Respectful Covenant
Our commitment to creating a safe, respectful and inclusive space
Growing in God’s world, striving to follow Jesus Christ and inspired by the Holy Spirit, we come to this space with a generosity of spirit and caring for others. We value respect, patience, open mindedness, compassion and kindness.
As a part of the congregation of Pitt Meadows United Church I will:
- seek to create a positive and unifying atmosphere in the life of the congregation
- provide a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for all to worship, work and study
- speak only for myself in the spirit of truth and gentleness
- listen carefully, ask questions and seek facts to understand, be open to the ideas of others
- focus on contributing solutions to problems and welcoming an exchange of ideas
- keep confidentiality
- speak directly to one who has hurt or offended me, with the sincere hope of resolving the conflict ourselves; if it is not possible to resolve the conflict ourselves, we will follow the processes as outlined in our Conflict Resolution Policy
- honour decisions of our church and when in disagreement, use feedback channels* and processes appropriately
- commit to holding one another to account when we do not keep our Respectful Covenant
* Congregants will support and constructively communicate with the minister about ministry issues, board members about governance or finance issues; and the Ministry and Personnel Committee about disagreements with the minister or staff (after unsuccessfully addressing the issue with the person directly to seek to manage differences)
This Covenant will be reviewed and approved annually at the PMUC Annual Congregational Meeting.