Proposed Constitution & Bylaws Changes Regarding Unified Governance for Consideration by General Synod 35

This summer, General Synod 35 will review and act on three different sets of proposed amendments to the UCC Constitution and Bylaws. This is the third article in a series of articles regarding the proposed amendments. (Here is the first article. Here is the second article.) You can also find a Frequently Asked Questions Document here, and you can register for the next Webinar about these changes using the information below:

Tuesday, June 3, 2025, from 5:30-7 p.m. (Eastern) – Register by Clicking Here.

You can also watch the first webinar on the UCC YouTube channel.

The UCCB aims to support General Synod delegates, Conferences, local churches, and interested UCC-ers in understanding why these changes are being proposed as well as the practical implications of these proposed changes.

Proposed Constitution & Bylaws Amendments regarding Unified Governance

The third set of proposed changes to the UCC Constitution and Bylaws relates to the ongoing process of Unified Governance within the UCC. Under the proposed changes, the Associate General Ministers will no longer be elected or serve on the UCC Board of Directors. 

The United Church of Christ has been on a long journey of restructuring and unifying governance, and this is the next step of that process. Following the General Synod’s UCC Bylaws amendments in 2017, the Associate General Ministers (formerly Executive Ministers) were no longer chief executives of the Covenanted Ministries. Since 2017, their portfolios have been assigned by the GMP and confirmed by the UCCB, and the AGMs are functionally supervised by the GMP. The GMP is the chief executive of the Covenanted Ministries and other National Ministry corporations, accountable for the budget, and authorized to make all human resource decisions. The AGMs and the GMP are not co-equal; treating them as co-equal in their election by General Synod and accountability to the UCCB as General Synod ad interim has resulted in a lack of clarity about the AGM’s role and the GMP’s role, and is not a best governance practice. Because the AGMs are not ultimately responsible for human resource decisions or matters of budget for the Covenanted Ministry corporations, and because they are accountable to the GMP, there is no need for General Synod to elect them as AGMs or as Officers of the UCC. 

The UCC’s journey to Unified Governance has been long and winding. In the Frequently Asked Questions document, a summary of the Unified Governance History of the UCC is enclosed to more thoroughly examine this process.

Questions or Feedback?

If you would like to discuss this information in greater detail, please reach out to the UCCB Chair Julia Gaughan at gaughanj@ucc.org.

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