Covenant of Right Relations: Opportunity for Input

As our congregation – ministers, staff, lay leaders, members and friends – works together to fulfill our mission and achieve our visionary goals, it is essential that we interact in ways that exemplify our spiritual values and honor our Unitarian Universalist principles. The UUA recommends developing a “Covenant of Right Relations” as an important step in clarifying expectations and creating a safe, respectful, and trusting environment for congregations and staff. Covenant is Latin for “come together” and means a “solemn agreement” or “promise from the heart” regarding a course of action between parties.

The Board of Trustees developed a draft Covenant that is intended to apply to relationships within our congregation – ministers, staff, lay leaders, members and friends. It is also designed to be a framework for our relationships with our partners and others as we work outside our walls in the larger community.

We believe that, most of the time, we act in ways outlined in the Covenant. Yet we recognize that differences or misunderstandings can arise as we tackle difficult issues, and conflict may occur between various individuals, groups, and lay and staff leaders. It is especially at these times that we may look to the Covenant to inspire us to be our best selves.

We present this document to you for your information and review. We hope that you agree it reflects our beliefs and values about right relationships congruent with our mission, principles and visionary goals. If you have comments and/or suggestions please address them to the Board of Trustees at boardchair@firstuniv.org by April 15. Your suggestions will be considered as we prepare the final version of the Covenant, which will be voted on at the Annual Meeting on May 31.