Church Governance

Introduction

This page contains information and documents related to the governance and administration of the church. The links on this page provide a wealth of information, including the church's bylaws, governance policies, activities of the Board of Trustees, and reports from past church annual meetings.

Governance Overview

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashua is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) of congregations. Each church within the UUA is self-governing, with the congregation being the source of authority for the governance and operation of the church. Unitarian Universalists refer to this as congregational polity.

As an example of congregational polity, each Unitarian Universalist congregation "calls" its own minister, using a process that culminates in a congregational vote. This is in contrast with some denominations, where the minister is assigned to serve a church by a central denominational authority.

Our congregation elects 13 members to serve on a governing board, called the Executive Board, which has the broad responsibility for achieving the church's purpose. The Executive Board has been moving to a policy-based governance model, where the board focuses on developing policies and long-range goals and monitoring their implementation. Under this model, the board delegates the implementation and management of the church's day-to-day operations to an Executive Team. The Executive Team facilitates the efforts of staff, the church's committees, and individual volunteers to meet the strategic goals established by the board.