Unitarian Church of Lincoln Proposed Governance Model Change

Unitarian Church of Lincoln Proposed Governance Model Change The Board of Trustees is asking the congregation to approve a new governance model in principle to implement and further develop over the next year. If approved, this new model will be put into practice immediately after the Spring Congregation Meeting. Over the course of the 2017-2018 church year, our congregation will then implement this model and make changes/adjustments as needed to ensure this new governance model fits our church well. Once we ve tried this model in principle for one year, the Board of Trustees will convene a Bylaws Revision Task Force to review our church bylaws and bring them into alignment with current governance practices in the Unitarian Church of Lincoln. This packet is meant to provide you with detailed background information about the proposed governance model. Please use it as a resource to help inform your questions, suggestions, and ultimately your vote on the model in principle at the Spring Congregational Meeting. Questions can be directed to the members of the Governance Task Force (Rich Little, Kristi Wamstad-Evans, Becky Seth, Kathy Disney, Keith McGuffey, and Megan McGuffey) or to the Board of Trustees. APRIL 2017 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS Rationale for Governance Change 3-4 Models of Governance 3,4 Cottage Meeting Process for Developing Governance Model 4,5 Proposed Organizational Model Chart 6 Descriptions of Governing Bodies in New Model 7-16 Table of Descriptions 7-11 Program Council Chair & Program Council 12,13 Leadership Development/Nominations 14,15 on Ministry 15 Finance Team 16 What s Not Changing 17 Transition Plan Timeline Starting with May 2017 17 Appendix 18- Current Organizational Chart 18 Review and Comparison of Current and Proposed Governance Models 20,21 Revised (Current and Continuing) Financial Model Resources for the Transition 2

Rationale for Governance Change The Unitarian Church of Lincoln (UCoL) has been operating under a pastoral church model which is appropriate for smaller churches, but makes it difficult to empower larger congregations to take on new tasks and to minister to the needs of the congregation. Our current model vests a large responsibility in a three-person management team to coordinate the work of committees. Our leaders think this responsibility should be spread out among more members, as in the program church model. Church Size, Congregational Relationships and Models of Governance Many churches and synagogues, including the UUA, have come to realize that the size of a congregation affects every area of church life and needs to be reflected in models of governance and expectations of membership if a congregation is to thrive. Four sizes of church are widely recognized, based on the average attendance on Sunday including those involved in religious education programming. Family Church: Attendance: 0-50 Most people know each other, and people join to be part of the family Matriarchs and patriarchs (respected longtime church members) dominate church governance even if there is a minister and board Pastoral Church: Attendance: 50-150 It is no longer possible to know everyone in the community, people feel part of the community via their relationship to the minister who is the center of belonging and often of governance The board makes more of the decisions and often functions as a liaison to other groups within the church Stronger committees develop Part-time staff is required 3

Program Church: Attendance: 150-350 or 400 People join and remain because of the quality and growth of the church s programming The minister can no longer minister to everyone, so belonging to meaningful subgroups within the church becomes increasingly important, each of which functions like a family or pastoral-size group Staff positions increase Boards must concentrate on vision, policy and fiduciary responsibilities A Program Council often coordinates the work of committees Corporate Church: Attendance: more than 350 or 400 More than one minister Several professional staff members Boards set policy and are church legislators Program councils are replaced by staff coordination, and committees are reduced Cottage Meeting Process The new governance model was brought to our congregation by Rev. Dr. Gretchen Woods as one of the many best practices she was charged with sharing with us over her two years of interim ministry. It is not Gretchen s Model, but a reproduction of the standard model used in many churches of approximately our membership size (known as the program-sized church), in both the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and beyond. Over the last two years, Gretchen has shared a more generic version of the program-sized church model with as many groups within the congregation as possible. Megan McGuffey assisted in digitizing this model so that our Unitarian Church of Lincoln groups could be inserted and so that we can make adjustments to it over time easily. The Board of Trustees is putting forth this new model for consideration by the congregation. The model was then shared after service on January 22, 2017 by Rev. Dr. Woods, Duncan Case, and others. 4

Rev. Dr. Woods held facilitator training for the cottage meetings January 28th & January 31st. At these trainings, facilitators went over all the key pieces of the governance model and were trained on how to ask questions and record feedback from the congregation on their likes, dislikes, and suggestions for changes to the proposed model. Beginning February 9, 2017, cottage meetings were held to allow members and friends of the church to provide feedback and receive clarification on the proposed governance model. Some of these were done through Open Circle groups (with other members invited) and the rest were hosted at church after service on Sundays. Each facilitator was asked to take notes and turn these into Gretchen Woods and Evelyn Weymouth (head of the Transition Team). The Board of Trustees created a Governance Task Force, consisting of two members of the Board of Trustees, two members of the Management Team, and two members of the Transition Team. Together, this group was charged with reading through all the cottage meeting feedback and doing their best to incorporate the suggestions of the congregation and clarify any points of confusion prior to the town halls and congregation meeting. After reading through all cottage meeting notes, the Governance Task Force identified 3 major themes/issues that require clarification: Roles and responsibilities of key positions lacked definition, especially program council liaisons and program council chair. Participants wanted more information on each. Participants wondered how the program council (PC) and PC Chair work. The relationship between the current and the proposed finance models was misunderstood by a number of participants. 5

6

Descriptions of Governing Bodies in New Model Glossary: ad hoc ex officio member -for a particular purpose or task -a member of a body by virtue of holding another office, who may or may not have voting rights. In all cases where the term is used in this document, an ex officio member does not have voting rights. Governance Body Vetted by Selection Process Term Meeting Frequency Key Responsibilities Members of the Congregation NA Commitment to UCL Membership, as defined in bylaws As long as membership criteria are met Two Annual Meetings: one in Spring and one in Winter - Contribute to social, spiritual and financial well-being of the church, including its Vision, Mission, and Covenant (and covenant of right relations if adopted) - Select BoT members (@ Spring Meeting) - Select of Nominations members (@ Winter Meeting) - Select of Program Council Chair (@ Spring Meeting) - Select Minister - Vote on budget (@ Winter Meeting) - Vote on major policy changes Board of Trustees (BoT) Nominations Elected by Members at Spring Meeting - 3-years with potential to renew once - Begins in June - Monthly; ~ 2 hours (currently the 3rd Tuesday of the month) - Ad hoc and as needed (task forces, appointments, etc.) - Provides fiduciary oversight - Appoints Treasurer, Vice Treasurer, Trustees to the Lincoln Unitarian Foundation, and BoT Officers - Adheres to bylaws and governance model - Sets long-term policy - BoT members read announcements at service - BoT members participate in task forces and other positions, as needed BoT President BoT Selected by BoT Members 1-year; beginning in June - Monthly BoT Meetings - Semi-annual member meetings - Monthly Executive - Ad hoc and as needed - Sets agenda and lead Board of Trustee Meetings - Sets agenda and facilitate Congregational Meetings - Serves on the Executive - Signs documents on behalf of UCoL 7

Governance Body Vetted by Proposed Organizational Model Selection Process BoT Secretary BoT Selected by BoT Members at April meeting Executive Personnel Nominations Varies Includes BoT President, Program Council Chair, Minister, and Treasurer. Others, such as VP and staff, as needed BoT and staff One appointed BoT member, one member appointed by staff, one member selected by the other two appointed members Nominations Term Meeting Frequency Key Responsibilities 1-year; beginning in June with potential to renew 1-year 3-years, nonrenewable Elected by 3-years, Members at nonrenewable Winter Meeting - Monthly Board Meetings - Semi-annual member meetings - Ad hoc - Monthly, prior to Board Meeting - As needed to address emergencies - Quarterly meetings - As needed for hiring or staffing issues - Quarterly - Ad hoc and as needed - Documents meetings of the BoT - Documents Congregational Meetings - Submits official meeting minutes to Administrative staff for storage/retrieval - Meets prior to BoT Meeting to discuss agenda - Identifies key topics needing to be addressed - Proposes timelines - Addresses emergency situations that require rapid response - Reviews staff performance - Reviews personnel issues and either resolves the issues or recommends action for BoT to consider - Recommends staff candidates for BoT to hire - Vets leadership positions elected by the congregation or appointed by the BoT, with the exception of the on Ministry and Personnel - Potentially transitions to an expanded "Leadership Development " - Develops leadership program in coordination with Membership Associate, Membership Cluster, and Program Council 8

Governance Body Minister on Ministry Vetted by Ministerial Search BoT, Minister Proposed Organizational Model Selection Process Selected by Members 3 members appointed by BoT; 3 members appointed by Minister; Minister Term Meeting Frequency Key Responsibilities Not specified 3-years, initially renewable, but may limit after terms are staggered Finance Team Varies Representatives Varies by from each position group with a direct financial role in the church (i.e. treasurer, bookkeeper, campaign lead, LUF, etc.); see BoT-adopted Financial Model for more details - Monthly BoT Meetings - Quarterly on Ministry meetings - Weekly Staff Meetings - Ad hoc and as needed - Quarterly meetings - See Ministerial Contract/Agreement - Provides feedback to the Minister from the congregation regarding how things are going regarding the vision/mission of the congregation - Assesses the ministry of the congregation to one another, including how staff and members are working together - Monthly Meetings - Organizes and communicates the financial matters of the congregation and reports them to the board. - See adopted Financial Model for more details - With BoT input and feedback, finalizes the budget after the PC submits its requests. 9

Governance Body Vice Treasurer Bookkeeper Lincoln Unitarian Foundation Vetted by Nominations Personnel Nominations Proposed Organizational Model Selection Process Appointed by BoT - Hired position by BoT - Currently responsibilities of Admin Director Appointed by BoT Ad hoc participants include BoT President, Minister, and Treasurer Term Meeting Frequency Key Responsibilities 3-year with potential to renew based on performance review Not specified 3-years; up to 2 consecutive terms - Monthly Finance Team Meetings - Ad hoc and as needed - Monthly Finance Team Meetings - Ad hoc and as needed - Quarterly meetings - Semi-annual Member Meetings - Ad hoc and as needed - Steps in to Treasurer responsibilities if Treasurer is unavailable - Manages accounts, payments and billing - Prepares materials for audit - Assists in preparing annual budget - Mails reports of member pledge/accounts - Oversees Assistant Bookkeeper - See adopted Financial Model for more details - Manages bequests and memorials - Focuses on long-term savings for major capital expenditures - Presents status of accounts to congregation Program Council Varies Varies Varies - Monthly Program Council Meetings - Manages the day-today programming that fulfills the vision/mission as determined by the board - Creates, removes, or adjusts clusters, committees, and task organizers - Works with the calendar, coordinating programming - Retains minutes of meetings and maintains a record of decisions. 10

Governance Body Program Council Chair Program Council Liaison Vetted by Nominations chairs within a cluster Proposed Organizational Model Selection Process Elected by Members at Spring Meeting Selected by cluster via vote of each committee chair in that cluster Each Cluster NA Established by Program Council with NA input from each committee s/task Organizers Term Meeting Frequency Key Responsibilities 3-years; not renewable 1-year with the potential to renew; annual selection (beginning in June) 11 - Monthly Program Council Meetings - Semi-annual Member Meetings - Monthly Executive - Monthly BoT Meeting (Ex-officio) -Annual gathering of committees and clusters -Convenes annual meeting to determine Program Council liaisons? - Monthly Program Council Meetings - Quarterly Cluster Meetings - Quarterly meetings Self-chosen NA NA - Typically monthly meetings - Ad hoc - Communicates and coordinates between BoT, PC, etc. - Convenes Program Council meetings - Sets Program Council Agenda -Works with Finance team to finalize budget -Convenes annual gathering of committees and clusters to select liaisons - Represents cluster at the Program Council - Gathers budget info from cluster committees - Communicates and coordinates with chairs - Responsible for dayto-day management of cluster focus area - Selects Program Council Liaison - Communicates among committees about similar work -Solicits, compiles, compares and resolves committee budget items - Retains minutes of meetings and maintains a record of decisions. - Organizes activities related to committee - Activities vary - Submits budget requests, if needed

Program Council Chair & Program Council PROGRAM COUNCIL CHAIR (PC Chair): The PC Chair is not meant to replace the entire Management Team. Instead, the PC Chair will coordinate and communicate activities between the PC and Board of Trustees (BoT), and will share programming and policy work with the other 8 members of the Program Council. This structure, as well as making this a nonrenewable position (3-year maximum), is meant to help prevent burnout in this important leadership position. Selection: The PC Chair is vetted by the Nominations and elected by the congregation at the Spring meeting. Terms: 3-year term, not renewable Responsibilities and Duties: Serves as liaison between BoT and PC and coordinates PC efforts with BoT Sets PC agenda and convenes and chairs PC Convenes annual gathering of committees and clusters to select liaisons Submits PC budget package and helps Finance Team modify it for the church budget Time Commitment: Monthly Board of Trustees meetings (2 hours) Monthly Program Council meetings (approx. 1.5 hours) Semi-annual member meetings (1+ hours) Executive meetings as needed Cluster or committee meetings as needed Finance meetings as needed 12

PROGRAM COUNCIL: Selection: Consists of 8 Liaisons and a PC Chair; Liaisons are elected by their likeminded committees (i.e. clusters). Terms: Liaisons are elected to 1-year terms at an annual meeting of the PC (maximum of 3 consecutive terms for Liaisons). Responsibilities and Duties: Manages day-to-day programming that fulfills the vision/mission as determined by the BoT Interprets and implements church policies set by the BoT Reviews programming and its scheduling to minimize conflicts and overlapping Develops procedures to make it easy to initiate a new program Collaborates with Nominations, Membership Associate and Membership to provide leadership training and opportunities for volunteers Reviews and modifies cluster budgets for PC Chair to submit to Finance Team Conducts or arranges for at least one volunteer recruitment event each church year Provides orientation to new liaisons and assures copies of relevant and up-todate policies are provided to each Liaison successor at the beginning of their term Ensures the maintenance of current responsibility descriptions and policy records for the PC (representing all Liaisons, s, and Task Organizers) Ensures that minutes of Council meetings are taken and distributed. Time Commitment: Monthly PC meetings (approx. 1.5 hours) Liaisons will also meet at least quarterly with their clusters. 13

Leadership Development/Nominations For this new governance model to be successful, it is important that our congregation be more deliberate in our efforts to train and recruit a greater number and diversity of volunteers. In several of the cottage meetings, people expressed concern about how able we are to fill all the leadership roles required in this new model. To this concern, we would like to provide two answers: First, you have to let them! A model like this opens up our organizational structure and can only survive and thrive when people are actively engaged. The response (even within some of the cottage meetings) to this concern is that there are actually many amazing and talented members and friends of this church, but if we don t open up our structure to allow clear paths for them to get involved, it s never going to happen. Second, we acknowledge that an enormous group of highly trained & confident volunteers aren t just going to appear out of the woodwork because we adopted a new model. Therefore, we propose an expanded role for what is currently known as the Nominations. We would like to suggest renaming it the Leadership Development to honor this expanded role. The Nominations currently helps advertise for, recruit, and vet nominees for key leadership positions in our church (such as Board of Trustees, Management Team, Nominations, and special groups like Ministerial Search ). We propose expanding this role by adding to their list of responsibilities leadership development for the congregation and tracking members & friends talents. We believe our congregation should strive to more regularly hold leadership trainings, both internally and with the assistance of the regional and national UUA organizations and/or other trained facilitators. 14

We also encourage this group to consider conducting a time & talents survey of the church every few years. Currently, our Membership Associate collects some information about the skills, talents, and interests of our members when they join the church. However, these records are not updated systematically over time or shared beyond that position. Doing so can help groups like the Nominations have a broader perspective on what talents are available and who might be a good fit for the various volunteer roles in our church. We know the transition from Nominations to Leadership Development will not happen instantly. We hope the committee will gradually add these responsibilities and will ask for help or partner with folks like the Membership Associate, Membership Cluster, and others. We hope they will also look for new Nominations members who would be interested in helping with leadership development tasks. on Ministry The on Ministry consists of 3 members appointed by Board of Trustees, 3 members appointed by the Minister, and the Minister. Each member is appointed for a 3-year term. The group meets quarterly. The charge of this committee is to keep strong minister-congregation communication and to work with the Vision/Mission/Covenant/Big Idea. The on Ministry: 1) Provides feedback to the Minister from the congregation regarding how things are going regarding the vision/mission of the congregation 2) Assesses the ministry of the congregation to one another, including how staff and members are working together" 15

Finance Team The fiduciary responsibility of our church rests with the Board of Trustees. In early 2016, the BoT adopted a new financial model in principle to try to improve our financial structure and clarify some of the roles and responsibilities in this area. Working with this new model has been an ongoing process over the past year, and it was included in the Cottage Meetings for the new governance model because the BoT felt that many people in the church were not aware this change had been made and still didn t understand the financial model being used. Since receiving the feedback from the Cottage Meetings, the BoT has continued to work on this model and has held several meetings with the various individuals and groups impacted by this model to try and come to a common understanding moving forward. As such, we will not be voting on the financial model at the Spring Congregational Meeting. This is a policy of the BoT and until they have ironed out the details of this model and seek to make changes to our official bylaws, the congregation will not be asked to vote on the financial model. Whether or not the proposed governance model passes, the financial model will continue in its current iteration, with modifications by the BoT as needed. What s Not Changing With all of the proposed changes in the new model, we would like to end on a note of stability. While there are a lot changes in this new model, a few core concepts will remain the same if the proposed model is adopted. Board of Trustees The BoT will continue to function the same way that it has in recent years. As a review, that means there will continue to be 9 members of the board, elected to 3- year terms, which can be renewed one time (for a maximum of 6 years of service). Election of new members occurs at the Spring Congregational Meeting and terms 16

start in June of each year. Board members are expected to attend the monthly BoT meeting (typically 2 hours) and may be asked to serve on task forces or temporary projects as an ad hoc member from time to time. Based on our feedback at the Cottage Meetings, BoT officers (President, Vice- President, and Secretary) will continue to be elected by the members of the BoT. This felt less confusing since the members of the BoT know best who is willing and able to serve in these positions and the congregation has already approved each person when they were elected to the BoT. Personnel You may be slightly less familiar with the Personnel, but this important committee of the board will not be changing in the new model. The Personnel consists of one member who is a representative of the board of trustees and one member who is a representative of the staff. Those two members together select a third member. They serve 3-year terms. This committee meets quarterly, with additional meetings as needed for hiring or staff issues. Duties include: Staff reviews, personnel issues, and recommendations on hiring to BoT. Transition Plan Timeline Starting with May 2017 May 14, 2017: Spring Congregational Meeting; proposed governance model is voted on June 2017: First annual meeting of the clusters will occur (members of all committees and task organizers will come together to elected their Liaisons to the program council). October 2017: BoT creates a Bylaws Change Task Force to begin a comprehensive review of the current bylaws and to make recommended changes to bring bylaws in alignment with current model. 17

Appendix Current Organizational Chart 18

Brief Review and Comparison of Current and Proposed Governance Models As we are considering the adoption of a new governance model in Spring 2017, we would like to briefly outline the existing governance model for this organization to help put the differences in perspective. This is just meant to be supplemental information for those who would like to make a clear comparison between the existing and proposed models. If we do not adopt the proposed model in principle at the Spring 2017 congregational meeting, this existing model is the one we will continue to operate under until a new proposal is made and approved. BOARD OF TRUSTEES In the existing model, the Board of Trustees is virtually the same as it is in the proposed model. There are 9 elected members, elected by the congregation to 3-year terms; the board elects its own officers (President, Vice-President, Secretary) annually. Minister, Treasurer, Past President, and Management Team are ex officio members of the board who can attend all parts of the board meetings, but may not vote; members of the congregation can attend board meetings, but may be asked to leave if the board enters an executive session. The board meets monthly and deals with the mission/vision, major policies, and fiduciary responsibility of the church. The board appoints the three members of the Management Team and the Treasurer and includes the Personnel and Finance Team as subcommittees of the board. 19

MANAGEMENT TEAM The Management Team is replaced by the Program Council and Program Council Chair in the new proposed model. Currently, the Management Team consists of three members, appointed to 3- year terms by the Board of Trustees; the most senior member of the Management Team is the chair/lead of the group. The Minister is currently an ex-officio member of the Management Team who attends all their meetings. The Management Team meets monthly as a unit and leads the church council meetings every other month to: manage the day-to-day programming that fulfills the vision/mission as determined by the board, help committees not to overlap programming, work with the calendar, clearing programing, and make it easier for programming to get started. CHURCH COUNCIL The Church Council in the current model would be replaced by a combination of the Program Council and the Programming Clusters in the proposed model. The Church Council consists of the heads of church committees and is led by the Management Team. Staff members participate in Church Council as ex officio members. The church council (in partnership with the Management Team) meets every other month to: manage the day-to-day programming that fulfills the vision/mission as determined by the board, help committees not to overlap programming, work with the calendar, clearing programing, and make it easier for programming to get started. NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE The Nominations has an important, but more limited role in the current versus the proposed models and would continue to exist with expanded duties in the proposed model. Five members are elected by the congregation to 3-year terms. 20

The Nominations recruits and vets nominees for key volunteer positions in the church that are either elected by the congregation or appointed by the Board of Trustees. FINANCE TEAM The Finance Team model was adopted in principle by the Board of Trustees in 2016 and continues to be modified and discussed by the board and the volunteers and staff involved in the financial activities of the church. The financial model our church uses will remain the same, regardless of whether the congregation decides to adopted the proposed governance model or reject it and retain our current governance model, until the Board of Trustees decides to make additional modifications or pursues bylaws changes. ADDITIONAL UCoL GOVERNANCE HISTORY Our church has grown and changed over the years and so this is not the first time we ve attempted to alter our governance structure. Since its inception in the late 1800s, we ve seen several major changes. We have had many ministers over the years with two long, settled ministries in recent decades. In 1997, the congregation adopted a similar Program-Size Church governance model to the one we are considering in 2017. In 2007, the current Church Council model was created and operated in principle for one year before it was fully adopted and the bylaws were changed to reflect the current model in 2008. 21