Our Governance

The following excerpts are included in the By-Laws of First Unitarian Church:

Purpose

This church is a fellowship of seekers after the truth, bound by no dogma, restricted by no creed. The purpose of this fellowship is to bring those who believe in free inquiry into matters of religion into a closer acquaintance and cooperation. Relying upon reason as our guide, and upon freedom as our method, we seek to grow in understanding of ourselves and of our world, and to serve humanity.

Membership

  1. Any person may become a member of this church who is in sympathy with its purpose and program, and who has signed the membership book.
  2. Only voting members may vote at a church meeting. Voting members are those who have attained the age of fourteen (14) years, who have signed the membership book thirty (30) days prior to any meeting in which a vote of church members is taken, and who have made a contribution of record within the last twelve (12) months.
  3. The Board of Trustees shall determine those members who qualify for voting status each February and at such other time as the Board may decide. A notice must be sent to the last known address of each voting member that the member’s status will be changed to non-voting unless the member meets the requirements for voting status within thirty (30) days.
  4. Any member may withdraw membership by written request to the Secretary.

Meetings

There shall be at least one (1) regular church congregation meeting during each fiscal year. The agenda shall include election of officers and trustees, members of the Nominating Committee and members of the Endowment Committee as specified by the By-Laws; budget review and approval; committee reports; and such other business as may be brought before the meeting by a member. The specific date, time and place of such meeting shall be fixed by the Board of Trustees.

Officers and Trustees

There shall be a Board of Trustees consisting of the President, President-elect, Secretary, and Treasurer of the Church and four (4) trustees, elected to serve a term of two (2) years, two (2) elected each year to provide a rotation of two (2) on and two (2) off at a time and not to serve more than two (2) consecutive terms of four (4) years at a time. Each officer and trustee shall be a voting member of the church.