UUCE BYLAWS

Amendments Board of Trustees Elections Endowment Fund Financial Management Government Membership Meetings Minister Nominations Officers Parliamentary_Authority Purposes Standing Committees Welcoming Congregation

RE Policies Web Policies General Policies Personnel Policies Miscellaneous Policies Safe Congregation Policies

For printer-friendly, PDF version of current Bylaws (If you need it, download      free Acrobat Reader) A Note about Proxy and Absentee Voting

Name

010.1 The name of this church shall be the Unitarian-Universalist Church in Eugene.

Purposes

020.1 The purposes of this church shall be the development and enrichment of human lives through the study, practice and promotion of liberal religion. We covenant to affirm and promote:

The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth;
A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process;
The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence
of which we are a part.

Welcoming Congregation

Government

030.1 This church shall be governed by its membership. It shall be a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association and of the Pacific Northwest District of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
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[Revised 1/11/2009]

040.1 Member: A person who is either entering ninth grade or is 15 years of age or older, who has satisfied the aims of the Newcomers Orientation Program as set forth in the UUCE Membership Policies, and who has signed the Membership Book. Through such signing the member enters into a covenant with the members of the church to use the Unitarian Universalist Association's Principles and Purposes as guiding values in his or her life.

040.2 Voting Member: Voting Members are the caretakers of the church: A voting member is a member who has made an identifiable financial contribution of record of any size to the church in the previous 15 months.

040.3 Honorary Lifetime Member: A person who has been actively participating member of UUCE or of another Unitarian Universalist congregation for an extended period of time and who is, because of age or infirmity, no longer able to actively participate in UUCE, may be granted the status of Honorary Lifetime Member. Names will be submitted by the Membership Committee to the Board of Trustees for approval.

040.4  Resignations: Members may withdraw from membership by submitting a written or oral resignation.

040.5  Removals of Names from the Membership Rolls: A member may be denied membership or expelled from membership for cause by action of the Board of Trustees. The Safe Congregation Policy may provide guidelines for causes for removal.  Names of Members shall also be removed if the member resigns, is deceased, or has moved and connot reasonably be contacted for an extended time.

040.6 Membership Roll: The official roll of voting members shall be maintained by the Membership Committee, and shall be updated from time to time throughout the year for internal uses, such as at congregational meetings to establish the number needed for a quorum and to determine who is eligible to vote. This process shall be done under direction of an officer of the Board. It

The official roll pf voting members shall be updated annually to report the number of voting members in our Congregation to the UUA by its February 1 deadline. This number shall be submitted to the Board of Trustees for approval at the January Board meeting. A preliminary figure shall be submitted to the Board of Trustees prior to that Board meeting.
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Officers

050.1 The officers shall be a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

050.2 The President shall preside at meetings of the Board of Trustees and meetings of the Congregation. She/He shall be an ex officio member without vote of all committees except the Nominating Committee and the Committee on Ministry.

050.3 The Vice President shall assist the President and shall preside at meetings of the Board of Trustees and of the Congregation in the absence of the President.

050.4 The Secretary shall handle all official correspondence of the Board of Trustees, file all records and communication, and record all proceedings of meetings of the Board and membership. The Secretary also shall be the custodian of the Bylaws, Board Policies and other church procedure documents.

050.5 The Treasurer shall receive and safely keep all money and other property of the church entrusted to his/her care, and shall disburse the same under the direction and to the satisfaction of the Board of Trustees. The treasurer shall be bonded at the expense of the church.
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Board of Trustees

Table of Contents Amendments Board of Trustees Elections Endowment Fund Financial Management Government Membership Meetings Minister Nominations Officers Parliamentary_Authority Purposes Standing Committees Welcoming Congregation Other Pages General Policies Personnel Policies Miscellaneous Policies Safe Congregation Policies

060.2 The Board of Trustees shall, between meetings of the membership, administer the business affairs of the church. The Board of Trustees shall be responsible for the overall direction of the church, and shall establish policies and programs to accomplish the needs and objectives of the church.

060.3 The Board of Trustees shall meet monthly at such regular time and place as it shall determine. Special meetings of the Board may be called by the President or by any three Board members. A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

060.4 The Board may temporarily fill any elective office that becomes vacant. A successor shall be elected at the next Annual Meeting to fill the unexpired term. See also bylaw 080.5.
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Congregational Meetings

070.1 The Annual Congregational Meeting shall be held in April, at a date and time to be determined by the Board of Trustees. The agenda of this meeting will include the election of the Board of Trustees and the Nominating Committee.

070.2  Following the annual canvass and before the start of each fiscal year, a Congregational Budget Meeting shall be held at a time to be determined by the Board of Trustees for the purpose of adopting a budget for the next fiscal year.

070.3  Special Congregational Meetings of the membership may be called by a majority of the Board or by written petition of at least 10 members of the church. At Special Congregational Meetings, the business acted upon shall be restricted to items on the previously published agenda.

070.4 For all Congregational Meetings, fourteen days' written notice, stating the business to be transacted, shall be given to all members. Normally such notice is given via the church newsletter. An agenda shall be prepared and shall be circulated at the meeting.

070.5  Twenty percent of the voting membership shall constitute a quorum except for calling or dismissing a minister or buying or selling property. In those cases a quorum shall consist of forty percent of the voting membership.

070.6  Those who are not members shall be welcome at all meetings, and shall be given the courtesy of the floor, but they may not vote or make motions.

A Note about why we don't use Proxy or Absentee Voting

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080.1  The membership shall elect a President and Treasurer for two year terms in even numbered years at the Annual Meeting, and the membership shall elect a Vice President and Secretary for two year terms in odd numbered years at the Annual Meeting. At each Annual Meeting, three trustees shall be elected for two year terms, and five Nominating Committee members shall be elected for one year terms. Terms of office shall commence on June 1 of the year in which elected and expire on May 31, except that the Treasurer’s term shall commence on July 1 and expire on June 30.

080.2  The Nominating Committee shall report the names of the nominees to the Board at its March meeting and shall publish the names in the newsletter at least 14 days in advance of the Annual Meeting. Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the Annual Meeting provided the nominee has given prior consent. No person may serve in the same position on the Board of Trustees for more than two consecutive terms. No person may serve in any combination of positions on the Board of Trustees for more than six consecutive years.

080.3  The Nominating Committee shall also offer a slate of five people to serve as the Nominating Committee for the following church year. To insure continuity, the slate shall normally include two members of the current Nominating Committee.

080.4  The Nominating Committee shall consult the Minister and the President of the Board as to appropriate candidates for both the Board of Trustees and the Nominating Committee. It shall be sure that all candidates are given and understand an outline of expected duties, as specified in Policies.

080.5  The Nominating Committee will be on call to suggest replacements to the Board of Trustees should a vacancy occur between annual meetings.

080.6  After the election of the Board of Trustees at the Annual Congregational Meeting,, nominations from the floor and election of the Nominating Committee shall be held. No member of the Nominating Committee shall serve concurrently on the Board of Trustees. No member of the Nominating Committee shall serve more than three consecutive years.
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090.1 The fiscal year of this church shall be July 1 to June 30.

090.2 There shall be at least one annual canvass to raise funds for the next fiscal year.

090.3 A budget allocating funds for each fiscal year shall be enacted by the Congregation. The funds governed by the annual budget comprise the General Fund. The Board of Trustees is authorized to spend money from the General Fund balance on hand to meet the purposes of the budget. The Board may adjust funds within the budget to meet the changed conditions.

090.4 The Reserve Fund consists of surplus funds allocated for the purpose of providing a margin of safety in meeting ordinary and emergency needs.

090.5 The Capital Fund is made up of gifts, pledges, and other moneys set aside to acquire or construct buildings or for major building repairs not covered by the General Fund. Liquidation of capital funds or other property requires an arrangement that keeps good faith with the groups whose designated gifts the property represents.

090.6 An affirmative vote of the Congregation is required for the purchase or sale of real estate or the borrowing of money.

090.7 Only the Board or the Congregation may accept funds offered the church with restrictions as to their use.

090.8 Borrowing or drawing on other church funds or the cash or bank accounts which represent them to finance a General Fund deficit is prohibited except as explicitly permitted in these Bylaws.
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Endowment Fund

095.1 An Endowment Fund shall be established and shall be, except as provided herein, subject to the control of the Endowment Fund Trustees, and all such funds shall be held in accounts separate from all other accounts of the church.

095.2 Monies received for the Endowment Fund shall be invested at the discretion of the fund's trustees. Real or personal property shall be received into the fund upon approval of the trustees and may be disposed of by the trustees in order to convert such property(ies) into cash.

095.3 Unless otherwise specified by the donor(s), money and/or property donated to the fund shall become part of the general account of the fund. Gifts received by the fund for special purposes shall be held in (a) special account(s) for the specified purpose(s).

095.4 Income resulting from the general endowment account shall be released by the fund's trustees to the church's general operating account(s) at the request of the church's Board. However, the fund's trustees may retain a sufficient amount of such income to offset inflation.

095.5 Income resulting from any special account(s) shall be released to the church's Board of Trustees only to meet, in whole or in part, expenses related to the named special purpose(s) of each special account, provided a majority of each of the church Board of Trustees and the trustees of the fund agree that the expenditure is related to the named purpose.

095.6 The principal of any endowment account can be transferred to the general operating funds or other church account only with the prior approval of the Congregation.

095.7 There shall be three Endowment Fund Trustees appointed by the Board of Trustees for terms of three years.

095.8 The trustees shall make an annual report and accounting of all funds under their control to the Congregation at the Annual Meeting.
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Standing and Other Committees

Table of Contents Amendments Board of Trustees Elections Endowment Fund Financial Management Government Membership Meetings Minister Nominations Officers Parliamentary_Authority Purposes Standing Committees Welcoming Congregation Other Pages General Policies Personnel Policies Miscellaneous Policies Safe Congregation Policies

100.1 There shall be standing committees of the church, including the Committee on Ministry, the Nominating Committee, and the Membership Committee.

100.2 The Committee on Ministry shall consist of five persons selected by the Board President in consultation with the Minister, the Board of Trustees, and the Committee on Ministry. Members of this Committee may not be members of the Board of Trustees.

100.3 The Nominating Committee is elected by the Congregation.

100.4 Any other standing committees shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees.

100.5 The Board may establish other committees for particular purposes and specific lengths of time as it deems necessary.
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Minister

110.3 The quorum for a meeting to select or dismiss a minister is specified in article 070.5.

110.4 In keeping with the liberal tradition, the Minister shall be free at all times to express his/her opinion on any subject, both from and away from the pulpit.

110.5 Ministers are ex officio non-voting members of the Board of Trustees. Ministers may be ex officio non-voting members of any committee, except they may not be members of the Nominating Committee or any Ministerial Search Committees.

110.6 Any minister chosen to serve this Congregation shall be in fellowship with the Unitarian Universalist Association.
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Parliamentary Authority

Dissolution

130.1 On dissolution of the church, all properties shall vest in the Pacific Northwest District of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Amendments

140.1 These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the votes cast at any Annual or special meeting, provided that notice of the meeting and of the proposed amendments shall be given to the membership 14 days prior to each meeting.

140.2  Proposed amendments to amendments must be submitted in writing at least 7 days prior to the congregational meeting that addresses such proposed amendments.
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A NOTE ABOUT PROXY and ABSENTIA VOTING In response to several recent inquiries, we thought it important to remind the Congregation why it is we don't have proxy or absentia voting. ~ Proxy voting would be permissible only if it were in our By-Laws, and it isn't. ~ It might discourage people from attending the Congregational mtgs. The voting members are the "caretakers" of the Church, so we need and want our voting members to be present and to participate in the discussion and the voting. ~ The opportunity for full Congregational discourse might be diminished with fewer attendees. ~ It might jeopardize our having quorum for a vote which as a reminder, is twenty percent of our voting membership. Without a quorum a vote can not be taken which undermines our Congregational polity at the very least, and more importantly, prevents our voting on, and moving forward with significant Church matters. ~ It would be an administrative challenge at the very least. For instance, what would the rules be for the "proxy" and how many "proxies" could any one "proxy" have? Furthermore, there would be challenges in checking the "proxies" against the voting membership roles against the in-person votes. ~ A bylaws task force had a long discussion about voting by proxy, voting in advance, in absentia. etc. a few years ago. They consulted other UU churches and considered all the pros and cons.  The conclusion was that the cons outweighed the pros. Your Board of Trustees, May 2007

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Unitarian Universalist Church in Eugene, Oregon A home for shared values and individual theologies A Welcoming Congregation • Rev. Stephen A. Landale, Minister • • Candee Cole, Director of Religious Education • • Sarah Hendrickson, President of the Board • • Steve Hutchison, Office Administrator • • 477 E. 40th Ave • Eugene, Oregon 97405 • 541-686-2775 • www.uueugene.org • webmaster • All contents copyright 1997-2009