Once again, election season is upon us. During this time (and in fact, all the time), it is important to remember that Heritage Church is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization – which means that we are not permitted to engage in partisan political activity. Let’s take a look at what that phrase means:

• Neither the church, nor anyone who is representing or speaking on behalf of the church, may endorse, or advocate for or against, any candidate for public office.
• Neither the church, nor anyone who is representing or speaking on behalf of the church, may advocate for or against any political party.
• Neither the church, nor anyone who is representing or speaking on behalf of the church, may distribute campaign material such as partisan literature, candidate bumper stickers or signs, brochures, etc.
• The church cannot fundraise on behalf of candidates, or donate meeting space to candidates, their organizations, or their political parties.

Misconceptions abound, however, according to the Unitarian Universalist Association publication “The Real Rules” (https://www.uua.org/justice-programs/realrules). For example, it is not “illegal,” nor is the church’s tax-exempt status put in jeopardy, when anyone in the church – or even the congregation as a whole – speaks out or takes a position on public policy issues. Religious communities have long advocated for and against the many different issues of their day, and that is perfectly acceptable. Faith communities also have a long tradition of “speaking truth to power,” which sometimes includes holding public officials (i.e., current office-holders, as opposed to candidates for public office) accountable for their actions.

It is also perfectly acceptable for individual church members (even staff members, ministers, Board members, etc.) to be politically active and even partisan – as private citizens. They simply aren’t allowed to do so when they are representing the church. Similarly, it is perfectly acceptable for individuals, as private citizens, to distribute campaign material.

But here are a few reminders:

• We ask that you do not bring campaign signs or literature into the church building (yes, you may wear your T-shirts and buttons to church, provided you are not a staff or Board member, but remember to be respectful of the differing views and opinions of others).
• If you wish to share information or materials with others, please do so outside the church building. Even then, we ask that you remain respectful and consider appearances. Be aware that any activity happening at or near the church can be construed as being endorsed by the church, even if it is not.
• We do not invite candidates for public office to speak at Heritage Church.
• Remember that several years ago, the Board voted to have Heritage stop being a polling place in the community because of the highly charged, divisive, even toxic political atmosphere it brought into our sacred space. Let’s keep our building and our property free from the acrimony that abounds in so many other areas of our lives today.

October 14, 2018.

The content of the church’s Safety and Security Policies and Procedures manual is contained in various posts in the Policies and Procedures section of the website. The website also has the full manual in PDF form.

Handguns and other firearms are not permitted in the Heritage Church building or anywhere on Heritage property, except in a locked car parked in the parking lot for a lawful reason. The only exception to this policy is a peace officer on the property pursuant to their official duties. Ohio law states that a concealed-carry permit holder is not authorized to carry a concealed firearm into “Any church, synagogue, mosque, or other place of worship, unless the church, synagogue, mosque, or other place of worship posts or permits otherwise.” Ohio Revised Code 2923.126(B)(6). There is no need for this policy to be posted to be enforced. The Board of Trustees may decide it should be posted, and where, in its discretion.

~ Approved by the Board of Trustees on January 11, 2016.

Policy,
Rules for Pictures,
Content of Articles,
Timing,
Submittal Method,
Miscellaneous

Policy

All material provided must meet the requirements of the Website Content Policy.

Rules for Pictures

Pictures should be sharp and clear, and should be large in size, that is, have high resolutions.

If you take pictures of people, get permission from all people in the picture to have their picture appear on the Internet and in the Heirloom. Inform the webmaster or Heirloom editor that permissions have been granted.

If you find a picture on the Internet that you want to use, make sure it does not have copyright or usage restrictions. Provide the picture as well as a link to where you found it on the Internet.

Please use photographs as opposed to clip art or images with text. However, if a suitable photograph cannot be found, clip art is acceptable.

Content of Articles

Include the following pieces of information:

• A title for the article.
• Who to contact for more information, with an email link or phone number.

If it is an event, also include the following:

• Date and time of the event.
• Location of the event, if it is not Heritage Church.
• Description of the event.
• Who the event is open to (examples: women of the church, church members and friends, adults and high school teens, the public).
• Whether childcare will be provided, or is available upon request, or is not available.

Provide any links needed (for example, to an external webpage or to an email address).

Try to follow the Website Style Guidelines as much as possible.

Timing

Submit material at the time you want it to appear on the website, and/or prior to the submittal due date for the Heirloom.

If you submit an article for an event that will happen several months in the future, the Heirloom editor will repeat the article unchanged in succeeding months of the Heirloom, and you do not need to resubmit it.

If you want an article to be repeated in succeeding months but with changes (such as changes of date), you will need to arrange for this with the Heirloom editor.

Submittal Method

Type (or copy and paste) the text into the body of an email message, or attach it to an email message as a Microsoft Word document. Send any pictures as attachments to emails.

Send the email to the address below:

Miscellaneous

The webmaster and/or Heirloom editor make the final decision regarding what text and pictures to use, and also reserve the right to edit the text and pictures submitted.

If you have questions, contact the webmaster at the email address below.

When a Board member opens and closes the building for an outside group, he or she can print out and use the Checklists for Building Opener and Closer in PDF form.

On March 9 and March 24, 2015, the Heritage Universalist Unitarian Church Board of Trustees approved changes in the Safety and Security Policies and Procedures manual. The following sections have been updated to reflect these changes.

• Building Closing Policy
• Building Closing Procedure
• Provision of Child Care for Routine Church Events
• Provision of Child Care for Other Events
• Checklist Before Leaving the Church Building

You can also obtain the full manual in PDF format.

Double-check the material to make sure it follows the Website Style Guidelines.

For short announcements of 50 or fewer words that should be in the Order of Service, the weekly “Our Heritage Connection” email, and the website, email the announcement to the address below:

For longer material intended for the website, email it to the address below:

Include a title for the item.

Type or paste the text content in the body of the email. (An attached document in Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format (.rtf) is also acceptable.)

Provide any links needed (for example, to an external webpage or to an email address).

Send photos as a file attached to the email. Do not embed photos in the body of the email. Large, high-resolution photos are preferred.

1. Generally aim for short, concise writing, while still being complete.

2. If a post must be longer than 300 words, break it up into sections with sub-headings.

3. Organize the information using the “inverted pyramid approach” used in newspaper reporting, where the most important information is put at the top. This important information includes the “who,” “what,” “when,” “where,” and “why,” and sometimes includes the “how.” This key information is followed by more detailed information, and the post wraps up with background information. For more information on this approach, see the Wikipedia article on “Inverted pyramid” at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_pyramid.

4. Consider using a “hook” sentence or two at the beginning to engage the reader’s interest, before going into the inverted pyramid approach. This is optional, and will depend upon the tone of the piece.

5. Use short paragraphs in preference to long ones.

6. Use bullet points for lists of similar items. Use parallel construction in bullet points. (For example, if the first bullet point is a complete sentence, make all of them complete sentences. If the first is a phrase, make all of them phrases with a similar structure.)

7. Write in Standard English.

8. Aim for a tone that is informal and friendly.

9. When you have a “call to action,” keep these points in mind.

a) Use an imperative command only for a broad, important moral issue. Example: “Join the Immigration Rights rally on the courthouse steps on Thursday.”

b) You can also use an imperative for simple website navigation. Example: “Read more.”

c) Otherwise, Request (“Please …”), Invite (“The Board invites you to …”) or Offer (“If you wish, you can …”).

10. Try to keep post titles short.

11. When naming a post title or using a sub-heading, use “title case,” also known as “headline style.” Capitalize the first and last words of the title and all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions (if, because, as, that, and so on). For the HUUC website, make the following types of words lowercased unless they are first or last: articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor), and prepositions of fewer than five letters. An online tool for converting to title case is at https://www.titlecase.com/.

12. Other than for worship or Sunday morning R.E., if the item involves a meeting or event on a certain date, then in the subtitle include the the day of the week, the month and day, and the time.

13. When giving a byline, do not capitalize the “by.”

14. When using an acronym or abbreviation, spell out its full meaning the first time it is used. For example: “The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is the national organization to which Heritage Church belongs. The UUA was formed in 1961.”

15. When referring to our church, try to avoid using “HUUC.” Instead use something like “Heritage UU Church,” “Heritage Church,” or “our church.”

16. The first reference to a minister should use “Rev.” followed by first and last name. Example: “Rev. Bill Gupton.” If the first reference is in a sentence, the word “the” should appear in front of this, such as, “Our minister, the Rev. Bill Gupton, is encouraging everyone to join in this nationwide protest.” Subsequent references can use that minister’s preferred shortened address, such as “For seven days, Rev. Bill will lead the Anderson Township Journey to Justice Walk.”

17. When using dates, follow these formats:

a) Spell out the date without abbreviations. Example:
November 19, 2014

b) If the date refers to an upcoming event, include the day of the week. Example:
Wednesday, November 19, 2014

c) In a post title, if a date refers to an upcoming event in the current year, leave off the year. Example: Wednesday, November 19

d) When giving a date without a year, use the numerical date of the month without adding a “th” or “rd.” For example: December 7 (not December 7th).

18. When using times, follow a 12-hour clock, give both hours and minutes, and use “a.m.,” or “p.m.” If an event is at noon, use “noon.” Examples: 11:00 a.m.; 12 noon; 2:30 p.m.

19. For hyperlinks in the body of text, the text should be written so that it does not tell the reader to “click here.” (For example, it will end up saying “the UUA site,” NOT “for the UUA site, click here.”) The person submitting material should give both the text and the website/email address.

20. For email addresses, try to use Heritage Church email forwarders instead of people’s own email addresses. Use capitalization in the first part of the address to make its meaning clearer.

For more on writing for the web, see this article on legibility, readability and comprehension.

For basic style considerations, consult The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White.

For more detailed information on how to handle specific situations, consult the Wikipedia Manual of Style at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style.

1. The Heritage Universalist Unitarian Church as a whole, and its Board of Trustees in particular, has ultimate control over the content of the church website, the church newsletter, and official church social media.

2. Content must be intended to further the mission and aims of Heritage Universalist Unitarian Church. Information must concern the organization or activities of:

• Heritage UU Church, or
• Another UU church/organization, or
• A social justice or interfaith organization of which Heritage UU Church is a member, or
• A social justice or interfaith organization/event which a Heritage congregant has attended or will attend.

3. Publicly-viewable content must not reflect unfavorably upon Heritage UU Church or Unitarian-Universalism.

4. Content must be used in a way that respects the rights of copyright holders.

5. Content must respect privacy rights. In particular:

a. Recognizable images of a living person can be used only if there is a reasonable expectation that the person would not object, such as if the person gives permission to do so or if pictures of the person have been used or published previously. Recognizable images of a current minor can be used only with the parent’s or guardian’s permission.

b. Publicly-viewable images of a minor can be associated with the minor’s last name only with the parent’s or guardian’s permission.

c. Any audio or video of the church service must not include the Candles of Community.

6. Content must merit a “G” rating, suitable for all audiences.

7. Content must not violate federal, state or local laws, or governmental regulations.*

8. The webmaster will review the submitted content for adherence to content policy and style guidelines, and reserves the right to revise and edit website contributions using his or her best judgment.

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* A guide to some regulations can be found in the Unitarian Universalist Association’s document, “The Real Rules: Congregations and the IRS Guidelines On Advocacy, Lobbying, and Elections.”