Ministerial Search and Our Bylaws
Dear UUCC Members,
You may be aware that a petition to amend the UUCC Bylaws is being circulated by some of our fellow members. The petition seeks to remove a requirement from Article 8 titled Professional Ministry, which contains clauses related to the minister(s). Specifically, the petitioners seek to remove the full text of Article 8, Section 1, which reads:
“Qualification: Ministers of the UUCC shall be in fellowship with the UUA.”
A recent communication stated that the Board of Trustees (BOT) supports the petition. We want to be clear that we support the petition process. Until now, the BOT, Rev. Lisa, and our professional staff have refrained from commenting publicly on the content of the petition because it has not officially been brought to us for action. However, we have become aware that the petition is generating questions and conversation, and it is our responsibility to ensure open and transparent communications with the congregation. We hope this letter will answer some of your questions.
We support the petition process because according to our bylaws, “The Membership is the ultimate authority of the UUCC” and the bylaws therefore outline a process by which a petition may be heard and voted upon by the congregation. The process essentially states that if a petition is signed by 10% of members and presented to the BOT, the BOT has 30 days to conduct a congregational meeting during which the proposal will be voted upon. We respect this process and the petitioners’ rights in following it.
As we understand it, a primary reason for the petition is to open the pool of ministerial candidates out of concern that there is a shortage of UUA-fellowshipped ministers, with a desire to provide as many options as possible to our Settled Minister Search Team (SMST). We agree that it is in everyone’s best interest to ensure that the SMST has what it needs to lead UUCC through a successful search, but in this case, the SMST itself is confident that there are many well-qualified candidates in fellowship with the UUA who would find us an attractive opportunity.
In addition, we are concerned about two significant potential downsides of a vote to seek candidates outside of UUA fellowship. First, such a vote may in fact lead candidates who are UUA-fellowshipped to decline to consider us at all – an outcome that would be the direct opposite of the petition’s stated purpose. Second, should we select a minister who is not in fellowship, that minister will not be required to follow the UUA’s expectations regarding credentialing and accountability.
We have prepared an FAQ sheet with additional information here about these two concerns, as well as responses to questions that we have already received from our fellow members. In addition, we encourage you to reach out to any member of the Board for further conversation. You can find us after each Sunday service in September during coffee hour in Freeman Hall, or click here to email us.
Regardless of our personal feelings about this petition, we care deeply for each other and know that it is our diversity that enriches us all. As a congregation bound by covenant rather than by creed, we share with you a commitment to sustaining the health and vitality of this community.
In faith,
Ben Baxter
Kathleen Carpenter
Michael Amy Rodriguez Cira (co-chair)
Bob Gorman
Shannon Maples
Kurt Merkle (co-chair)
Craig Miller
Gwynne Movius
Laurie Reed
UUCC’s Board of Trustees