How We Govern

WELCOME!

... To a faith with the power to transform lives and change the world. ... To a faith that can sustain and enrich the next chapter of your life.

A Leadership Advisory Team (LAT) serves as one source of high-level consultation, coordination, and feedback for the Senior Minister on operational decisions that intersect in critical ways with the congregation’s values and vision.

The Leadership Advisory Team consists of: the Senior Minister (and/or their designee(s)), the President and the Vice President of the Congregation, and the lay chairs of the Living Our Values (LOV) Team and the Shared Ministries Team (SMT).

The Leadership Advisory Team is convened as frequently as is useful, typically once a month, by the Senior Minister in support of operational decision-making.

Use this link to view the 2021 charge to the Leadership Advisory Team.

Photo of original Articles of Association Our original Articles of Association were signed on May 14, 1865, establishing us as the "First Congregational Unitarian Society" of Ann Arbor, MI. Over more than 150 years, we have had many name changes, the most recent in 2005 when we became the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor.

Our Articles of Association state:

We, the undersigned, desirous of securing to ourselves and our families the advantages of religious instructions and fellowship do hereby associate ourselves together under the name and title of the First Congregational Unitarian Society of Ann Arbor, Michigan, for the purpose of maintaining religious worship and conducting the temporal interests of a religious society in accordance with the Statute of the State of Michigan.

Signers of the original Articles of Association are

Jacob Volland
R. Schafer
G. D. Hill
Jno. E. Clark
Sophie Polland
James B. Gott
Emma Glasier
Mary G. Mott
Joseph W. Linley
Murray A. White
Richard Mott
C. B. Thompson
James F. Avery
Moses Rogers
George Clark
Mrs. William Welleny
G. B. Dows
Jay W. Cowding
Harriet M. Waite
G. Hooker
L. Porter
Mrs. Sybil Lawrence
E. Lawrence
Mrs. Ann Traver
Mrs. William Fisher
Mrs. Catherine Smith
Mrs. Joseph Whitlock
Arnold M. Pierce
A. A. Ormsby
Mrs. E. L. Sanford
T. S. Sanford
J. B. Jackson
B. A. Jackson
Richard Glasier
Robert Glasier
Rufus Cope
Henry K. White

From Marjorie Reade's history of the congregation: " At least three members of the former Universalist congregation were among the founding members of the Unitarian Society which began services in a rented room in the County Court House in 1865: James B. Gott, an attorney and secretary to the Board of Education for many years, and Mrs. E. L. Sanford and T. S. Sanford, proprietors of the Unity Block. A most active member of the group was George D. Hill, formerly a Quaker, a prosperous farmer and civic leader (his apple orchard was bordered by what is now Hill Street and Packard Street; the Hill Opera House was located on North Main Street. Other prominent founding members were Moses Rogers, a dealer in agricultural implements; Jacob Volland, harness dealer; and Emma, Richard, and Robert Glasier, farmers east of town. These names are familiar to us today for the streets, buildings, or subdivisions named in their honor." Robert Glasier was a "conductor in the Ann Arbor underground railroad.

Board Meeting Minutes

Follow this link to view the folder of 2021-2022 minutes

Follow this link to view the folder of 2020-2021 minutes

Follow this link to view the folder of 2019-2020 minutes

Follow this link to view the folder of 2018-2019 minutes

Board Meeting Minute Archive

Current Bylaws
Current Governing Policies

The Governance Committee (Governance Advisory Team) is a standing committee that advises and assists the Board of Trustees on governance matters.They are also charged with helping educate the congregation about how UUAA shared leadership works. You can contact the Governance Advisory Team by clicking on this link.

Current members of the team are: Paul Morris, Tom Reischl and Sandy Simon

Our bylaws state:

There shall be a standing Committee on Governance which is charged with advising and educating the Board on governance issues.

Composition.

The Governance Committee shall consist of from three to five (3-5) Full Members selected by the Board of Trustees to serve staggered terms. The President shall be an ex officio member of the Committee without vote.

Term.

The term of each Governance Committee member shall be three years. No Committee member shall serve more than two terms (6 years) consecutively.

Duties.

The Governance Committee shall assist the Board in ensuring sound governance. The Committee shall be responsible for the following:

2.2.1 Overseeing Board and Congregation education with respect to Bylaws and Governing Policies;

2.2.2 Recommending to the Board revisions to the UUAA’s governing documents;

2.2.3 Performing such other functions pertaining to governance as requested by the Board of Trustees;

2.2.4 Providing an annual report to the Board regarding the fulfillment of the Committee's responsibilities.

The Fundraising Team is responsible for all major fund-raising activities of the Congregation. The reporting relationship of the Team will be established after trial period ending in August, 2017. The Fundraising Team oversees the Annual Budget Campaign (ABC) and capital campaigns. Excluded are events such as group fundraising (e.g., YRUU apple dumplings and Men’s Council events.)

The proposed roles and responsibilities of the Revenue Team are:

Staff and conduct the annual budget campaign (ABC), and make improvements to its operation
Ensure other funding activities are active and fully staffed
Identify long-term rental opportunities
Ensure a consistent message among all funding activities
Evaluate the effectiveness of present activities and any proposed new activities
Work closely with the Finance Team to set funding goals

The Team provides oversight to and, more importantly, ensures staffing of

The ABC
Future capital campaigns
The Sunderland Society
Auction
Scrip sales, Books, Coffee and Candy sales
Acknowledgement Group
Other special or new events

Membership of the Team includes

One Board member liaison
Assistant Minister
The ABC Chair and Assistant Chair
The Chair of the Sunderland Society
Possible chair(s) of other fund-raising activities

The UUAA Governing Policies are maintained by the Board of Trustees and describe the role of the Board and the Senior Minister in their shared leadership of UUAA. The policies guide oversight and goal setting for the congregation.

During 2016-17 a Governance Task Force was charged by the Board to review UUAA governance documents and structures and recommend changes. One result was a rewrite of our governing policies document. UUAA still uses policies to guide our governance, but we are not following a strict Carver Policy Governance model. The rewritten policies were adopted in September, 2017. The Board continues to improve the policies and is always open to suggestions from congregants.

The current version of the Governing Policies Document was updated in April, 2022.

UUAA Board of Trustees Governing Policies

Our Bylaws can only be revised by vote of the Congregation. Our most recent bylaws were adopted in June of 2021. A bylaw was added to support a recently added Board policy outlining a more mindful and more transparent process for proposing and passing resolutions. Revisions were also made to clarify: the responsibilities of the Congregation; how to dissolve the Congregation; and what quorum is required in different situations.

UUAA Bylaws

The following Operations Policies guide the work of staff and lay leaders in administering UUAA. The Senior Minister or a designated staff member is responsible for upholding these policies and revising them as needed (see guide for creating and revising operations policies).

Personnel policies and guidelines are collected into the
Employee Manual (April, 2022) and see: Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) for UUAA Staff (Jan. 2021)