Special General Council Note:

This is the Founding Document of the Organizing Committee and the First General Council of
the Unitarian Christian Church of America (UCCA). This General Council is intended to grow
with additional Members as the UCCA grows and the need arises. The First GC shall be charged
with determining the timing and determination of the need for the GC to expand. At that time,
and as necessary, specific duties of each incumbent may be amended. This determination shall be
decided by majority vote of the GC as per the UCCA By-Laws.

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This document may be amended with approval of the Organizing Committee or the UCCA-GC.

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THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE
UNITARIAN CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF AMERICA
(UCCA)

President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Senior Pastor UCCA – P/CEO/SP
Secretary/Treasurer UCCA – S/T
Director of Education, General Programs and Services UCCA – D: E/GP/S
Director of Membership Management UCCA – D: MM
Director of Public Relations and Information UCCA – D: PR/I

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These are the Members of the General Council of the UCCA.The incumbents of these offices are responsible for the continuation of the UCCA as a Church representing the Unitarian Christian Faith and its Members. All Members of the UCCA-GC shall be responsible to the other Members of the GC and the Members of UCCA, and shall conduct themselves at all times with the best of moral integrity and care. Each Member of the GC has specific duties that are expected
of the office they hold. By acceptance of the appointment to the GC each Director shall in-turn accept the responsibilities for the proper and timely execution of those duties they are assigned herein. Those general duties for each UCCA General Council Seat are listed below with the understanding that other duties may be assigned, as necessary, to meet the needs of the UCCA and its Members. The President/CEO/SP of the UCCA may appoint others to assist the
UCCA-GC as deemed necessary and appropriate. These “Assistants” shall be Members of the UCCA unless otherwise approved for just cause.

 

Any current Member, in good standing with the UCCA may submit a Letter of Interest to the President/CEO/SP indicating desire to serve on the UCCA-GC. Said letter should name the specific Seat of Interest along with a detailed resume and a description of the specific qualifications. The President shall respond to such submittals in a timely and appropriate
manner. The submittal to the President does not in any manner guarantee an appointment, nor does it imply that such appointment might be imminent.

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Any current Member, in good standing with the UCCA, who has concerns, questions, issues or other matters relative to the Council in general, or to a specific GC Seat, or any Member of the GC may freely communicate in confidence with the President/CEO/SP of the UCCA regarding these matters. The President/CEO/SP shall respond to such communications in a timely and appropriate manner. As necessary, and at his/her discretion, the President may discuss such issues with the other members of the UCCA-GC.

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Organizing Committee (OC): The UCCA shall be organized by the UCCA-Organizing Committee; consisting of the sitting UCCA President and at least one other GC Member. Additional GC Members and/or Assistants may be included at the discretion of the President. The duties of the UCCA Organizing Committee are to execute such matters as might be
necessary and/or required to facilitate the official status of the UCCA. The UCCA President is invested with any and all authority to act, in all relevant matters, for and on behalf of, the UCCA. These may include, but are not limited to, any legal, financial, governmental or contractual matters or issues that may be necessary for the proper and ultimate formation of the UCCA. The purpose for this Committee is to facilitate and expedite the processes necessary and required for
the proper formation and establishment of the UCCA in a timely manner. This Organizing Committee shall be dissolved, when deemed to have served its mandate, by proper motion and majority vote of the UCCA-General Council.

 

Duties of all UCCA – General Council Members:
Unless changed by a majority vote of the GC or deemed to be in violation of the UCCA By-Laws, the President shall not vote on specific matters before the GC except in the event of a tie of voting GC Members. The President may introduce and comment on any matter before the GC and may present motions for the GC to address. It shall be the duty of all Members of the GC to be active and proactive participants in the ongoing operations of the UCCA. This is best accomplished by dutifully executing their individual duties in an orderly and timely manner, including developing, maintaining and distributing accurate and complete records of the execution of said duties. All Members of the GC shall function in concert with the UCCA President and the other GC Members. Therefore, timely and continuous communications between the GC Members is
paramount.

 

Each GC Member shall forward to the President an email describing the execution of their duties on a bi-weekly basis (unless otherwise agreed) beginning with their initial GC appointment. This communication may also be copied to the other GC Members if desired. These reports shall be used by the President to compile a monthly GC Report to be provided to each GC Member and a “Members Report” to be provided to the Church Members at the discretion of the President, or as
requested, by any UCCA Member; these communications may also be made public. Each GC Member is expected to participate in all Council communications including, but not limited to, all GC meetings (scheduled or otherwise), and all correspondence addressed to them concerning the UCCA. The President may grant exceptions at his/her discretion, but only with documentation and just cause. A pattern of failure to execute these or any other duties of the Office may be cause for review and action by the President in the form of a petition to the UCCA General Council. Each GC Member shall understand and agree that the progress of the GC and the Ministry of the UCCA cannot be expedited without active and continuous participation of its General Council Members. It is important, therefore, that to be a GC Member is to commit to the
time and effort necessary to fulfill the duties of the Office. Each Member of the GC accepts their respective positions with the full understanding of all the requirements of these responsibilities and by accepting their appointment, they fully agree to
execute the articulated duties to the best of their ability. They further agree that, at any time, if they believe that they can no longer fulfill their obligations to UCCA in expediting the Duties of Their Office they will graciously and honorably relinquish their authority by proper and timely notification to the President, to the GC as a body, and to each member of the GC.

Each Member of the UCCA-GC shall develop a firm working knowledge of “The Platform” of the UCCA and use that document in developing their roles within the Church, the GC and toward the Members of the UCCA. The implicit responsibility shall also apply to any public statements made on behalf of, or in their Official Capacity within, the UCCA. Any other public
statements made by a GC Member that is not specifically addressed directly or indirectly by the UCCA Platform shall be made in such a manner as to specifically separate their personal position from an official Church position. (Ordinarily, if a member of the general Council is speaking on behalf of UCCA, then his or her position within the UCCA-GC shall be noted. In
the absence of such information provided it shall be deemed that the person is speaking on his orher own behalf.) All Members of the UCCA-GC shall actively seek to establish new Members for the Church, including Individuals and Groups. They shall also assist in the establishment of local Meet-up Groups, House Churches and formal Church Congregations; this shall include existing Progressive Christian Congregations who might favor the work of the UCCA. Actively growing
the Membership of the UCCA shall be the work of all UCCA Members as well as the GC. All Members of the UCCA-General Council are appointed in perpetuity. They may serve as long as they are willing and able to serve. They may be removed only by resignation or for “just cause” by motion, and unanimous vote of the full UCCA-GC, sitting in a Special Called Session
for that specific purpose, and only after proper address of all pertinent issues. This matter is governed by the UCCA By-Laws.

Any vacant position on the GC may be filled by proper action of the UCCA General Council as described herein and/or within the provisions of UCCA By-Laws.

No position within the UCCA or any incumbent of the UCCA-GC is financially compensated in any manner. (These provisions are addressed further herein and within the UCCA By-Laws.)
Each Member of the Organizing Committee and/or the GC shall have the right to offer amendments to expand or modify the “duties” listed herein. Those “duties” listed herein shall be the minimum expected unless amended for just cause. Suggestions for modifications or  amendments shall be by email to the President who shall review the submittal and respond in a
timely manner. Once the amendment is in its final form it shall be submitted to the Organizing
Committee or the GC for review and action. Any UCCA Member wishing to comment on, and/or provide input to, this document may do so by email to the UCCA President at UCCA.President@yahoo.com.

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President, Chief Executive Officer, Senior Pastor (P/CEO/SP):
This individual shall serve as the “Head of the Church” and preside over the UCCA General
Council. The President/CEO shall exercise all rights and responsibilities customarily and legally
associated with this Position and those stated in the By-Laws of the UCCA and/or as directed by
official action of the GC. The position of President/CEO shall be responsible for the day-to-day
operations of the UCCA including those pertaining to financial and/or legal issues, and the
oversight of the timely and complete execution of the duties of all Members of the GC. The
President/CEO shall be charged with the responsibility for providing cohesion in all matters of
the UCCA to assure, as best as possible, the success and future of UCCA. The President/CEO
shall execute the Office in such a manner as to represent the needs, wishes and desires of the
Members of the UCCA both stated and presumed. The President/CEO is also Senior Pastor of
the Church (UCCA). In the capacity of Senior Pastor, the incumbent shall hold the care and
nourishment of all the Members of UCCA as paramount. In his/her capacity of Senior Pastor the
incumbent shall also serve as leader of all Ministers of UCCA, Ordained and Lay.
The President/CEO/SP may appoint “Assistants” from within, or external to, the UCCA
membership for specific periods when deemed necessary.

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Secretary/Treasurer (S/T):
The incumbent to the position of the dual roles as Secretary and Treasurer shall be responsible
for the creation and maintenance of the records of the UCCA, both for general business and for
accurate financial matters. The initially incumbent may be appointed by the UCCA President to
assist and serve on the “Organizing Committee” (OC) and may continue to serve as per this
Document and/or the provisions of the UCCA By-Laws. He/She shall serve as a Voting Member
of the OC and the GC with all rights and responsibilities customarily and legally associated with
the position of Secretary/Treasurer as well as with those stated within the By-Laws of the
UCCA.

The S/T shall cause all records of the UCCA to be properly maintained in working order and
shall cause all required reports, or other such instruments, to be filled as necessary. The S/T is to
provide such assistance to the President and GC as necessary for the proper execution of the
business and ministry of the UCCA, and shall serve the Membership of UCCA in like manner.
With approval of the UCCA President, the Secretary/Treasurer may appoint “Assistants” from
within the UCCA Membership, or from non-members, when deemed necessary, for specific
periods of time.

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Director of Education, General Programs and Services (D: E/GP/S):
This UCCA Director shall be responsible for the development, presentation, execution and
general oversight of all UCCA Educational Programs as well as for the entirety of General
Programs and Services presented by the UCCA that are not part of the responsibilities of any
other UCCA Director as stated within the UCCA By-Laws or as might be assigned by the UCCA
GC. This Director may, as deemed necessary and approved by the UCCA General Council, make
any assignments necessary to Non-Council Members – or, indeed, to non-UCCA Members - to
facilitate the duties of the Directorship. The expedition of this office shall be without
compensation unless special approval is given for specific projects or duties as approved by a
majority vote of the sitting UCCA General Council and with regard to the UCCA By-Laws.

The Director of Education, General Programs and Services shall act as Interim President/Chief
Executive Officer/Sr. Pastor (P/CEO/SP) of the UCCA in the event of the absence of the Sitting
President. The duties of this role shall be activated at the discretion of, and on request by, the
Sitting President, or in the eventuality that the Sitting President is incapacitated or otherwise
unable to execute his/her duties in accordance with the UCCA By-Laws. This protocol shall
remain in effect until such time as the Sitting President might return to duty, or until such time as
a permanent President, Chief Executive Officer, Senior Pastor is seated according to the UCCA

By-Laws.

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With approval of the UCCA President, the Director of Education, General Programs and
Services may appoint “Assistants” when deemed necessary from the UCCA Membership, or
from people not in membership, when deemed necessary, for specific periods of time.

Director of Membership Management (D: MM):
This Director shall be responsible for the growth and management of the overall Membership of
the UCCA including not only Members within the United States but also those worldwide.
Members, within this mandate, shall mean all Individuals, Church or Group Members, Lay
Members, Credentialed Members as well as Special Categories of Memberships such as youth,
elderly, incarcerated, and any others associated/affiliated with UCCA.

This Director shall develop and execute such programs as may be needed, necessary or desired to attract and retain
Members for the UCCA for each of its Member Categories. This Director shall establish and
maintain adequate communications and dialogue with the UCCA Membership to assure a
continuous and proper discourse between the Church and its Members. This mandate shall be
accomplished by utilizing any and all on-line outlets such as the UCCA Web Site, Facebook
Page and Blog Page(s), among others. This Director shall communicate publicly to the UCCA
Members and the general public on no less than a weekly basis. This Director shall also be a
regular participant in any on-line Ministry Programs that the Church might initiate.

The duties of this Director shall include the establishing of “Local Representatives” in various locations to
facilitate the presentation and growth of the UCCA. These Local Representative shall assist with
the on-going communications between the UCCA and its Local Members and the growth of the
UCCA is their localities. These Local Representative Appointments shall be confirmed at a
regular meeting of the General Council unless this duty is delegated to the President. This
Director shall develop and execute a specific program to meet the needs of the Youth/Young
Adult Members of the UCCA, including establishing “Campus Representatives” and specific
programs for each Membership Category or Special Category. This Director shall develop and
execute other specific programs for other demographics as deemed necessary or at the request of
the UCCA President or GC.

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With approval of the UCCA President, the Director of Membership Management may appoint
“Assistants” from within the UCCA Membership, or from people not in membership, when
deemed necessary, for specific periods of time.

Director of Public Relations and Information (D: PR/I):
This Director shall be responsible for the on-going outreach of the UCCA, including the
UCCA’s Interfaith Relations. The duties of this office shall be specifically directed towards that
segment of the public that might be considered Unitarian Christian as well as to the public in
general. A special effort should be made to reach out to the “Progressive Christian Community”
and other Unitarian Christian Communities for the purpose of establishing a working
relationship. It shall be the responsibility and charge of this Director to promote the UCCA and
its Platform to all segments of the public in such a manner as to cause them to reach out to the
UCCA for information and to seek membership.

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This Director shall, in concert with other GC Members, develop communications materials for
media and print to introduce our faith, our Platform, and the UCCA to the public, in general, and
to specific segments thereof. This Director shall be responsible for the publishing and
dissemination of any materials appropriate to the functioning of the UCCA. All materials for
publication from the UCCA shall be subject to review and/or approval by the UCCA President
and/or the GC.

With approval of the UCCA President, the Director of Public Relations and Information may
appoint “Assistants” from within the UCCA Membership, or those not in membership, when
deemed necessary, for specific periods of time.

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