In 2025 the UUCSH Board of Trustees began the process of bylaw updates and revisions. Please review the changes and plan to attend the April Annual Meeting to vote on proposed changes.

Current Bylaws

Proposed Changes

Change 1: Updated gendered language throughout the document.

Change 2: Accurate title for UUCSH Membership Professional’s title and job responsibilities (Article IV, Sections 2-4)

New Language:

Article IV Membership and Affiliation

Section 2. Friends of UUCSH
A. Definition. Any person who desires to be affiliated with UUCSH, but who does not choose to participate in matters related to governance may establish the status of Friend by requesting this status through the Membership Director, the Board, the Administrator or the Minister.

Section 3. Withdrawal of Membership or Affiliation
Individuals may withdraw their membership or affiliation in UUCSH by sending a signed and dated request for withdrawal to the Membership Director or the Board of Trustees

Section 4. Termination of Membership or Affiliation
Each year, the Membership Director with input as needed from the Board of Trustees shall review the list of Members and Friends and shall cause written inquiries to be mailed to non-participating Members and Friends regarding their desire to maintain Membership or Affiliation. If no reply is received within thirty (30) days after such mailing the names of such Members and Friends may be removed from the rolls.

Change 3: Board composition (Article V, Section 1), responsibilities (Article V, Section 3A), duties (Article v, Section 3B), and processes (Article V, Section 4E) updated

New Language:

ARTICLE V. The Board of Trustees

Section 1. Board Composition
The Board of Trustees shall be composed of seven (7) Members (Article IV, Section 1), four (4) of whom shall be the Officers of UUCSH, and three (3) of whom shall have the title of Trustee. Membership on the Board shall be determined according to the election procedures in Article X.

Section 3. Members of the Board of Trustees
A. Terms of Office. Two (2) of the three (3) non-officer Trustees shall be elected each odd year for a two (2) year term of office, and the remaining one (1) shall be elected each even year for a two (2) year term of office. Trustees may serve two (2) consecutive terms as members of the Board of Trustees, for a maximum of four (4) years, and then shall not be eligible for re-election to the Board of Trustees for at least one (1) intervening year.

B. Duties and Responsibilities.

1. Duty of Care

• Trustees must not treat their role casually.

• Attend meetings regularly.

• Take reasonable steps to become well acquainted with all information and pertinent facts under the board’s purview.

• Bring their best judgment to bear in the board’s deliberations and decisions.

2. Duty of Loyalty

• Place the interests of the organization above personal interests.

• Disclose and neutralize conflicts of interest, including those with other organizations.

• Follow established policies to handle conflicts.

• When necessary, recuse oneself from related decisions and discussions.

3. Duty of Responsibility (Duty of Obedience)

• Maintain the organization’s adherence to the purposes described in its charter and bylaws.

• Follow organizational policies in a disciplined and consistent manner.

• Comply with all relevant laws and regulations.

• Participate in Board of Trustees meetings.

• Assume responsibility as a liaison with one or more major committees or oversee assigned activities of UUCSH.

• Actively participate in the canvass process and other duties as assigned by the Chair, with the Trustee’s consent.

E. Order of Business. The order of business at all regular meetings of the Board of Trustees shall include, but, may not be limited to:

1. Review of the minutes of the previous meeting
2. Reports of Minister and Staff
3. Treasurer’s Report
4. Reports of Committees
5. Old business
6. New business

Change 4: Updated Secretary (Article VI, Section 3B) and Treasurer (Article VI, Section 4B) responsibilities to reflect current business.

New Language:

Article VI. Officers of UUCSH and the Board

Section 3. Secretary of UUCSH and the Board
B Duties and Responsibilities. The Secretary shall be Secretary of both UUCSH and the Board of Trustees and shall exercise all the powers and perform all the duties normally pertaining to the office of Secretary of a
Corporation. These shall include, but are not limited to, giving notice of all meetings, keeping and attesting as true the official records of the meetings. These documents should include but may not be limited to the
Meeting Agenda, final approved meeting minutes, and any other documents presented during the meeting.
The Secretary shall store all documents in the current electronic document storage, thereby preserving and passing on to their immediate successor all such official records. The Secretary may be assisted in some of the responsibilities of the office by the Church Administrator in accordance with the job description of the Church Administrator and/or the direction of the Board of Trustees.

Section 4. Treasurer of UUCSH
B Duties and Responsibilities. The Treasurer of UUCSH shall, subject to the direction of the Board of Trustees, exercise all the powers and perform all the duties normally of the offices of Treasurer and Controller of a Corporation. The Treasurer shall be bonded for faithful performance in such amount as may be specified by the Board of Trustees. If considered necessary by the Board, the Treasurer will work with an accountant, either an external contracted accounting entity or a staff bookkeeper, to assist with managing church finances. The Treasurer will review deliverables from the accountant, including monthly financial reporting. The Treasurer will act as liaison between the accountant and the Board.  The Treasurer will be a member of the Financial Oversight Committee.

Change 5: Updated Membership Professional’s title (Article VII, Section 1) and clarified changes to staff positions titles and responsibilities (Article VII, Section 2)

New Language:

Article VII. Staff

Section 1. Scope
The paid staff positions of UUCSH may include, but are not limited to, a Director of Religious Education (DRE), Interim Minister, Church Administrator, Music Director and Membership Director

Section 2. Staff Supervision
The hiring and dismissal of all staff shall be approved by the Board of Trustees. For the hiring of the DRE specifically, the Board shall convene a search committee. All staff shall be managed by the Minister in collaboration with the Board of Trustees. Any changes to staff positions such as titles and responsibilities deemed necessary or appropriate by the Minister shall be made in collaboration with the Board. All staff shall report to and be evaluated annually by the Minister with oversight by the Board and such committees as the Board may designate for that purpose.

Change 6: Changes made to reflect current realities including: Updated Annual Meeting Order of Business (Article IX, Section 1 A), Updated Business meeting scheduling and order of business (Article IX, Section 1B), Updated to address separate meetings (Article IX, Section 2), Updated title (Article IX, Section 4), Updated to include Virtual meetings in the quorum count (Article IX, Section 5), Removed Robert’s Rules (Article IX, Section 6), Deleted due to redundancy (Article IX, Section 7), Renumbering (Article IX, Section 7), and deleted Absentee Voting  as no long required (Article IX, Section 9).

New Language:

Article IX. Congregational Meetings

Section 1. Schedule of Meetings & Order of Business
A. The Annual Meeting shall be held during April of each year at a time and place fixed by the Board of Trustees. A quorum being present, the order of business at the Annual Meeting shall be as follows,
or as otherwise set up by the Board of Trustees:

• Reading of a summary of the minutes of the last Annual Meeting

• Treasurer’s Report

• President’s Report

• Minister’s Report

• Reports of the various organizations of UUCSH

• Reports of standing and special committees

• Election of a Board of Trustees and Commissioned Lay Leaders

• Old business

• New business

B. The Budget Meeting shall be held during December of each year at a time and place fixed by the Board of Trustees. A quorum being present, the order of business at the Budget meeting shall be as follows, or as otherwise set up by the Board of Trustees:

• Welcome and introduction by President or other Member of Board of Trustees.
• Presentation by Stewardship Team
• Presentation by Board Treasurer
• Voting as designated in Article IX, Section 4

Section 2. Notice
Written notice of every Annual Meeting, Budget Meeting, and Special Meeting shall be sent, at the direction of the Board of Trustees, to each Member. Annual Meeting and Budget Meeting require at least sixteen (16) days notice

Section 5. Quorum
Before any business is conducted, a quorum shall be present and noted as defined by Article X, Section 5A. Attendance shall be taken for both in-person attendees and virtual attendees who present themselves online. All attendees are considered part of the required quorum.

Section 6. Procedure for Conducting Meetings
All meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the bylaws of UUCSH.