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Governance and
Leadership
"Congregational polity" is the Unitarian
Universalist technical term for the way in which churches, fellowships
and societies of this denomination
are governed. In plain English, we govern ourselves. We select our own ministers,
raise and spend our own money for salaries, building upkeep, supplies, and community
outreach, as established in budgets we set for ourselves. We exist without any
need for such hierarchical figures or structures as bishops, archbishops, presbyteries,
dioceses, stakes or synods. Each year, we create
an "Annual Report"; the 2009
report is available
here.
Which is not to say that we have no structure at all. The Unitarian Universalist
Society of Iowa City is a member of the national
Unitarian
Universalist
Association (UUA), which serves our own and other congregations in a variety
of ways, including providing consultants for fund-raising, for instance; and
helping churches "match up" with ministers who meet and understand
our interests and needs.
We have just begun the
process of searching for a
new, settled minister.
Learn more about his
process
here.
A wonderful UUA magazine,
The World, brings worldwide
thought and concerns into UU homes every other month. And we are a member of
the
UUA
Prairie Star District, an organization of eight
Midwestern
states whose members and delegates meet annually to share program ideas.
The UUSIC congregation holds annual meetings twice a
year. At one of these meetings, it elects its own leadership, in the form of a
board of directors
(president, vice president, past president,
secretary, and treasurer). Five trustees, also elected
to the board, have responsibilities for the society's finance, program, buildings
and grounds, and administration. This body is guided by the
UUSIC Bylaws
(PDF)
(DOC). |
Unitarian
Universalist
Society of
Iowa City