Covenant
Our Covenant
We build our fellowship on a foundation of love and covenant with one another:
1. To value diversity, trust and respect in our relationships with each other, we strive to…
• Listen carefully to each other, seeking both to understand and to be understood;
• Challenge ourselves and each other to grow and be faithful to the truth we find within;
• Keep our individual needs in balance with the health and vitality of the community as a whole.
2. To hold honest and respectful communication as the basis of healthy relationships in community, we
strive to…
• Be open, courteous and forgiving with each other, suspend judgement of those with whom we
disagree and offer each other kindness and encouragement;
• Provide our paid and volunteer leaders with clear expectations, clear lines of communication and our
steadfast support;
• Compassionately care for one another.
3. To acknowledge that change and conflict are normal parts of life in community, we strive to…
• Respect tradition and also embrace change as the needs of our community change;
• Be firm in our commitment to seeking a mutual solution to our differences;
• Assume the positive intent of others;
• Work out conflicts respectfully, utilizing our conflict resolution process. See Conflict Resolution Policy*
4. To be generous with our gifts in support of our mission, we strive to…
• Give of our time, talent and resources as we are able, to keep our community vital and strong;
• Provide our leadership with the resources to be effective in their roles;
• Work together to be a religiously liberal voice, seeking environmental and social justice in our larger
community.
5. To actively create space to listen to different experiences, being intentional to include voices that tend
to be marginalized, we strive to…
• Speak only in our own voice and not attribute our feelings and judgements to groups of people;
• Not appropriate the voices of other people, but allow them to speak of their own experiences;
• Avoid using our assumptions and/or privilege to judge, invalidate or rationalize experiences that may
be different from the dominant paradigm.
6. To nurture each other in our ethical, intellectual and spiritual journeys, we strive to…
• Welcome dialogue and cultivate an open and safe environment in which to hear all points of view;
• Make room for people’s expressions of reason, doubt, wisdom and wonder;
• Welcome the sharing of our laughter and our tears;
• Celebrate life’s sacred mysteries and embrace the fullest measure of our humanity.
Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Covenant April 24, 2020