Author: Laurie Gauer
Dear LFUU Members and Friends,
Sometimes I feel that being a UU offers too many possibilities. Yes, our April theme is Embracing Possibilities, but having seemingly infinite possibilities can stress me out!
For example, over the last couple of years, the Board has been identifying what decisions we believe rise to the level of calling a congregational vote. Last fall I was tasked with coming up with a governance statement defining those for the Bylaws. So, I started digging into governance on the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) website on how to do that. What I found were many opinions on what goes into Bylaws and what goes into policies. No directives, because each congregation gets to decide. It would’ve been easier to have been told what to do.
Then I read a page that suggested choosing one of several governance styles, which were explained. As I read through them, Policy Governance seemed to be best for our congregation. Then I read “Policies in a Tiny Church,” which said, “there’s a temptation to start with a policy from another UU church, but often the policies are too big, too complicated and not good for us in congregations of fewer than 30 members.” (We have 35 members.) She recommended keeping it small and simple.
As a “Tiny Church,” when deciding what and how we do things, we need to consider our resources and needs. I like this recent suggestion from a leadership newsletter I subscribe to on what questions to ask ourselves:
- "What Should we do?" — Implies there is one right way. It narrows thinking and limits contribution from others.
- “What Might we do?” — Opens the Door to Possibility. It removes the pressure to be right and invites brainstorming.
- “What Could we do?” — Action Within Current Resources. It directs thinking toward what’s feasible with the resources at hand without shutting down creativity.
I learned long ago, to avoid asking question 1, but reflecting on my two terms as Board Chair, I realize I've tended to ask question 2 but forget to ask 3. Thankfully, others have!
The Board will be presenting our new Governance Policy and asking members to vote on a small change in our Bylaws pointing to it, at our Annual Meeting on May 3rd. We’ll also be presenting our new Investment Statement Policy and revised Facilities Usage Policy, which we've also worked on this past year. We’ll be sending the meeting agenda and those documents to you the week before the meeting. Please read them before the meeting. We aren't allowing time to read them there so we have plenty of time to address your questions and concerns while still keeping the meeting time reasonable.
What do you need to decide right now? What Might you do? What Could you do?
In Fellowship,
Laurie