SUA POLICY ON INVOLVEMENT WITH CONGREGATIONS
January 2019
1. The SUA will pay reasonable out of pocket travel expenses for SUA gatherings, general meetings of the SUA Executive Committee, and all sub-committee meetings, to members of member congregations and co-opted persons, as a specific and practical means of attracting a greater degree of participation. This is a risk mitigation measure and may not be necessary throughout the life of the SUA. Therefore this policy will be reviewed periodically and in any case when the level of participation at SUA gatherings and meetings is consistently sufficiently high that it may be reasonable to curtail this expenditure.
2. The SUA Executive Committee will, generally through the SUA Hon Sec or the SUA President, communicate with the congregations directly with the congregations’ Chairpersons and/or Secretaries, as well as with Ministers or those acting as Layleaders; who will then spread messages through their congregations as appropriate.
3. When planning to support the Send A Child to Hucklow charity in recent years, a principle was established, by the SUA Executive Committee, that the SUA supports the congregations’ work but does not normally do the work that may or could be done by a congregation. Nonetheless, this would be amenable to negotiation, depending on the project.
4. Subject to the level of expertise available within the cadre of Trustees of the SUA comprising the SUA Executive Committee: in response to requests from member congregations, the SUA Executive Committee will offer and nominate SUA Trustees to act in a co-opted way to member congregations’ committees to support member congregations temporarily lacking in expertise or effort, by negotiation with all parties involved.
5. The SUA officers will treat with due discretion matters revealed to them in confidence by individual members of - or committees of - member congregations, but noting that where there is a duty of disclosure this must be discharged. Such a duty will not be discharged without prior discussion with the leaders of the member congregation in question.
6. Congregations receive direct support from Essex Hall and are free to adopt congregational policy in the light of that support. Nonetheless, from time to time the SUA may pass on to member congregations advice generally available from Essex Hall to congregations, where it is felt to be important that an issue is not overlooked by a congregation. Such matters may include statutory matters, such as General Data Protection Regulations or Safeguarding.
