Board of Trustees

The Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws of our church call for the staggered election of nine trustees to serve as the Board of Trustees. These documents permit the Board to elect its own presiding officer and make rules for its own governance.

The nine members of PBUUC’s Board of Trustees (the Board or BOT) hold the legal and fiduciary responsibility for governing Paint Branch Unitarian Universalist Church as a non-profit organization in the state of Maryland. The nine members of the Board serve staggered three-year terms and are elected by PBUUC members at the Annual Congregational Meeting in May or June. The Minister is an ex-officio member and attends meetings.

The Board is responsible for adopting the annual congregational budget, appointing congregation members to standing committees, hiring paid staff, and setting the general policies for church programming, building use, and major repairs. The Board meets monthly, and all monthly meetings are open to the congregation. The church Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer, and Assistant Treasurer are each appointed by the Board.

The Secretary, or Assistant Secretary, attends all Board monthly meetings (and sometimes special meetings) to take minutes and also keep the record of all official congregation-wide meetings. The Treasurer attends these meetings to report on the financial status of the church.

The Board appoints a Budget Leadership Team to work with the Trustees and representatives of standing committees to develop the budget for each fiscal year (July 1 through June 30).

Although serving on the Board of Trustees involves significant responsibility, many former Board members report that their terms resulted in lasting friendships and a real sense of “making a difference” in our congregational community. Currently, the Board has an elected Chair and two Vice-Chairs that, collectively serve as the Board’s Executive Committee. The Minister is an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee.

Each year the new Board develops a covenant and goals document to guide their work for the coming term. You can read the 2021-22 Covenant and Goals to see what is guiding the Board this year.