Approx. 25 of us participated in the Covenant Workshop on October 1 with UUA Pacific Western Region staffperson Annie Scott.  Based on the statements generated by workshop participants, a small covenant crafting team came up with the below draft, which was then circulated to workshop participants, who made minor suggestions which were then included. We invite you to review this draft covenant, and after church on January 8 and 22nd we will have a gathering (in-person and on zoom) to discuss your thoughts and responses.  You can also forward your thoughts and responses to Rev. Elaine at minister@uucmp.org. (Please see below.)

We, the Members and Friends of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Monterey Peninsula have a mission to welcome all with loving hearts and open minds.  Our vision is a welcoming, respectful, and vibrant environment where we support one another, comfort and challenge one another, and inspire our work in the world.  This covenant of right relations supports our mission and vision, providing a set of guidelines to help us maintain a healthy and spirited community.  It encourages us to bring our best selves to our relationships with one another and to grow in spirit, deepening our connections with each other. Every member and friend of the UUCMP community is encouraged to join in these promises to ensure that this institution thrives and can accomplish its mission and vision in the world.
 
 
To Encourage Respectful Interactions
 
• We will listen deeply without judgment or a rush to respond
• We will speak thoughtfully and respectfully, to share our truth and lived experience
• We will trust that others have good intentions
• We will be mindful of our impact, despite our good intentions
• We will provide honest, constructive feedback
• We will be willing to learn and grow, especially when it challenges us

To Cultivate a Caring Community
 
• We will practice kindness and compassion, respecting our similarities and differences
• We will hold ourselves accountable for our words and actions
• We will resolve conflicts directly, with openness and compassion, seeking reconciliation
through forgiveness and making amends
• We will view each other with the spirit of love, expressing joy, humor, and a generous spirit 
• We will continue to work toward true equity, inclusion, diversity and acceptance
• We will participate as fully as we are able, and share the ownership of the congregation

We will support those who struggle on their path, as fellow travelers on our human journey, sharing our joys, comforting each other’s sorrows, learning, growing, and responding with patience and empathy for our individual fallibility.  We will forgive ourselves and others when we fall short and fail to keep these promises, calling one another back into right relations with compassion, beginning again in love.

Draft created by Covenant Crafters Steve Johnson, Mike Lovell, Page Galloway & Elaine Gehrmann, November 2, 2022 (with slight edits made by participants of Covenant workshop, updated Nov. 10, 2022).