Communications Policies

April 2003

  1. Introduction

    This is a policy that describes the coordination of the activities that provide internal and external communications within FUSD and to deliver one message about FUSD to the outside world. The policy includes and frames:

    • Need to facilitate flow of communication throughout FUSD IN ALL DIRECTIONS
    • Disseminate FUSD information to the public-at-large
    • Establish policies and procedures concerning communications
    • Evaluate communication effectiveness, both internal and external IN ALL DIRECTIONS


  2. Administration of the Policy

    This policy will be overseen by the church administrator: in consultation with the Board of Trustees

  3. Speaking for the Church

    The First Unitarian Society of Denver fully and completely supports the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.  Any member may say anything he or she wishes to any one he or she wishes – as a private and as a member of the Society.  However, speaking for the society is a different matter.

    There may come times in the life of the Society that members of the media, parties in some legal action, or in some other circumstance desire to know the position of the Society (not simply a member of the Society.)  If time is of the essence in transferring this information, the Minister, the President of the Board of Trustees, and the Church Administrator (only on non-policy issues) may contemporaneously speak for the Society. 

    If time is not of the essence, it is preferred that an assigned spokesperson be appointed by the Congregation through the Board of Trustees, and that spokesperson be fully informed on all aspects of the opinions expressed by the Congregation.

  4. Bulletin Board [non-electronic] Policy

    The bulletin boards in the community room are provided to create accessible, useful, and interesting ways to communicate information to FUSD members. The staff, board, committees and members may post information on the bulletin board that is of general interest to the FUSD community. All messages should be dated, unless of an ongoing nature.

    The bulletin board will be divided into logical sections to best serve FUSD members and help them locate pertinent information.

    When posting items on the Bulletin Board, please remember to include a contact name and telephone number along with complete information.

    Commercial [for-profit organizations with absolutely no FUSD connections in fact or spirit] announcements for outside groups may not be posted on the bulletin boards

    Partisan political announcements may not be posted on the bulletin boards

    The staff or board or trustees may rearrange or remove items from the bulletin board that are

    1. Outdated
    2. Overly large
    3. In violation of these policies


  5. Sunday Morning Community Room Tables Policy

    The Community Room Tables are provided to create accessible, useful, and interesting ways to communicate information to FUSD members.  The staff, board, committees and members may provide personnel and maintain tables that are of general interest to the FUSD community. 

    Since space in the Community room is limited, the Program Council will create a space allotment process if and when it becomes necessary.  Not all requests for a table may be granted

    Commercial [for-profit organizations with absolutely no FUSD connections in fact or spirit] may not have a Sunday morning table at FUSD.

    Partisan political organizations may not have a table at FUSD.

    The Board of Trustees is may consider a change in when and where fundraising activities will be allowed after church service in the Community Room. This change is in response to members’ concerns about competing priorities for their attention, time, space and money

    • Too many groups fundraising at church compete with and reduce the amount members are willing to give to the church.
    • Church attendees feel uncomfortable with frequent requests for money.
    • Long announcements in the Community Room are annoying and take unfair advantage of a captive audience.
    • Multiple tables in the Community Room selling things are distracting to a serene and comfortable environment for discussion and socialization.

    On the other hand:

    • Many members/friends of the church desire to inform other members/friends about events or social/ environmental/political causes that they want to promote.
    • Most people come to a UU church because they want to be informed about liberal social/environmental/political causes and opportunities to get involved.

    Therefore, the Board may consider a policy that will balance the above priorities. All activities that sell things or collect money, as much as possible, will be located one area of the Community Room  Another area will be designated a "fundraising-free zone." Other information tables will be placed together to permit open space so people can sit and converse during coffee hour.

  6. Order of Service Policy – Announcements/Inserts

    6.A)Sunday Announcements

    Written announcements distributed with the Order of Service on Sundays are compiled by the Church Administrator. The primary function of the Sunday announcements are to provide reminders about upcoming events or to inform FUSD members and friends of information which has become available after the last deadline for the newsletter and which will be outdated by the time of publication of the next newsletter. Space and emphasis will be allocated for other announcements and reminders according to the following priorities:

    • Information about Sunday services
    • Communications from the minister
    • Information about religious education programs and classes (all ages)
    • Information about all-church functions, e.g. annual canvass, congregational meetings
    • Communications from the Board, the staff and church committees
    • News of church members/friends; brief announcements of members' special needs
    • District and denominational news
    • As space permits, community news and announcements of activities of organizations of particular interest to the church or its members. Such announcements may not advocate a particular political position. They can, however, announce the details of events that are political in nature, or that deal directly with political or social advocacy issues. These events should be identified in a separate section as events not being sponsored by the church

    6.B) Sunday Inserts

    Please submit an original copy of any inserts desired for the Sunday Order of Service, preferably by email or computer disc, to the office by Wednesday morning. (We need to limit the number of inserts in the Order of Service.)

    The deadline for announcements and inserts to be included in the Order of Service is Wednesday morning. The Church Administrator, in conjunction with the Minister and the Board of Trustees will have final authority in items to be placed in the Order of Service

  7. Printed Newsletter Policy

    7.A) Newsletter Overview

    The newsletter is called The Ploughshare and is published at least monthly. A schedule should be published at the beginning of the church year, and contain information as demonstrated here:

    Deadline
    Deadline is
    midnight on the date listed- FIRM    		 Folding &
    Mailing Date
    (Always Thursday)    		 Delivery Date (Always Monday) Issue Number
    Friday,
    Jan. 16, 200x     		Jan. 22, 200x Jan. 26, 200x 18
    Wednesday,
    Feb. 11, 200x     		Feb. 19, 200x Feb. 23, 200x 19
    Wednesday,
    March 10, 200x     		March 18,200x March 23, 200x 20
    Wednesday,
    April 7, 200x    		 April 15, 200x April 19, 200x 21
    Wednesday,
    May 5, 200x     		May 13, 200x May 17, 200x 22
    Wednesday,
    June 9, 200x    		 June 17, 200x June 21, 200x 23
    Wednesday,
    July 7, 200x    		 July 15, 200x July 19, 200x 24
    Wednesday,
    August 11, 200x    		 August, 19, 200x August 23, 200x 25
    Wednesday,
    Sept. 8, 200x    		 September 16, 200x September 20, 200x 26
    Wednesday,
    Oct. 6, 200x    		 October 14, 200x October 18, 200x 27
    Wednesday,
    Nov. 10, 200x     		November 18, 200x November 22, 200x 28
    Wednesday,
    Dec. 8, 200x    		 December 16, 200x December 20, 200x 29

    The work of publishing is divided among the following: the Editor, responsible for determining content, compilation and editing of articles; the Graphic Designer, responsible for formatting and printing; and the Church Administrator, who reviews and proof-reads the newsletter immediately prior to printing and distribution.

    7.B) Purpose and Objectives

    The purpose of the newsletter is to provide timely information about events and items of interest to the FUSD congregation, its visitors, and other UU churches. It also provides a forum for the views of members of the FUSD Community, including the Minister, Interim Minister, RE Director, Board of Trustees, etc. It will also appear on the FUSD website, as modified by the website newsletter policy. Previous issues of the newsletter are archived on the website.

    7.C) Responsibilities of the Editor

    Decisions regarding the content of articles and other materials in the newsletter are made by the editor. In the event questions regarding the appropriateness of any material arise, the Editor will consult with the Minister and the President of the Board of Trustees, or, if created, the Chairperson of the Communications Coordinating Committee, or other members of that committee. The Editor also provides a production cycle, with firm deadlines which may be relaxed in cases of emergency or need, at the Editor's discretion.

    7.D) Responsibilities of the Graphic Designer

    The graphic designer receives articles from the Editor and formats them for both printed and email versions. It is the responsibility of the Graphic Designer to send the newsletter to the FUSD Church Administrator for final proofreading and then to supply the printer with the electronic version, ensuring delivery to FUSD. The designer has three days from receiving the articles to sending the finished newsletter to the printer.

    7.E) Mailing List Database

    The mailing list database, maintained by the Church Administrator, includes members, friends and visitors. Labels are printed each month for the newsletter, but members and friends are strongly encouraged to help the Church save mailing and printing costs by providing the Church Administrator with their e-mail addresses.

    7.F) Guidelines for Content and Submission of Articles

    7.F.01   Content

    The newsletter is to focus on FUSD events and activities, including religious education, the church calendar, messages from Ministers, the President of the Board, and Committee spokespersons. It may also include announcements of rites of passage, reminders of previously announced items, and information for and about new members. Community events of interest to the congregation may be included, space permitting.

    7.F.02   Submissions

    All submissions must include the name, telephone number (and email unless arranged in advance with the Editor) of the author, allowing the Editor to contact that person for clarification or further information. No anonymous submissions will be published. All submissions must be less than 400 words. The Editor may edit any submission for style, clarity and conciseness of statement. Articles about events should answer the basic questions concerning the event, and should provide the name, e-mail address, and telephone number of a contact person for additional information.

    Submissions can be made by emailing the church office, office@firstunitariandenver.org. Please include the notation “Ploughshare Article” in the subject line of the email.

    • Do not format articles, as this creates extra work for the Ploughshare staff.
    • Emails should not include graphics unless you first speak with the Editor.
    • No faxed or hand written articles over 30 words will be accepted unless arranged in advance with the editor.
    • Articles over 400 words are highly discouraged.
    • All articles become the property of FUSD
    • Questions regarding submissions can be made to:
      Church Administrator, (303) 831-7113 or office@firstunitariandenver.org

    Space in the Ploughshare is given according to the following priority:

    • FUSD Business:  includes RE, committee information, minister’s articles, Board of Trustees articles, and FUSD fundraising information.
    • UU, MDD information.
    • Local church submissions
    • Community Events
    • Personal congregational information

    7.F.03   Advertisements

    Advertisements are not permitted in the newsletter due to postal regulations. However, information about events outside of the FUSD community may be included when they appear to be of interest to significant portions of the FUSD congregation. Announcements concerning new business ventures or other changes in the business or professional practices of members of the congregation may also be included.

    7.G) Distribution of Policy

    The printed newsletter policy is to be liberally distributed, so that all persons submitting material to The Ploughshare can have the benefit of its guidance.

  8. Church Directory

    The FUSD directory is a collection of names, addresses, phone numbers, family members and e-mail addresses of members FUSD. Additional information the directory should contain includes, but is not necessarily limited to information on:

    • Church staff,
    • Board of Trustees, possibly including biographies
    • Church committees
    • UU congregations in Colorado
    • FUSD affiliations
    • Other information as appropriate [phone tree?]

    The directory is compiled yearly and distributed to all families and friends of FUSD. The purpose of the directory is facilitate telephone, computer and postal communication within and among the congregation.

    The Church Administrator is responsible for producing the directory, but may solicit and enable volunteers to aid in its preparation

    From time to time, a professional photographer may be called in to produce a photo directory. The costs incurred by the photographer are covered by profits the photographer makes by selling additional photographs to willing participants. There is no requirement for any FUSD member to purchase any items to be listed in the directory.

  9. FUSD Website - www.firstunitariandenver.org

    9.a) Purpose

    To engage and attract those who may be seeking a liberal religious community, to provide general information about our church, and to serve as an ongoing resource for our members and friends, via the Internet.

    9.b) Priorities

    • Outreach-oriented information about our church activities and practices, location, and schedule, and links to information about Unitarian Universalism in general
    • Current information such as the schedule of upcoming sermon topics or services, weekly calendar, and certain topical announcements
    • Current information relating to our Religious Education Programs
    • Information regarding various fund raising efforts of the Congregation
    • Reference information such as material describing our church history and our historic 1892 building.
    • Archival information such as texts of past sermons

    In adapting material from the First Unitarian Society of Denver and other internal church sources, the Web editor will take into consideration the highly public nature of the Internet and remove information judged inappropriate, such as unduly personal news items, names of minors, and contact phone numbers or addresses not intended for general distribution.

    9.c) Content

    Editors of each publication make decisions about the content and format of each issue within the priorities listed below. In case of questions regarding appropriateness of content or changes in format that cannot be resolved by the editor and the person submitting the material, the editor may go first to the Church Administrator and/or Ministers.

    Anonymous contributions will be rejected automatically; however, names will be withheld upon request, at the discression of the webmaster.

Two useful resources follow for FUSD webmasters: