UUCA’s Board of Trustees

Board Officers

Board

Leadership Position Descriptions

Board Meetings

To access Board Meeting Minutes, click HERE.

The Board meetings are 7 pm-9:30pm on the fourth Tuesday of every month. The Board holds the first fifteen minutes open for discussion or comments from outside attendees and then proceeds with the agenda.  Attendees are welcome to stay for the remainder of the meeting, unless the Board moves into an executive session. At this time, the meetings are entirely virtual. Zoom link: HERE.

Authorities and Roles

UUCA’s Articles of Incorporation are the foundation of our governance. They establish UUCA as a church corporation organized under Virginia law. The Bylaws ground our governance in a basic framework of purpose, membership, annual meetings, elections, and finances. The Bylaws also establish a broad outline of roles by assigning general supervision and direction of the church to the Board of Trustees (while providing for delegation to an Executive), and by carving out specific responsibilities and authorities for the President, Secretary, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurers, the ministers, and the Nominating Committee.

UUCA Bylaws

Below is a link to the current bylaws that establish the procedures of operations for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington followed by a list of UUCA Governance docs.

• Bylaws

UUCA’s Congregation makes a covenant about how they will live and interact with each other and the community.

• Congregational Covenant

UUCA Policies

The next level of UUCA’s governance is the Board of Trustees’ Board Policy Manual containing the policies the Board has established to direct and supervise the church. The Board is responsible for oversight of the activities of the church as set forth in the Bylaws, while UUCA ministers and staff are responsible for daily operations. The policies set forth in the Policy Manual provide guidance for the Board, ministers, staff, and congregation on how the Board exercises its oversight responsibilities, expectations and responsibilities for the ministers and staff in performing key activities, and guidance for the congregation on UUCA processes and how we all collaborate to Come for Community, Find Inspiration, and Live With Purpose.

Following the work of the Governance Task Force in 2019, the Board began updating the Board Policy Manual with the goal of making UUCA policies more transparent to the congregation and easier to access, using a modular structure that allows each policy to be reevaluated and updated on a regular 2-year cycle.  Until this structure is fully implemented UUCA policies will be located on this policy page and in the Board Policy Manual. The Board Policy Manual will indicate any policies within the Manual that have been replaced by updated policies on this page.  If a topic is not covered by a specific policy listed below, and is otherwise referenced in the 2016 Board Policy Manual, then the Manual remains the effective policy statement.

An additional level of UUCA’s policies and procedures are those established by the Senior Minister in their role as Executive responsible for the operations of the church. The Board has general oversight, and often collaborates in the development of these policies with the Senior Minister, but the development and execution of these policies and activities is the responsibility of the Senior Minister.

Task Forces and Charges

As recommended by the 2019 Governance Task Force, the Board has created three standing committees to address key areas of board oversight:  the Budget, Finance, and Audit Committee (BFAC), the Governance Committee (GC), and the Ministerial Assessment Committee (MAC).  The charges establishing and directing each committee are approved and adopted by the Board.

The Board also may work with ministers and groups in the church to develop plans for Task Forces to address priority issues. The following charges describe the role and scope of work each of these Task Forces will be working within:

Communication

In addition to welcoming members to its monthly meetings, the Board publishes meeting minutes on this page (see “Board Meetings” above). The Board Chair also authors the occasional Board Bulletin section in the Connections newsletter. The congregation hears directly from a board member providing the Board Welcome at the beginning of every Sunday service. 

Communication between the Board and the church’s moral owners is the foundational activity that assures a properly governed system.  The process of communication provides the raw input for the Board to govern. It’s how the Board identifies what is on the hearts and minds of the moral owners. It also provides a way for the Board to communicate back to its moral owners what it has heard and done, translating this into policy that helps UUCA fulfill its mission. Board communication strives to capture three qualities:

• To uncovers the essence of our values and experiences through deep connection,
• To be representative, meaning that the Board has a responsibility to seek out and engage with all kinds of moral owners, instead of relying only on the voices of those who have the means and desire to approach the Board, and
• To be intentional and continuous, meaning the Board schedules, organizes, and plans for the opportunity to communicate with the moral owners on an on-going basis.

The list below provides the outcomes of UUCA’s recent communication practice over the last few years.

• Board Recommended Budget 2023-24
• Budget Narrative 2023-24
• Board Annual Report 2022-23
• Budget Narrative 2022-23
• Budget Summary 2022-23
• Board Annual Report 2020-21
• Budget Narrative 2021-22

UUCA Nominating Committee

Contact: nomcom@uucava.org 

About the Nominating Committee

The charge of the Nominating Committee (NomCom) is to find, recognize, and develop individual leadership potential and encourage an atmosphere that fosters a willingness to serve among our members to ensure thriving and effective leadership within our congregation.

• Composes a slate of nominees for the Board, UUCA’s Officers, and the Nominating Committee which are presented for a vote at the annual meeting each year.
• Recommends the Delegates to UUA’s General Assembly, who are appointed by the Board and presented to the Congregation at UUCA’s annual meeting.
• Interviews and recommends candidates for ad hoc committees such as the Ministerial Search Committee.
• Works to create and encourage a culture where everyone is empowered to engage in volunteer leadership positions throughout the church.