Welcome to the Covenant Web Site

Thanks for your interest in our exploration of a possible covenant statement for First Parish. We are doing this through a year-long conversation among all members of the First Parish community. Ultimately you will decide whether we have a covenant statement and if so, what form it will take. We welcome and encourage anyone associated with First Parish to participate in this exploration and conversation by attending one of our Listening Circles, contacting a task force member, or adding your thoughts on the Final Discussions page on this website.

Please remember that this is a public site — anyone can see your comments and your name, which will appear with your comment. However, it is also a moderated site, meaning that all comments must be approved prior to appearing publicly on the site. This is primarily a security measure to protect the site from unwanted intrusions.

This site also offers additional background reading including:

• More about the Task Force and why we are exploring a covenant
• Comments from the first round of online discussion
• Some useful resources, including UUA information on covenants, covenants from other UU churches, and some thoughts by Ed Lane on covenant and creed
• Examples of various covenants used by other UU churches
• Some musings on the difference between a covenant and a creed, and the criteria for a good covenant.
• A timeline of the covenant process leading up to a vote at the 2012 Annual Meeting.