Special Congregational Meeting
Board of Trustees of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo has called for a special congregational meeting to occur on Sunday, December 3, 2023, at 12:00 PM in the sanctuary of the church. This meeting is to change portions of the Bylaws.
Article I, Section B: Removing “ and its Saint Lawrence District in its Central East Regional Group”
Article II, Section B: Removing “, the Director of Lifespan Faith Development, the Director of Music, the Church Administrator,”
Article V, Section A: Changing “No person shall be eligible for election to the Board until that person has been a voting member of the Church for two years and is at least 18 years of age.” to “No person shall be eligible for election to the Board until that person has been a voting member of the Church for one year and is at least 18 years of age.”
From your Board of Trustees
Contacting the Board: Questions, concerns, comments? Send us an email at board@buffalouu.org.
Board Meetings: Third Wednesday of each month at 7pm, at least 10 months of the year. Currently they are held either in the Alliance Room at church or via Zoom: – https://uuma.zoom.us/j/97736244745. Members of the congregation are welcome to be present at these meetings, except when the Board is in executive session. (IMPORTANT: If attending via Zoom, please email the board in advance so they know to expect you). Board activities and decisions are reported in the monthly Newsletter; minutes are filed in the church office, where they are available for review by church members.
Board Election and Service: The seven-member Board of Trustees is elected by the congregation at the January congregational meeting. The Officers of the Board (President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer) are elected by the Trustees from among the Board members. For more info on the Board of Trustees, see our Bylaws.
Term Expiring January 2024
Bridget Evans, Vice President
Michael Hill, Secretary
Term Expiring January 2025
Bobby Withrow, President
Shaun Sweet, Member at Large
Kate Bell-Schwede, Member at Large
Term Expiring January 2026
Thea Hassan, Treasurer
Christine Slocum, Member at Large
Policy Documents
Annual Report 2022
Policy Book – April 2023
Bylaws – Oct 2022
Personnel Manual – 2014.2
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo is a freestanding, self-supporting congregation, governed by its own members. The congregation is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association, and pays a “fair share” membership in that association, as well as in the Central East Regional Group of the UUA.
The congregation is governed by an elected Board of Trustees, and is legally and financially independent of any denominational authority. The congregation operates as a legal not-for-profit entity incorporated in the State of New York and is governed by congregationally adopted ByLaws.
The Board of Trustees leads the congregation in a model called “policy-based governance” in which their primary responsibility is to provide leadership to the minister, staff, and congregation through a clearly articulated and coherent mission, vision, outcomes and policies. These are published in a Board of Trustees Policy Book, which is a living document open to refinement as conditions may require. Based on the policies, a set of processes and procedures are developed to guide day to day operations, supported by advisory committees, task forces and ministry teams.