C-VUU CUUPS Internal Covenant

Purpose of this Document

This document is to lay out the structure, duties and responsibilities of the Covenant of Unitarian-Universalist Pagans (CUUPS) of the Coastal Virginia Unitarian Universalists (C-VUU). It includes our covenant with the C-VUU congregation as well as our internal covenant.

Who We Are

We are a group of people who either hold the beliefs of, or are friendly toward, indigenous, earth-centered and/or pagan peoples. We exist as an interest group and ministry outreach of the Coastal Virginia Unitarian Universalists.

Covenant with C-VUU

We, the Tidewater CUUPS chapter of the Coastal Virginia Unitarian Universalist Congregation, embrace the mission statements and principles of CVUU, the principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association and of National CUUPS.

We promote personal responsibility and integrity, diversity and compassion, competency and education in the pursuit of spiritual balance. We provide support to all seeking to live a life more in balance with nature and to accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions by exploring the teachings and traditions of various pagan, indigenous and Earth-centered religions and philosophies. We provide a safe and welcoming space and promote respect of self and others and affirm the worth and dignity of all people.
We offer our talents and abilities in service to our fellow congregants at CVUU and the greater south Hampton Roads community by providing seasonal celebrations to honor the Earth and its cycles. We educate ourselves and others on spiritual and esoteric subjects during our regularly scheduled discussions. We honor the Divine in many forms.

We welcome observers and participants from the general community as well as our congregation. Our leadership is elected from active members of CVUU.

Accepted by vote on 11/28/2020

What We Do

C-VUU CUUPS, as a group, will provide the following services for members of our group, members of the C-VUU congregation, and members of the local pagan, indigenous and earth-centered communities. Our liturgical year will run at the same time of the C-VUU Church year, September to August.

Seasonal Celebrations

C-VUU CUUPS will provide a minimum of the following celebrations, in line with the solar events and the bisecting cross quarter days.

• Fall Equinox, celebrated on a Saturday close to the fall equinox
  November Cross-Quarter, celebrated on a Saturday close to the November 7
• Winter Solstice, celebrated on December 21, regardless of which day of the week it falls on. We choose this day to minimize conflicts with the rest of the C-VUU calendar at the time of the winter holidays.
• February Cross-Quarter, celebrated on a Saturday close to Feb 1st
• Spring Equinox, celebrated on a Saturday close to the spring equinox
• May Cross-Quarter, celebrated on a Saturday close to May 5
• June Solstice, celebrated on a Saturday close to the summer solstice
• August Cross-Quarter, celebrated on a Saturday close to August 7
  How each celebration will occur will be determined by the will of the CUUPS group at the time. The CUUPS group will be careful not to appropriate traditions, but work with those whose traditions are celebrated at the time.

Educational and Esoteric Discussions

C-VUU CUUPS will conduct a discussion on an educational or esoteric topic on the Saturdays midway between the seasonal celebrations.

The topic of these discussions will be based on the will of the group.

Leadership Training

The C-VUU CUUPS leadership will provide training in how to write and run public rituals and other topics as deemed appropriate and necessary by the group.

Our Leadership Structure

Tasks that need to be handled by the coordinators. Coordinators must be active members of the congregation, and bear the responsibility of their duties. They should be assisted by members of the CUUPS group whenever possible so that the duties do not become overwhelming and that others grow in their leadership abilities.

Chapter Coordinator

The Chapter Coordinator will be responsible for the following:

• Coordinating the seasonal celebrations. This will include scheduling of events; coordinating the production of a family-friendly ritual; arranging for childcare and any sexton services; coordinating set-up and cleanup of the event; and purchasing needed materials for the celebration.
• Coordinating representation at C-VUU. This will include attending board meetings where deemed necessary; participating in the program council; and working with other committees to use common space.
• Coordination with CUUPS National. This will include doing the necessary paperwork; maintaining records of communication; and paying the yearly dues.
• Maintaining the C-VUU budget for CUUPS. This will include submitting the yearly budget request; tracking expenses and budget numbers; and submitting expense reimbursement requests.
• Monitor the CUUPS email at C-VUU in conjunction with the other coordinators.

Discussion Coordinator

The Discussion Coordinator will be responsible for the following:

• Coordinating the eight yearly discussions. This includes picking a topic with input from the group; scheduling the necessary space and resources for the discussions; leading the discussion where there is no presentation; and working with the presenters.
• Monitor the CUUPS email at C-VUU in conjunction with the other coordinators.

Outreach Coordinator

The Outreach Coordinator will be responsible for the following:

• Coordinate graphics for the discussions and celebrations to C-VUU. This will include graphics/text for the Sunday order of service, graphics for the Sunday slides, and graphics for the weekly newsletter.
• Coordinate information for the website. This includes graphics for the website and individual event posts on the website.
• Coordinate social media. This includes graphic posts for events and answering any inquiries on the Facebook group; and other future social media.
• Monitor the CUUPS email at C-VUU in conjunction with the other coordinators.

Other

The chapter may stand up temporary committees to address specific issues and/or goals as needed.

Election of Leadership

Upon the vacancy of a coordinator position, the chapter will vote on the interested candidates. All coordinators must be active members of the congregation outside of CUUPS.

Conflict Resolution

Since conflicts will necessarily arise, we encourage CUUPS members to work directly with each other to resolve conflicts. If necessary, a coordinator can be brought in as a neutral party to help find a solution.

Should there be a conflict between CUUPS and another committee at C-VUU, we will work with the Program Council to facilitate a solution best for the congregation as a whole. Should this not be possible, we will use the Covenant of Right Relations as defined by C-VUU to resolve the conflict.

This covenant was voted on and accepted unanimously at the CUUPS discussion meeting on 28 May 2022.