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About LUF

Lakehead Unitarian Fellowship
129 S. Algoma St., Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, P7B 3B7
Phone: (807) 344-5980 - Email: lufship@tbaytel.net


Lakehead Unitarian Fellowship Covenant of Right Relations

21/09/08 Preamble

This is our Covenant of Right Relations. It represents how we, at our best, want to be with one another.

These promises are phrased in the language of hopes and aspirations. Because we are human, our conduct will fall short of our ambitions from time to time. When that happens, we will start over again, in love. There are no penalties for bad behaviour here, only encouragements to good.

This Covenant belongs to the whole congregation, for it is the product of the whole congregation working together. We mean it to be a living document. We intend to revisit it often, to make it available to those contemplating membership in our fellowship, and to continue to solicit suggestions on how to improve it.

These are our dreams; may they all come true.

A. With respect to Sunday mornings, I will try to:

  1. Show up on time
  2. Listen respectfully when others are speaking or performing during services
  3. Welcome our children, make a place for them, and encourage them to behave during services, and praise them when they do
  4. Respect our scent-free and nut-free environment

B. With respect to committees, I will try to:

  • Serve on a committee when I can
  • Change committees (or roles on a committee) from time to time, so others can also serve and lead
  • When leading a committee, train my successor(s) and make sure all have a chance to speak
  • Serve on my share of unglamorous committees
  • Make sure my committee decisions are conveyed to whoever needs to know
  • On Sunday mornings, not do or expect others to do committee work
  • Treat others with the same respect, good humour, and kindness that I want to be treated with, appreciating that we all have our own way of doing things
  • Ask people to do what they can or will do, instead of what I know, or ought to know, they can't or won't
  • Respect other people's time
  • In case of disagreement, address rather than avoid the issue, communicating directly and respectfully, and seeking help when needed
  • Avoid triangulating (A talks to B about C)
  • Consider the possibility, unlikely as it is, that the other person might be right

    • C. With respect to the denomination and related entities, for example, the Canadian Unitarian Council, the Unitarian Universalist Association, the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists, and other congregations, districts, and groups, I will try to:

    1. Stay informed, as through newsletters, websites, email, meetings, and conferences, and offer feedback, where appropriate, to the appropriate person
    2. Learn about, use, and promote the available resources
    3. Ensure that the Lakehead Unitarian Fellowship is represented at conferences and meetings
    4. Trust and support the people who speak for the fellowship

    D. With respect to our children and youth, I will try to:

    1. Search for creative ways to regularly include the perspectives of children and youth in fellowship life, including worship services
    2. Be transparent
    3. Speak only for myself, not for others, who can speak for themselves
    4. Listen, get to know their names, and invite their stories
    5. (Youth especially) Respect the time limitations of youth, recognizing that they have busy lives, and involve them in decisions that affect them
    6. Teach children and youth about grown-up topics that they can really use, like being responsible about money, the environment, and human resources
    7. Avoid baby talk and boring questions like "So - how is school?"

    E. With respect to our elders, I will try to:

    1. Keep in touch with them, especially with those who can't attend
    2. Appreciate and use their perspective, wisdom, experience, skills, lives, and stories
    3. Honour them

    F. With respect to newcomers, visitors, guest musicians and speakers, I will try to:

    1. Make people feel at home with us, remembering how hard it can be to be a newcomer
    2. Welcome them and get to know their names
    3. Recognize that some newcomers want special attention and others do not
    4. Honour their religious backgrounds
    5. Treat the contributions of pulpit guests and musicians respectfully, and thank them

    G. With respect to others outside our community, I will try to:

    1. Be aware of those who have been forgotten, and try to wake up the forgetters, including myself
    2. Seed other Unitarian-Universalist communities and like-minded people in other communities
    3. Identity myself as a Unitarian Universalist, where appropriate, and spread the good word
    4. Perform everyday acts of kindness (and not get caught)
    5. Live my principles; witness; speak up
    6. Stay informed about my community, and become involved to the extent I can
    7. Listen to the still, small voice within
    8. Speak the truth to power, as I understand the truth

    H. With respect to our board of directors, I will try to:

    1. Learn and understand what the board does, and doesn't, do
    2. Read the board minutes, and stay informed
    3. Anticipate rather than second-guess
    4. Support the board with appreciation, constructive criticism, and chocolate
    5. Recognize that, on Sunday mornings, board members have as much right to worship (and not work) as I do
    6. Remember that the board is made up of members of our congregation who are trying, as I am, to do the best work they can in the best interests of the whole congregation, as they understand them
    7. Trust the board whenever possible, encourage others to trust the board, and facilitate the development of structures and institutions within the congregation that encourage trust generally

    I. With respect to our minister (when we have one) and staff, I will try to:

    1. Practice restraint and courtesy on Sunday mornings
    2. Tell the truth in love
    3. Give responsible feedback
    4. Take responsibility for my own religious experience and community involvement, and not count on the minister or others to do it for me
    5. Recognize that for the foreseeable future our congregation will be in learning mode about professional ministry and staff
    6. Make sure the minister and staff members are compensated fairly as resources permit, and are otherwise treated fairly
    7. Not expect staff members to work on Sunday mornings
    8. Remember that ministers and staff are fallible human beings too, and, like boards and congregants, only occasionally walk on water

    J. With respect to fellow congregants, I will try to:

    1. Give and receive criticism with care
    2. Support projects that benefit the whole church community
    3. Speak with you and welcome you if you are new

    This covenant is in process and will be formally adopted once 75% of members have signed on.


    Covenant of the Lakehead Unitarian Fellowship
    Composed with input from LUF congregation, June 1990, Thunder Bay, Ontario.

    Guided by Unitarian Universalist Traditions, Principles and Purposes

    We, the members of the Lakehead Unitarian Fellowship covenant as a religious community to:
  • Create a welcoming environment.
  • Respect each person’s unique character and contribution.
  • Encourage compassion, reason and responsibility.
  • Nurture lifelong spiritual growth.
  • Promote social justice for all.
  • Foster stewardship in our natural world.
    We are therefore committed to the concept and practice of ministering to one another in the spirit of right relations.


    		•


    The Vision of the Lakehead Unitarian Fellowship
    as expressed in the 2002 Strategic Plan is (briefly):


  • a community that is diverse, welcoming, and celebratory of life's journeys.
  • a gathering place that is aesthetically pleasing, accessible, and adaptable to a variety of needs.
  • thoughtful, meaningful and provocative Sunday services that are enhanced by music and other artistic expression.
  • programming that values active individual and collective responsibility by encouraging children to think independently, providing youth with meaning growth experiences, and offering adults opportunities for the exploration of spiritual, human and environmental ideas and values.
  • an effective social action program with increases awareness of and involvement in issues of global and local concern.



    • Our Mission Statement:

    Lakehead Unitarian Fellowship is a nurturing, caring community that embraces diversity; explores spiritual, religious, ecological and humanist values; and enriches the lives of member, friends and society at large.



    The Purpose of the Lakehead Unitarian Fellowship:
    as expressed in our bylaws is:

  • to bring Unitarian Universalists and religious liberals into closer relationship with one another and to unite them in the quest for the highest values in religion and life.




    • History Of The Lakehead
    Unitarian Fellowship