As Unitarian Universalists, it is the responsibility of each congregation to create a mission and vision statement that reflects their hope and understand of what it means to be part of a specific church.
There are over 1,000 UU congregations in the nation, each one is free to define what their church signifies by stating it in distinct terms, and to outline a vision to help guide its members and friends.
A mission statement defines what a company does now (its purpose, who it serves, how it operates).
Our Bylaws Mission Statement is:
ARTICLE III
MISSION STATEMENT
“We are a diverse liberal religious community that seeks to uphold and promote the Principles and Purposes of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Our Congregation welcomes and accepts all people. We reach out beyond our Congregation to serve as a catalyst for social action.
A mission statement in our bylaws is necessary because it serves three purposes – legal, organizational, and theological. To qualify for 501©(3) tax-exempt status, a church must prove that its purpose is exclusively religious, charitable, or educational.”
Beyond our bylaws we have working mission and vision statements
Our Mission tells people how we are going to get there day-to-day, while our Vision serves as the beautiful picture of what we will look like when we arrive.
Our current working mission statement is “We are a sanctuary for religious liberals celebrating compassion, diversity, and spiritual growth.”
it is entirely focused on the present tense (“We are…”). It describes our current identity, our daily purpose, and what we value right now. It acts as our church’s “job description” and a promise to anyone who walks through our doors today.
A vision statement describes where the company wants to be in the future (its long-term aspirations, the impact it wants to create)
Our current working vision statement is: “To create a Beloved Community that is Spiritually Alive, Joyfully Inclusive, and Justice Centered.”
It looks to the future: It starts with “To create…”, which means we are actively building toward a goal. It describes a destination we are marching toward.
It is aspirational and bold: “Beloved Community,” “Spiritually Alive,” “Joyfully Inclusive,” and “Justice Centered” are inspiring, big-picture dreams. They give our congregation something exciting to rally around and work toward over the next few years.
These statements are especially important for UU’s because we are a Covenantal Faith. We do not have a mandatory creed or dogma that everyone must believe, our mission, vision and our covenants are what bind us together.
