RIGHT RELATIONSHIP COMMITTEE (RRC) CHARTER
March 2024 revised
REPORTS TO:
The UUCA Board of Trustees
PURPOSE:
To facilitate the well-being of the UUCA Community by fostering covenantal community and creatively engaging in conflicts between members of the congregation.
To be visible and available as a listening ear and facilitator so when an interpersonal conflict arises, congregants can seek support and advice .
ROLE:
- Help support the congregation’s overall health by fostering an understanding of covenants and covenantal practices, different approaches to engaging in conflict, and the supports available within UUCA to form covenants, address concerns, and navigate conflict. This includes supporting healthy congregational meetings.
- Provide healthy communication and conflict engagement training to the congregation using UUA and tailored resources.
- Offer conflict engagement services to individual congregants, or to a group of congregants (e.g. a listening circle).
Limitations on Role: Members of RRC focus only on providing support with interpersonal conflicts between congregants or within small groups at UUCA. Any of the following conflicts should be directed to groups and resources beyond the RRC:
- Conflicts within the Board (seek UUA resources).
- Conflicts involving ministers or staff (to be sent to the person directly, their supervisor, or the personnel committee, or Board).
- Conflicts that trigger the destructive person’s policy (directed according to the policy).
- Conflicts that trigger our safer congregations policies (directed to the Safer Congregations team).
- Conflicts within the wider congregation (best supported by resources outside the congregation or a specific reconciliation team).
- The RRC does not provide marital or other family conflict resolution services.
MEMBERSHIP:
Right Relationship Committee members are appointed by the Board with the advice of the Ministers and the members of the RRC. An effort is made to choose members representing the broad diversity of the congregation.
Membership is targeted at a minimum of 5 members but can include up to 8-10. Members are appointed on an ongoing basis. Onboarding includes completion of the UU Institute’s “Tending Covenant: Training for Right Relations 330” course, in conjunction with established member support. Onboarding represents the expectation of a 6 month time frame; the initial commitment expectation for an RRC member is 2 years.
Members are chosen with consideration of these skills:
Practitioner of deep listening
Able to manage own reactivity when under pressure
Able to avoid being triangulated into the conflicts of others
Patient around process and outcomes
Humble about role as facilitating process (not fixing)
Able to see the big picture
Able to hold multiple perspectives
Open to being transformed themselves
Trusted and respected by the community
Sensitive to power inequities and oppression dynamics
Skilled at conflict engagement (or willing to learn and specifically to be trained)
Well-grounded in Unitarian Universalism (practicing at least 3 years)
Fully versed in the 8th Principle
Committed to the mission of the congregation (not a personal agenda)
CONTACT:
The committee selects at their discretion a member to be the point of contact for the congregation and the Board. Committee contact information is made available to the congregation, to facilitate contact as needed.
MEETINGS:
The RRC holds meetings at least quarterly. Members of the team may choose to meet at any time to consult on issues as needed.
CONFIDENTIALITY:
Conversations between congregants and members of the RRC are confidential. Details are not to be shared outside of RRC membership without the explicit permission of the person(s) involved in the conversation.
Note: Exceptions to this confidentiality include cases that might involve criminal activity, imminent or likely risk of danger to self or to others including abuse or maltreatment of a child or other vulnerable person.
REPORTING:
The RRC will make brief, anonymized, “snapshot” quarterly reports to the Board in writing, and will report in person as requested from the Board. Reports will include descriptive characterizations of the Committee’s engagements during the quarter.
Sample Entries:
“No concerns were reported to the RRC in the past two months.”
“We have had four individuals come to us for support. Two were able to resolve their own issues. One needed assistance speaking to the person they were in conflict with, but it is now resolved. One is not resolved and may require escalation to the Board.”
Submitted to the UUCA Board of Trustees Accepted by UUCA Board of Trustees
February 27, 2024 March 26, 2024 (Approved with revisions)
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Authorizing Signature