BYLAWS OF THE BRIDGE

Article I: Purpose

  The chapter is formed for the purposes of the following:

1.      Providing an environment conducive to spiritual growth, exploration, and education in Pagan and Earth-centered spirituality.

2.      Encouraging creativity, unique expression, and personal interpretation within each individual’s spiritual path.

3.      Increasing awareness and understanding of  Paganism and Earth-centered spirituality within the surrounding community.

Further, the chapter supports the purposes of CUUPS in:

1.      Promoting the practice and understanding of Pagan and Earth-centered spirituality within the Unitarian Universalist Association,

2.      Enabling networking among Pagan-identified Unitarian Universalists,

3.      Providing for the outreach of Unitarian Universalism to the broader Pagan community

4.      Providing educational materials on Paganism and Earth-centered spirituality for Unitarian Universalist congregations and for the general public,

5.      Promoting interfaith dialogue,

6.      Encouraging the development of theological and liturgical materials based on Pagan and Earth-centered religious and spiritual perspectives,

7.      Encouraging greater use of music, dance, visual arts, poetry, story, and creative ritual in Unitarian Universalist worship and celebration,

8.      Providing a place or places for gathering and for worship, and

9.      Fostering healing relationships with the Earth and all the Earth's children.

Article II:  Chapter Year

The “Chapter Year” shall refer to the chapter’s fiscal and calendar year and shall begin on November 1 and end on October 31.

Article III:  Membership

Membership in the chapter shall be open to any individual who meets three criteria:

1.      Be at least 18 years of age or older. **

2.      Sign the chapter membership book indicating their agreement with our Mission and Covenant Statement, as well as the Unitarian Universalist Principles and the vision statement of CUUPS.

3.      Pay their yearly dues of $20 per person or $50 per family.

4.   Those seeking membership must speak to an officer of Denton CUUPS regarding participation, bylaws, and expectations of members. 

Though not a requirement for membership in Denton CUUPS, membership in the national CUUPS organization is encouraged.  Membership applications can be found at www.cuups.org .

If an individual in the organization acts in a consistently inappropriate, destructive, or disrespectful manner at CUUPS events, the members can vote to revoke membership with a two-thirds majority.

** MINORS (under 18) – In an effort to avoid conflict between parents of one religious tradition and children who may be exploring another, the members of the chapter request that any minor (under 18) attend only with a parent or guardian.

Article IV:  Chapter Officers

Officers will be elected once each Chapter Year at the Annual Meeting, as set forth in Article VIII.  Officer’s terms of service will be for the entire Chapter Year, with the exception of the Treasurer who will serve an indefinite term as described in Section 5.  There is no limit to how many terms a Member may serve in a particular office.  An officer may not serve concurrently in  more than one named position.  Anyone desiring to serve the chapter as an Officer must be a Member of the chapter as of the date of election.  Officers must be members of a Unitarian Universalist society and of the national CUUPS organization.  Office candidates must be nominated by a member in good standing of at least one year.  Individuals may self-nominate after one year of membership.

Officer titles and responsibilities are as follows:

1.      Coordinating Officer --  primary facilitator of officer and member meetings. Responsible for ensuring that all members serving as Officers are adequately fulfilling the responsibilities of their positions; serving as the primary liaison between the Officers and Members/friends of the chapter, between the chapter and CUUPS, between the chapter and the Denton Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Board of Trustees, and between the chapter and the community at large; acting as general spokesperson for the chapter.  This officer must be a voting member of the Denton Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

2.      Events Officer -- primarily responsible for managing the chapter calendar, e-mailing calendar events and ensuring timetables are followed.  This officer shall ensure that organizers/leaders are in place for all planned events, that meeting/event locations are reserved, and event information is transferred to the Membership Officer and the Webmaster/mistress, and will assist the Coordinating Officer as needed.  The Events Officer is responsible for ensuring events take place in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

3.      Membership Officer – Primarily responsible for publicity of chapter events and recruiting of new members.  This officer will maintain the membership roster, be responsible for actively raising awareness of Denton CUUPS with other groups and the community at large, and will be responsible for follow-up contact with visitors.

4.   Education Officer – Assists facilitators of CUUPS courses, workshops, and small groups.  Coordinates scheduling for those groups, courses, and related activities.  Monitors area Pagan announcements and events lists (such as the NTP lists, Moonlady, CRC, BigDBeat, etc) in order to present opportunities for education and involvement to the membership, and develops and maintains a database of educational resources for use as needed.  Assists Membership Officer with new member orientations.

5.   Treasurer – Responsible for handling chapter finances and maintaining financial records, collection of dues and other monies owed, and payment and/or reimbursement of any authorized expenses.  Maintains a chapter bank account and provides periodic financial reports to the membership.

It is preferred that one additional member have access to chapter accounts at all times.

Due to the work involved with setting up bank accounts, it is not practical to change Treasurers every year.  Therefore, the Treasurer will serve an indefinite, open-ended term.  The Coordinating Officer will call an election for a new Treasurer when a) the Treasurer resigns, or b) the other officers unanimously agree to call an election, or c) upon petition of 51% of the membership.

Article V:  Business Meetings

Chapter Business Meetings will be held quarterly.  Other meetings may be called by the Coordinating Officer as deemed necessary.  All members should be notified at least 14 days in advance of a chapter business meeting.  The last meeting of the Chapter Year, in October, shall be designated as the “Annual Meeting.”  While it is not required, all Members are strongly encouraged to attend all business meetings, especially the Annual Meeting.  All major issues (elections, bylaw changes, etc.) up for vote will be announced 14 days prior to the business meeting at which the vote will take place. Officers are required to attend business meetings.  In case of absence, an officer will be considered to be in attendance at a business meting if s/he makes arrangements with the other Officers at least a week in advance.  Such arrangements may include asking another officer to deliver a report or assigning a proxy for an important vote.

Article VI:  Funding

The chapter shall be funded from three sources:

1.      Member dues – any individual desiring to be a Member of the chapter is required to pay annual membership dues in the amount of $20, if paid in October.  This covers membership for the entire Chapter Year.  An individual paying dues in a month other than October will owe $2 per month of membership for each month between payment of dues and the new Chapter Year.

2.      Free-will donations – any Member or friend of the chapter desiring to do so may make free-will donations to the chapter.

3.      Fund raising events – the chapter may from time to time hold special fund-raising events.

Article VII:  Internet

A chapter website will be maintained that will include, but not be limited to, announcements of chapter events and basic information about the chapter’s organization and membership.  Additionally, officer email addresses will be posted so that people may inquire about the group via the web.  A chapter chat board and list serve will also be maintained to discuss chapter business and to promote community and communication between members.

Article VIII:  Elections

Regular Elections of officers will be held once each year at the Annual Meeting in October.  Only Members may vote in elections.  Procedures for nominating and electing new Officers shall be as follows:

1.      The Coordinating Officer will preside over the nominations process.  After nominations have been made and comments have been heard, the President will ask for an Election Volunteer from among those not running for office to preside over the voting and counting of ballots.  This person will not vote except in the case of a tie.

2.      No assumption will be made as to a current Officer’s intent to run for re-election without nomination.

3.      Any Member may make nominations from the floor on the day of the election.  Members may nominate themselves.

4.      All Officers seeking re-election and all nominees will be given not more than 5 minutes to speak on their own behalf before the election.

5.      Any Member who has comments or concerns regarding either a current Officer seeking re-election or a nominee will be given not more than 5 minutes to speak before the election.

6.      Votes will be taken by secret ballot (this doesn’t have to be fancy, blank paper will do).  The election volunteer will distribute, collect, tally the ballots (aloud with a witness), and announce the winners.

7.      Members unable to attend elections may designate a proxy.

8.      The election shall be won by a simple majority (51%) of votes present.  In the event that there are more than two candidates for a position and no candidate receives a majority of the votes, a run-off election shall be held between the two candidates who received the most votes.  The candidate receiving a majority of votes in the run-off election shall the new Officer.

9.      In the event of a tie, the Election Volunteer shall cast the tie-breaking vote.

Special Elections may be called by the Coordinating  Officer at any time in the event that an Officer position is vacated.  Members must be notified at least 14 days in advance of a Special Election.  Procedures for nomination and voting in a Special Election will follow the same form as the for Regular Elections.

Article IX:  Chapter Assets

Funds for supplies for chapter activities will be reimbursed, within reason, as funds allow.  Anticipated expenses should be discussed with the Treasurer prior to purchase to ensure availability of funds.  In turn, the Treasurer should discuss said expected expenditures with the other officers to confirm practicality of costs.  A receipt should be brought to the Treasurer for reimbursement.  The Events Coordinator is responsible for keeping track of materials owned by the chapter that are available for use in activities. Upon wind-up or dissolution of the chapter, all assets remaining after payment of all debts and liabilities shall become the property of the Denton Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

Article X:  Circles

The chapter shall have at least eight (8) circles per year to celebrate the Sabbats.  At least four (4) of these circles will be open to anyone over the age of 18, and any minor accompanied by a parent or guardian. The other four will be considered “closed” circles and will be for Members of the chapter only.  Minors may attend closed circles only with a parent or guardian who is a Member of the chapter.  Parents are asked to bring only those children who are able to be respectful of the seriousness of spiritual endeavors.  Parents may be asked not to bring children if they cause a disturbance or distract participants from the activities.  Some circles may be deemed “non kid-friendly.”  At such events children are not encouraged to attend.  Any Member may lead/organize any circle for the chapter.  Non-members may lead/organize an open circle in conjunction with a Member.  Guidelines for organizing and leading a circle can be obtained from the officers.

 Article XII:  Adoption and Amendment

The Bylaws of the chapter shall become effective upon approval of two-thirds or more of the Members of the chapter.  The Bylaws may be amended at any regular chapter business meeting by a vote of two-thirds or greater of Members present.  Proposals to be considered for adoption or amendment must be presented to the chapter Members at least 2 weeks in advance of any such vote to allow proxy voting.  Proxy votes should be sent to any officer via email or in written form.