VUU Behavioral Covenant

As members and friends of this congregation with a common purpose to nurture each other in our religious community, we hereby covenant:

To welcome everyone who comes to VUU on an honest and responsible spiritual quest or search for community
To accept and respect the differences among us
To listen actively and respectfully
To trust in the inherent good faith of each other
To create an atmosphere where all of us feel safe
To practice forgiving each other and ourselves
To focus our discussions on topics, ideas, and issues rather than on people
To speak directly to those with whom we disagree and work toward resolution
To speak out with loving kindness when we witness inappropriate behavior or disrespectful interactions
To be respectful of our staff’s time and commitments as professionals
To take responsibility for our behavior, hold ourselves accountable, and keep the commitments we make
To practice replacing “they” with “we” to begin the phrase “…ought to do something”
To trust the process, accepting and supporting our democratic decisions while acknowledging that we may not always agree
To remember that building our beloved community requires active participation