CIRCLES IN THE WOODS CUUPs

BYLAWS

Preamble
In accord with the principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association as expressed in Article II of the Bylaws of the UUA, we, as members and friends of Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa, a member congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association, join together to form a chapter of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans, Inc. ("CUUPS"), an Ohio non-profit religious corporation. This organization is intended to operate as an integrated auxiliary of Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa, 11400 Morris Bridge Rd, Tampa, FL 33637 ("UUCT").

Article 1 - Name
The Name of this organization will be "Circles in the Woods CUUPS" ("the chapter").

Article 2 - Purpose The chapter is formed for the purposes of:

  1. promoting the understanding and practice of Pagan and Earth-centered spirituality groups within the UUCT;
  2. providing information, networking and education materials on Paganism and Earth-centered spirituality to UUCT and the general public;
  3. encouraging the development of theological and liturgical materials based on Earth and Nature-centered religious and spiritual perspectives;
  4. encouraging the sub-groups to initiate at least one ritual or workshop a year to be offered to the Unitarian Universalist Church fellowship;
  5. Foster healing relationships with the Earth and all of the Earth’s children.

Article 3 - UUCT and Chapter Relationship
The chapter will contribute to the spiritual life of the UUCT congregation as well as providing education to the congregation by offering a Sunday service once a year. The council will encourage its membership to attend Sunday services and the "Getting to Know UU" series conducted periodically by the minister in order to educate chapter and committee members about Unitarian Universalism and UUCT and to encourage pagan affiliates to become members of UUCT.

Article 4 - Affiliated Groups
The chapter will function as an umbrella for all affiliated pagan sub-groups & pagan activites. The council will accept requests and act as liaison with UUCT for all pagan sub-groups & pagan activities who meet the criteria in Article 2. Affiliated sub-groups run as autonomous organizations. For financial structure of affiliated sub-groups see Article 9.

Article 5 - Charter Membership
Membership in the chapter shall be open to any individual who meets the following criteria:

  1. Council members, officers, must be a member, in good standing, of the Unitarian Universalist Church and a member of CUUPS National.
  2. Chapter members, are those who are members of the Unitarian Universalist Church and a member of CUUPS National but hold no office and are not on the Council.
  3. General members must be a member of CUUPS National.
  4. Individuals who are active in the life of the chapter, but do not meet the qualifications for membership in the chapter will be known as Associates of the chapter.
  5. Minors (individuals under the age of 18) may participate in chapter activities only with a notarized consent form from their parent(s) or guardian(s) and document will be retained.

Article 6 - Chapter Council
Membership on the Council shall be open to Chapter members who state in writing that they wish to be on the council. Should there be a time at which there are more than seven individuals on the council, excluding Gatekeepers, the Council will initiate elections as defined under Article 14.

Council terms of service will be for the entire Chapter Year. There is no limit to how many terms a Member may serve in a particular office. A council member may also serve concurrently, excluding positions of backup roles, in one Named Position (see Article VII). Anyone desiring to serve the chapter as council must be considered an Active Member of the chapter (as described in paragraph 10) and be approved by a 2/3 majority vote of the current CIW CUUPs Council. Council responsibilities are as follows:

Facilitator/Scheduler - Shall be the primary facilitator for all chapter activities and is responsible for ensuring that all members are adequately fulfilling the responsibilities of their positions. Shall act as the primary liaison, or committee chairperson, between the chapter and UUCT; and the chapter and pagan affiliates. The facilitator is responsible for calling and presiding at chapter Business Meetings.

Shall be responsible for coordinating the programs of the regular monthly meetings and any other special programs that may be desired from time to time. The scheduler shall maintain the list of upcoming rituals - and who will be responsible for them. Shall update UUCT calendar well ahead of schedule to minimize the chance of conflicting with other church/pagan activities.

Treasurer - Shall be responsible for tracking the funds raised and expensed by the chapter and shall report monthly to the Chapter Council. In the event of the inability of the Facilitator to fulfil the duties of his/her office, the Treasurer shall fulfill those duties.

Scribe/Herald – Shall be responsible for taking attendance and minutes at all business meetings and distributing them to chapter. Work with other Council member to maintain the chapter membership/contact list. Shall coordinate and assure articles are contributed to the Domelight regularly, and/or ensured that chapter activities are listed in the church's newsletter and CUUPS newsletter.

Librarian – Shall be in charge of the chapter library and publications, including book of meeting minutes with bylaws and other CUUPS related information.

Web-weaver - Shall be in charge of the chapter’s Internet presence. S/he will coordinate the maintenance of the chapter’s web site and e-mail address, answer chapter e-mail and coordinate administration of any other web activities of the chapter.

Gatekeepers(s) – Shall represent pagan groups that choose to affiliate with CIW CUUPs.

For the purposes of chapter council vote, Active Council Members shall be considered those who have attended more than half of all meetings in the six month period previous to the election or vote.

A Council Member who fails to perform or whose actions are contrary to our statement of purpose may be removed from service after a reasonable mediation attempt has been made. If a settlement can not be reached, a vote of no confidence by 2/3 of all Active Council Members (see Article 6, paragraph 11). Members must be notified at least 14 days in advance of such a vote.

Article 7 - Committee Chairs
Volunteers will act as chairs for committees with the agreement from the chapter council. Committee chairs do not have to be Council Members but Chapter or General members are first consideration. No individual may simultaneously serve as the chair of more than two Committees without the approval of council. The Council may, from time to time, assign additional responsibilities to the Committee as new needs arise.

Article 8 - Meetings of the Council
Section 1: The Council shall meet, as needed, following the UUCT services. Other meetings may be called by the Council as deemed necessary. All members should be notified at least 14 days in advance of a meeting of the chapter. The last council meeting of the calendar year, normally falling in October shall be designated as the "Annual Meeting". The Fiscal year for the chapter shall be the calendar year. Quorum for a meeting of the chapter council shall be a simple majority of its members. Decision making should try to be consensual, failing that, votes may be held and any measure receive a two-thirds majority or greater will be adopted. Meetings of the council shall be open to all chapter members and associates.
Section 2: The general chapter shall meet on the first Monday of each month and is open to all members, including the public.

Article 9 - Financing
The chapter shall manage and disperse from three sources:

  1. This chapter will prepare and present a budget for approval as a committee of UUCT.
  2. The chapter expenses will be submitted to UUCT for reimbursement.
  3. Free-will donations from any Member or Friend of the chapter desiring to do so will become funds to UUCT but identified as a CUUPS donation.
  4. Fund-raising events, the chapter may from time to time hold special fund-raising events and the proceeds will become funds to UUCT but identified as a CUUPS donation.

Article 10 - Newsletter
Chapter news and/or events will be printed in both CUUP's and the UUCT’s newsletter, The Domelight, on a regular basis. This includes any affiliate information provided to the Herald.

Article 11 - Restrictions and Exclusion

  1. The chapter shall not perform any initiations for any specific pagan affiliation. Affiliated sub-groups may perform initiatory rituals.
  2. Representation of the chapter or it’s sub-groups may not contact or grant interviews with the mainstream press (TV, radio or print) without the prior expressed permission of the council and UUCT Board or its minister.
  3. The chapter shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in Article II.
  4. The chapter shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on
    1. by an organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future tax code, or
    2. by an organization, contributions to which are deductible under section 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future tax code.

Article 12 - Chapter Assets
Upon wind-up or dissolution of the chapter, all assets remaining after payment of all debts and liabilities shall become the property of the UUCT.

Article 13 - 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 by consensus or two-thirds at any meeting of the chapter council.

Article 14 - Elections (if needed)
Should elections be required for council the following rules will apply. Only Active Council Members may vote in elections. Procedures for nominating and electing new Council members shall be as follows:

  1. The Facilitator will preside over the nomination process. After nominations have been made and comments have been heard, the Facilitator 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 Council member’s intent.
  3. Any Active Council Member may make nominations from the floor on the day of the election. Active Council Members may nominate themselves.
  4. All Council members 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 Active Council or Chapter Member who has comments or concerns regarding either a current Council member 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 and tally ballots, and announce the winners.
  7. Active Council Members unable to attend elections may designate a proxy.
  8. Elections 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 be the new Council member.
  9. In the event of a tie, the Facilitator shall cast the tie-breaking vote. In the event that the tie is for the Facilitator position, the Treasurer will cast the tie-breaking vote.

The Facilitator may call special Elections at any time in the event that a Council member 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 that for Regular Elections.

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