Unitarian Universalist Community Church Covenant

Augusta, Maine

Proposed and Passed at the Annual Meeting, June 4, 2023

 To manifest our Vision, implement our Mission, and increase our understanding and practice of our UU Principles, we the congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Augusta, Maine, covenant as follows.

 1. Because we value our relationships with each other, we promise to:
• Get to know one another, create opportunities to gather, work, and play together, and build trust in our relationships.
• Respect each other’s boundaries, honor our commitments to others and the community, and
protect the safety of community members, especially children.
• Listen to one another with intention and curiosity and respond thoughtfully.
• Accept one another for who we are and not allow differences of opinion to affect our respect for the person.
• Take responsibility for our own words and actions and explore differences openly, directly, and with compassion while assuming the good intentions of one another.

2. Because we value our relationships with our greater community, we promise to:
• Model our UU Principles and Covenant in our relationships with the greater community.
• Respond to the needs of our community and seek to engage with others in helping to make the
greater Augusta area a safe and supportive place.

3. Because we value the wisdom and power of Covenant, we promise to:
• Forgive ourselves and others when we do not live up to this Covenant and begin again in love.
• Display and recite these promises to each other on a regular basis, exploring them in our hearts and minds, and refer to them when difficulties arise. Recognize that our Covenant may evolve as our community evolves.

 Covenant development process:  The Board appointed a Covenant Writing Group, (CWG) in January 2023 which undertook to develop a covenant that clearly and simply lays out who and how you wish to be together and find ways to affirm that covenant regularly. By the end of March, they drafted a Covenant from the above-mentioned congregational input. That draft was then discussed at the April Sharing Café. Although no congregational member indicated that they could not make the promises set forth, members did offer constructive revisions. The CWG made several revisions and forwarded the completed Covenant to the Board in late April 2023 for distribution to the congregation in preparation for the vote at the Annual Meeting June 4, 2023.