Communication Guidelines To Strengthen Our Community

The purpose of these guidelines is to fulfill our mutual covenant with each other as brothers and sisters at the Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ Bradford Vermont. We seek to create and sustain a congregational life of inclusiveness, honesty and safety.

We are precious to one another and seek to build a beloved community in which our faith can grow. These guidelines serve as a foundation to strengthen our faith and our interactions with one another.

I WILL:

• Pray for guidance, patience and understanding before all interactions, communication, or meetings
• Listen intently to understand, though not necessarily to agree with, another person’s point of view, knowing that diversity enriches our community of faith.
• Communicate directly my personal opinion and experience
• Speak for myself and not for others
• Welcome inquiry into my point of view and be willing to inquire respectfully into another person’s point of view.
• Not say outside of a meeting what I am unwilling to say inside the meeting.
• Carefully consider the impact of my words, in oral, written, or electronic form.
• Remember that harassment, bullying and intimidation do not have a place in our congregational process.

ACTION:

“As a member of the Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ Bradford, Vermont, I will support my brothers and sisters with gentleness and reverence. When someone speaks in a way that is clearly outside of the above guidelines, I will take responsibility to address the behavior at that time, in order to restore a healthy and open process of communication. I will endeavor to do this, out of my love for our community of faith.”             Adopted April 6, 2014.