks for participants. My answer was no, so my colleague proceeded to describe what she found there. There was a beautiful painting in an...

Each Sunday I step into the pulpit and call to worship the congregation sitting in the sanctuary of our 1842 New England Meetinghouse. The sanctuary is simple and elegant. Tall windows line each side, reaching up two stories to the high ceiling, with four chandeliers. The clear panes bring...

Reflections on the transformational presidency of Susan Frederick-Gray.

Being in community can be challenging. But being in a faith community can give us the opportunity to explore our edges and test our assumptions.

Toward more inclusive and engaged decision-making with Sociocracy. This 12/3/2022 webinar recording offers an overview of Sociocracy and some real-life examples of it being used in UU congregations. This webinar was co-sponsored by Sociocracy for All. Some Theological Grounding for Sociocracy...

Ideally, policies guiding the minister, staff, and ministry teams come out of mutual conversations to create clarity around roles, responsibilities, and accountability. Ministry policies should feel collaborative and serve to guide ongoing programs and future decisions.