Church Governance

First Unitarian Church Governance

First Unitarian is a self-governing, collective, democratic congregation of our members which are governed by Congregation adopted by-laws. The Congregation gathers for an annual meeting each year, typically the last Sunday in January.

The elected Board of Directors represents the Congregation and conducts the business of the Congregation, subject to the authority granted under our Bylaws. The Board governs through Board policies and acts on behalf of the Congregation’s mission. The Senior Minister serves as our spiritual, programmatic, and administrative leader. Our organizational structure is illustrated here.

The main issues of governance are reserved for the Congregation including approving Church Bylaws, electing the Board, adopting the Church budget, and the call of the Senior Minister. The Congregation also elects members to serve on the:

Leadership Succession Committee
Endowment Committee
Board of Directors (see below)

Shared Governance

The Board establishes goals, adopts policies, and delegates authority to the Senior Minister for the operations and programs of the Church. The Senior Minister serves as head of staff. The management of the Church operations is shared between staff through the Senior Minister and the Board, with areas of responsibility changing from time to time by mutual agreement. At the start of the fiscal year, the Board and the Senior Minister develop goals and priorities for the ministry of the Church.

Specialized tasks such as finance, membership, personnel, and stewardship are delegated by the Board to committees of volunteers. Members participate in and lead these programs, teams, and committees, fulfilling the charge provided by the Board.

Our shared governance structure is illustrated here.

Board of Directors

A policymaking Board of Directors through planning, ensuring responsible stewardship of resources, making choices about goals and strategies, adopting policies, and monitoring performance, governs First Unitarian. The Board documents its work by producing minutes, policies, and strategic planning documents. Board policies are included in the Congregation and Board Policy Manual.

Our current Board members are:

Dámaris Donado, President (email her)
Joyce Etheridge, Treasurer
Aroop Mangalik
EmmaLia Mariner
Chris Mayo
Sally New
Bill Slakey
Maya Stephenson
Carla Williams
The Rev. Angela Herrera, ex officio

The Board holds its business meetings on the third Saturday of each month at 9:30 am in the Social Hall. Members and friends are welcome to attend.

Additional Links:

Senior Minister

The Senior Minister, as head of staff, leads and directs the spiritual, programmatic, and administrative work of the Church. The Senior Minister has the Board-delegated authority and responsibility to make all operational decisions, adopt administrative policies, speak on behalf of the Church, and allocate Congregational resources except as specifically limited by the Bylaws or these policies. Major areas of responsibilities include the care for members, friends and guests and the management of staff, facilities, and resources.

Annual Meetings and Reports

The Annual Congregational Meeting brings members together at the end of the Church year, usually the third Sunday in January, to vote on the budget for the upcoming fiscal year and elect new representatives. The Board President, Senior Minister, and Treasurer report the accomplishments of the last year and conduct the business specified in the meeting notice. An Annual Report is prepared each year and provided to the membership online. Papers copies are also available by calling the office at 884-1801.

The Leadership Succession Committee (LSC) presents nominees for election to the Congregation for positions on the Board, Endowment, and the LSC.

Programs and Councils

Program Teams and Councils are responsible for the Church’s ministry and programs. They are defined as “those activities, which enrich the lives of the Church’s constituents and its community”. They include worship, religious education, social justice, community caring and community activities. Church Staff is responsible for supporting the effectiveness of Program Teams and Councils. Councils form when multiple teams in crucial areas of the Church’s ministry (such as RE and Social Justice) need a structure to come together to share information, leadership, and administrative tasks. Volunteer Church members run the programs of the Church with management support from the staff. The staff also runs some programs directly.

Congregation and Board Policy Manual

The Policy Manual is divided into eight categories providing the framework for its organization. Individual policies are sections within a category. These categories are: Governance, Finance, Affiliations, Programs, Staff, Safety, Facilities, and Communications.

Each policy has an “owner” which is the entity or group that has the authority to make changes and create new policies. Policies are hierarchal in nature, as follows:

Congregation

This entity may make or change any Church policy. By-laws must be changed in accord with the by-laws themselves.

Board

The Board is subject to the policies made by the Congregation. The Board may change policies related to staff, teams, and committees, except Standing Committees. These policies establish lines of authority as well as roles and responsibilities for the Board, ministers, staff, and lay leaders. The Board is subject to the Congregational policies.

Standing Committees

These groups include Board, Endowment, and Leadership Succession. Standing Committees are governed by the Church by-laws.

Board Committees and Teams

These entities may create and change policies that help them carry out their work.

Staff

This group may change and create policies within their established areas of authority.

The Policy Manual is divided into seven chapters providing the framework for its organization. Individual policies are sections within a category, and have been approved by the board.

1.0 Governance policies establish roles and responsibilities for the Board, ministers, staff, and lay leaders. They also define the lines of authority among these groups.
2.0 Finance policies govern how we manage our financial resources.
3.0 Affiliation and Participation policies establish membership as well as behavioral expectations of all persons participating in our activities or using our property.
4.0 Programs policies establish frameworks for committees, councils, teams/ task forces, and programs.
5.0 Employees policies set expectations for the management of paid staff.
6.0 Safety policies guide us in maintain a physically and emotionally safe campus.
7.0 Facilities policies guide us in managing our physical property.

As the Board approves policies in each category, they will be included in the Policy Manual and posted on the Church website.

Task Force Members: Geri Knoebel (chair), Pat Diem, Christine Robinson, and Gwen Sawyer.