Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, Indiana Seeking the Spirit | Building Community | Changing the World
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Appendix A: Mission and Ends Statements

View Appendix A as a PDF here.

Table of Contents

UUCB MISSION AND ENDS STATEMENTS

PREAMBLE

In Partnership Governance, the Board sets forth Ends Statements which establish our general principles as well as what our Congregation aspires to do. These statements expand upon our Congregation’s vision statement of “Seeking the Spirit, Building Community, and Changing the World” and our Congregation’s mission statement (below) to provide spiritual and governance guidance to the Ministers, Staff, and lay leaders.

MISSION STATEMENT

UUCB’s Mission Statement, adopted by the Congregation, along with the Vision Statement, at the June 7, 2009 Congregational Meeting:

“In this liberal religious community of inspiration, love and action:

  • we celebrate life
  • we nurture one another
  • we welcome all
  • we care for the earth and
  • we work for the common good.”

ENDS STATEMENTS

The term “Ends” refers to the fact these statements do not dictate “means” or how things are done but rather articulate our reason for existence as an institution. The current Ends statements were first adopted by the Board in September of 2010 during the transition to policy governance. They are a living document maintained by the Board. The Ends statements were revised in 2021 following the Congregation’s decision to adopt the 8th principle and again in August 2024 following the move to a new governance model and the UUA’s adoption of Article 2 (Shared Unitarian Universalist Values).

By adopting the 8th principle, we committed ourselves to working to build a multicultural Beloved Community in which people of diverse backgrounds and identities come together in mutually respectful, loving, and caring relationships to seek justice within our Congregation, the local community, and in the broader world.

Seeking the Spirit

UUCB exists to:

  1. Provide Congregants from a variety of faith traditions with a liberal, universally accepting spiritual home.
  2. Provide compassionate spiritual care to Congregants without the burden of restrictive creeds, tenets, covenants, or preordained beliefs.
  3. Provide a space where people from diverse backgrounds with different perspectives can freely gather to explore their beliefs.
  4. Provide people of all ages with opportunities to grow together spiritually through liberal religious education and practice, leadership, and community action.
  5. Encourage Congregants to practice the UUA Principles and the Values and Covenant of the UUA, adopted in 2024, which underscore the 8th Principle adopted by UUCB in 2021.

Building Community

UUCB exists to:

  1. Build a liberal community dedicated to accountably dismantling racism and other oppressions both within itself and in the larger community.
  2. Foster a climate of purposeful inclusion where all can feel safe, valued, and cared for, and are given an opportunity to form meaningful connections with each other.
  3. Create a community that values the full range of human experience, including (but not exclusive to) differences in sex, age, race, ethnicity, national origin, physical and mental abilities, sexual orientation, gender identity, educational and class status, and financial means. We commit to working consciously in all of our activities and decisions to honor experiences and identities that are usually minimized or devalued.
  4. Build an active community where members share their time, talents, and resources for the common good.
  5. Build a thoughtful community where people can explore ideas and perspectives without trepidation or fear of rejection.
  6. Provide Congregants, Ministers, and Staff with an environment where they know they will be welcomed and valued.

Changing the World

UUCB exists to:

  1. Encourage leadership and participation in efforts to eliminate prejudice, injustice, and oppression within the community and in the world at large.
  2. Provide Congregants with the means to undertake and support projects fostering social justice and community welfare through direct action and financial contributions.
  3. Partner with other congregations and organizations in efforts to foster positive social change.
  4. Engage with and encourage the UUA to build a diverse and multicultural beloved faith community.
  5. Encourage leadership and participation in projects that foster ecologically sound, sustainable, and livable communities, both locally and throughout the world.