Communications Protocol
Last Updated: December 10, 2009
Covenant of the spirit
Compassion is the doctrine of this church,
The quest for truth its sacrament
And justice its prayer.
To grow understanding through dialogue and freedom,
To support each other’s dance with life,
To build the Earth in peace,
To the end that we speak ourselves into community
And hear each other into being
Thus do we covenant with each other and with the Universe.
Preamble
In order to nurture and strengthen our religious community, we, members and friends of the Universalist Unitarian Church of Halifax, covenant to promote full and respectful exchange of ideas, opinions and experiences, to provide a safe, welcoming, environment, inclusive in our diversity, and to govern our organization in an open democratic fashion through committee and congregational meetings.
Purpose
Communication is not easy, especially when we are communicating things that are deeply important to ourselves. These guidelines are presented both as pointers to us as individuals to encourage better practice and also as mechanisms that can be used when emotion or process has disrupted communication, the sense of security of a member or the health of the congregation. These are guidelines that should be respected more in the spirit than in the letter. Let our primary rule be to listen and speak with courtesy, awareness and respect.
1. Communication within worship services
Ø Contributions should be appropriate for the particular service element (announcement, introduction of a visitor, Joy or Concern, sermon response); clear and spoken aloud for all to hear.
Ø Sermon feedback is intended as a way to provide other perspectives or broader information or experiences on the subject. It is intended for questions and comments, not as a debate with the presenter.
Ø Service Leader will control the order of the contributions and should not ordinarily permit multiple contributions from the same individual.
Ø Service Leader can tactfully ask that an inappropriate contribution or an overly long contribution be brought to an end.
Ø Worship Committee has the responsibility of monitoring issues related to congregational input during services. The Worship Committee, through its regular meetings, should discuss and approve guidelines related to these service elements.
Ø Members’ concerns about the services should be brought to the attention of the Worship Committee or, in the case of a particular service, to the service leader.
2. In congregational meetings
Ø The normal practice of this church is to hold workshops and information sessions on substantive issues before bringing them to a congregational meeting for a decision. It is the responsibility of those asking the congregation for such decisions to provide such opportunities and to respond to the expressed concerns of members.
Ø Members who have spoken on a particular motion or amendment should wait until others have spoken before speaking again. They should speak concisely and directly on the issue.
Ø Discuss the issue not the motives of the people you believe are supporting or opposing the issue.
Ø Meetings are formally governed by Bourinot’s Rules of Order but these rules should not be used to unduly limit discussion. The President or Vice-President chairs the meeting and a parliamentarian is appointed to rule on issues related to the application of the rules of order.
3. In Committee meetings
Ø Listen carefully and respectfully to what others are saying
Ø Respect the agenda
Ø Debate issues not people’s motives or characters
Ø Share responsibility for the conduct of the meeting and the work of the committee with the chair and your fellow members
4. When chairing committees and meetings
Ø Running effective meetings and committees can be learned. Consider taking leadership training to improve your meeting and people skills.
Ø Transparency and inclusiveness is important is important when conducting the business of the church. Involve the appropriate committee and its members in all of the issues that fall in its range of responsibility.
Ø Prepare an agenda. Providing estimates of the timing of various items is useful.
Ø Allow participants to modify the agenda and its timing before the beginning of the meeting. Establish which items are the most important for this meeting and schedule appropriate time frames.
Ø Encourage full participation of all participants. Discourage interruptions and disrespectful behavior, establish order for interventions, invite contributions etc.
Ø Chair should be as neutral as possible. If you are passionate about a particular issue, ask another member of the committee to chair the discussion.
5. When conversing with other members
Ø Listen carefully and respectfully
Ø Speak to one another, not about one another.
Ø If something is bothering you about how the church is functioning, bring your concern to the Minister, the Vestry, or the Ministerial Relations Committee.