In Unitarian Universalist communities, congregational covenants are declarations of interdependence. Our CVUU Board members wrote the following covenant together for the 2022-2023 church year:

As Unitarian Universalists, we will be guided by UU principles.

As Members of the Board, we agree to actively participate in its work and by extension, the life of the congregation.  This means we are willing to commit our time, money, and effort.

We will appreciate one another and willingly give and receive grace.

We will remember to pay attention to context and reference and focus on what is important.

As we think about actions to take for the future of this congregation, we will focus on our mission and vision while we build upon the lessons learned and the gifts received from the past.

We will be on time for regularly scheduled meetings.  If we will be late or unable to attend a meeting, we will let the other members of the board know. During meetings, we will adhere to board business and promote efficiency, respecting boundaries such as time.

In our communications with each other and with congregants, whether in person or electronically, we will do so with courage, honesty, and candor; this does not excuse us from demonstrating empathy and mutual respect. This also means that we will listen to one another. In our communications with congregants, we will do so with one voice.

In conversations about our ideas and what is important to us, we must remember to be open-minded, and we should not be afraid to think out loud, at the same time understanding that we should remember to “lean out” of the conversation as much as, if not more than, we “lean in.”

We will help each other and share the load for the important work that we do, with the understanding that there will be realistic and clear expectations for all work assignments.  We will honor the personal boundaries that each of us has in place for ourselves and will respect the need to say “no” when life requires it.

We will remember to have patience with each other and with the process, but we will remember to take the time to review any of the processes we have in place.

 In the course of our working together, if any part of this covenant is broken, we will ask for a pause in the process to work through the issue.

CVUU elects 11 members in good standing (pledging) to serve in the following roles: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Financial Secretary, and six Directors. The board, church staff, and bylaw-required committees derive their authority from the bylaws. In effect, we are a republic in which our elected officials and employees work on the congregation’s behalf as directed by our bylaws.