Our Governance
Our Governance Structure
Democracy is at the heart of Unitarian Universalist congregations, including All Souls. We are an independent congregation, in an active association and relationship with other Unitarian Universalist congregations locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. The ultimate authority within the church is held by the congregation, which elects the Board of Trustees, calls its primary minister and votes on fiscal decisions and major initiatives.
We internally use a policy governance style-organizational system, which guides action with broad statements of goals articulated by our leadership. It is a transparent system that establishes clear lines of authority and accountability while encouraging open communication and avoiding micro-managing. Policy Governance entrusts people with the freedom to do their jobs creatively and effectively.
Our Leaders
Meet Our Lay Leaders: our Board of Trustees, Program Council, and Leadership and Nominations Committee, who do the work of: making and implementing policy, helping with ministry and programs, and developing the next set of congregational leaders.
Board of Trustees Meetings
For the 2022-23 church year, the Board of Trustees will hold business meetings on the second or third Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. Members and friends are welcome to attend. Click on the meeting date links below to see the meeting agenda and get the Zoom meeting link:
Meeting Minutes
May 2022 Board Meeting Minutes
May 2022 Special Congregational Meeting Minutes
May 2022 Annual Congregational Meeting Minutes
June 2022 Board Meeting Minutes
Annual Lists of Approved Motions and Policies
2020-2021 Board Approved Motions.docx
2019-2020 Board Approved Motions.docx
2018-2019 Board Approved Motions.docx
2021-2022 Board Approved Motions
Links to helpful Governance Documents and Resources:
ASUC Bylaws – last revised and approved Dec 12, 2021
All Souls Board Policy Manual – last revised and approved May 18, 2022
Safe Church Policy All-Souls-Safe-Church
2021 Policy Governance Presentation
The Board Policy Manual is a work in progress and will be routinely updated. Anyone with questions or comments about policies, procedures or any other aspect of governance, please contact Jean Miller at president@allsoulsindy.org.
2022-2023 All Souls Vision Of Ministry
Guiding Vision of Ministry:
Together we create transformative experiences each week that fuel people forward into their lives in the community, and then they come back for more.
Priorities
- Creating Clear Paths of Connection & Belonging to Strengthen and Facilitate Fierce Commitment to Social Justice and Multigenerational Engagement
- Radical Hospitality & Inclusion
- Create a Culture of Healthy Conflict
During the August 2022 Board Retreat, the Board and Rev. Katie developed our annual Vision of Ministry with assistance from our Multicultural Ministry Coach, Julica Hermann de la Fuente, who facilitated the retreat.
Our visioning and priority setting was informed by feedback from the Open Questions process process and feedback from the congregation during the ministerial search process that determined the primary areas of focus for our new minister (these were part of our Congregational Record).
After we set our vision and priorities at the board retreat, the staff had their own retreat and created an entire church year of programming to support this vision.
Additionally, in support of this Vision, the board and staff are all participating in a common read, See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love by Valarie Kaur.
What is a Multicultural Ministry Coach?
It was clear to Rev. Katie from our Congregational Record that we had done some work in welcoming, and we had questions like, “Why aren’t more young people here? Why don’t people of color or LGBTQ+ people stay? What are we doing wrong?” Our work with a Multicultural Ministry Coach and Rev. Katie will help us build on what it is we do well at All Souls as we aim to create that Beloved and Diverse community we are dreaming about. Julica will be working primarily with Rev. Katie, staff, and leadership, but the congregation will also have opportunities to connect with her as we move forward.