1THEOLOGICAL

GROUNDING

Called to God’s Work

Adapted with permission from, and great thanks to: The Council of Health and Human Wholeness Services (CHHSM)

UCC Board Service is…

1.A response to God’s call

2. A source of passionate commitment

3. All about Community Work

Continuing God’s Work

The mission of the church is to continue the work of God as revealed in the life of Jesus ChristHealing, teaching, radical hospitality, work for justice

Times Change – but God’s work continuesWork must align with the ministry of Christ

We cooperate with the activity of God, following ChristBoard work is sophisticated, complex, risky and counter-cultural!

Equipping the Saints

Boards need a framework to understand and structure their work. This essential overview

follows in this powerpoint:

2- Vision: the Church of the 21st Century 3- Overview of this Setting & Our Polity 4- Business of the Church 5- Board Role: Strategic Vision, Fiduciary

Oversight, Resource Acquisition: Culture of Generative Leadership

6- Relationship of Boards and Executives 7- Benefits of Volunteering for Board Service

2 Vision Forward

The Church of the 21st Century

■ Local churches are MISSIONAL COMMUNITIES

■ Moving from membership based social organizations to discipleship forming missional communities

■ Mission Focus: transforming lives, individual & wider culture

Networks Power the Mission

● Missional communities are supported by networks of relationships

● Some networks form core identity pieces and remain relatively constant

● Others ebb and flow around missional needs, specific tasks, tipping points of interest. These will focus more on initiating & maintaining relational networks than on permanent structure

Role of Denominations

● help provide a core identity for missional communities/local churches

● encourage broader perspective and mission engagement

● membership less clearly defined

● multiple affiliations - core identity of one denomination engaging with another around mission interests

● denominations provide a larger identity for member communities-- with multiple smaller identities that connect communities across denominational and theological lines

Financial Support of Mission

1. Will not always flow through existing institutions or channels of funding

2. New technology opens mission field to individuals and local churches as missional communities - providing opportunities for direct relationship and action

3. Role of existing mission structures to provide vehicles for connection rather than being primary channels for mission

4. Structures enabling mission look more like Southwest Airlines than United! That is, point-to-point connections rather than hub and spoke connections!

3 National Setting & Related Bodies and a Polity Overview

Amistad Chapel Epiphany 2009Church House, Cleveland

General Synod

■ The representative body of the United Church of Christ; composed of delegates chosen by the Conferences, voting members of Boards of Directors of Covenanted Ministries, and of ex-officio delegates

■ Specific responsibilities for the work of the UCC are carried out through Executive Council, Covenanted, Affiliated, and Associated Ministries and other bodies

■ Powers are described in Article 9 of the Constitution

Affiliated, Associated, and Covenanted Ministries of the

National Setting

Four Covenanted Ministries – Office of General Ministries (OGM), Local Church Ministries (LCM), Justice and Witness Ministries (JWM), Wider Church Ministries (WCM);

an Associated Ministry – The United Church Funds;

and an Affiliated Ministry – The Pension Boards – United Church of Christ.

Each is accountable to its own board in covenant with the Executive Council.

The Church House Building is operated by 700 Prospect Corp; and the hotel by Hotel Venture, Limited Liability Corporation (LLC). These are separately incorporated.

Affiliated & Associated Ministries

The Pension Boards – United Church of Christ makes available ministerial welfare programs, and employee benefit plans designed to assist authorized ministers and lay workers in achieving financial security during their working and retirement years.

The United Church Funds, formerly the United Church Foundation, provides investment management and educational services to local churches, associations, conferences, the national setting, and other UCC ministries.

Related BodiesThere are many other “bodies” related to the UCC – each has a particular role – varied patterns of internal organization, degrees of autonomy and covenantal

relationships”

Health & Welfare Institutions, Historically Underrepresented Groups, Educational Institutions, and Financial Bodies…

The UCC Council for Health and Human Services Ministries (CHHSM)

Historically Underrepresented Groups:CAIM (Council for American Indian Ministries)CHM (Council for Hispanic Ministries)MRSEJ (Ministers for Racial, Social, Economic Justice)PAAM (Pacific Islander – Asian American Ministries)UBC (United Black Christians)COREM (Council for Racial Ethnic Ministries)UCC Disabilities MinistriesUCC Coalition for Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender ConcernsCYYAM (Council for Youth and Young Adult Ministries)

The Cornerstone Fund The UCCIB (Insurance Board)

Council for Higher Education (college, seminary, and academy divisions) Council for Theological Education Council for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations UCC Historical Council

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

Serves as General Synod ad interim In cooperation with the Collegium of Officers,

supports coordination and evaluation of the work of the Church and;

Carries out such other responsibilities as may be from time to time delegated to it by the General Synod, provided that such responsibilities are not otherwise delegated to a Covenanted Ministry in these Bylaws or provided for in the Constitution

Current structure renders the Executive Council unable to fully meet its constitutional charge

EC charged by the 27th General Synod to task a Unified Governance Working Group to bring constitution and bylaw changes to the next General Synod for a unified governance structure

Office of General MinistriesOGM is responsible for

■ Financial Development■ Communications including The Stillspeaking Ministry■ Ecumenical, Interfaith, and Conference Relations■ Common Services provides support services to all the Covenanted Ministries (Finance, HR, IT, Meeting, Mail and Building…)■ Office of Communication, Inc., addresses media justice;

The Common Services Corporation supports the Covenanted Ministries.

All of the staff in the building are on the payroll of Common Services Corp,

although personnel decisions are the responsibility of individual ministries.

Local Church MinistriesLCM focuses on

■leadership ■vital, healthy churches:

- stewardship- evangelism- church development and renewal- worship and education

■ publishing, and resource production ■ OCWM interpretation and support ■ Church Building and Loan

LCM also operates a distribution service.

Justice and Witness Ministries Ongoing Justice Issues:Criminal Justice Policy AdvocacyEconomic Justice Public Education and

WitnessEnvironmental Justice Racial JusticeGlobalization Sexuality Education and WitnessHealth Care Justice Youth and Young Adult

Leadership Human Rights Workplace JusticeJustice for Women Project Teams:Centers for Education and Social Transformation

Franklinton Center at BricksCentro RomeroWashington DC

Gulf Coast Justice InitiativeOur Faith Our Vote Leadership Development Communications: Justice and Peace Action Network, JWM Insider, Witness for Justice, Website,

etc.

Wider Church MinistriesWCM supports

■ church-wide work in disaster response■ HIV/AIDS ministry & LGBT Advocacy■ United Church Aids Network (incorporated)■ global justice concerns■ international relief and development■ volunteer and refugee ministries

Global Ministries:

■ Africa■ Middle East and Europe■ Southern Asia■ East Asia and Pacific■ Latin America and Caribbean

Covenant and Autonomy

Each entity (Local Church, Conference, General Synod, etc) is “autonomous”

Responsible for itself, able to enter and participate in covenant(s)

Covenant assumes and requires mutual regard and accountability among all partners: acknowledging God as the one who initiates the covenant and who calls persons, congregations, and other UCC entities into covenantal relationships

Associations and Conferences are geographically defined, except for a few gathered on other bases (e.g., Calvin Synod, Dakota Association)

The UCC treasures, nurtures and continues to live into deep covenantal relationship

4

The Business

of the Church

There are some business aspects of the church:

All of the covenanted ministries are legally incorporated bodies and with those legal incorporations come some business aspects and responsibilities.

In addition to the legal obligations that come with corporations, good stewardship of resources requires some aspect of “business.”

In short, our faith is the foundation of who we are and is always present in our decision making, but good, sound business practices must also be a part of our common life.

All incorporations except WCM are in the State of Ohio

Common Global Ministries Board (CGMB) is not a legal or incorporated body; it is a relationship through which we do our overseas ministry with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Church as Employer

In this role we are subject to all of the laws related to employment in the states in which we employ staff.

Each staff person is hired by a particular Covenanted Ministry.

The only incorporated body without staff is the Executive Council.

There are employees of Common Services; Common Services is lodged in OGM and OGM provides the personnel oversight of these particular staff.

We have common personnel polices that each board has adopted.

5 The Role of

Boards

1-2-3 (and 4!)

Strategic; Fiduciary; Resource

Acquisition

and… Generative

1. Strategic Vision & Planning

Responsibility Set the strategic direction

Advance Mission and Vision

Define goals, objectives, establish policy

Board’s Role ■ Leadership

■ Collaboration

2. Fiduciary Monitoring & Oversight

THIS MEANS: ●Hire Executive, approve Goals, and Review

Performance

●Approve Goals and Review performance of the board itself

●Fiduciary Oversight of Financial & Risk management: ensure financial health, and adherence to legal, ethical and regulatory requirements

3. Resource Development & Acquisition

Fundraising as Ministry

The essential components of successful fundraising are:

Strong Relationships with Prospects

An Organizational Infrastructure that Facilitates Giving

An Unapologetic and Compelling Case for Support

An Appropriate Solicitation

The Intersection of Responsiveness and Prophetic Voice

Generative Leadership

■ See: Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards Richard P. Chait, William P. Ryan, and Barbara E. Taylor (2004)

■ Generative Thinking: What questions ought we be asking… How do we frame the problem before we settle on a strategy… eg, why would we want to look at adding a contemporary worship service (rather than how do we fit this in)

■ Creative, organic, sometimes out of the box, looks for new possibilities, curious, open, collaborative.

6

Relationship

between Boards

and Executives

Board – Officer Relationships

Board, Officers/Executives, and Staff

have very different gifts and roles Boards are charged with policy development and strategic

planning; oversight and fiduciary responsibilities; fund-raising and resource development,

Executives are Officers of the Church and members of the EC and voting members of their specific Boards; and the General Minister and President is a voting member of all Boards: offering leadership to the church and responsible for day-to-day operations and management, seeing that Board plans are implemented by staff and for managing staff and budget.

Staff members reporting to their executive officers, are involved in program that carries out the mission of the organization according to the policies set by the Board

7

The Role and Benefits of

Volunteering

Volunteering to Serve

Board members are LINKING PERSONS -

“Representing” in both Directions

Special opportunity to “represent” the voice and perspective from whence board members come (conference, group, or other ministry)

Each brings that experience to the board Take back the vision and mission of the board

to the constituency… explaining and advocating for decisions of the whole board “back home”

UCC Polity: A Relational Context for Board Service in the National Setting

Jesus Christ is the “sole Head” of the Church. We historically link “congregational” and

“presbyterial” polities Congregational polity emphasizes the autonomy of

each Local Church, the “basic unit” Presbyterial polity attends to the whole with

representation from congregations to associations and conferences to the General Synod

Associations determine the standing of clergy and the membership of congregations (some Conferences also act as Associations)

Since 1957 the UCC has increasingly seen itself as having a “covenantal” polity

Covenantal polity focuses on the shape and character of covenantal relationships (and may be unique to the UCC, at least in emphasis)

Many thanks for your leadership