Redesigned Unified Ministerial Agreement

October 2025

Dear Congregational Leaders and UUMA Members,

For many years, the UUA and UUMA have collaborated on a model ministerial agreement for full-time called solo ministers. More recently, we added interim, developmental, and half-time contract versions. Even with these multiple templates, by no means were we covering all situations. As we pondered creating even more specialized agreements to recognize additional ministry contexts, we faced two challenges:

• The ministry contexts are not mutually exclusive, so often more than one situation applies. It’s impractical and inefficient for leaders and ministers to have to work from multiple templates, e.g., for a contracted Assistant Minister.
• Administratively, it was cumbersome to amend multiple versions when changes applied  to areas shared by all templates. 

To transcend these difficulties, we’ve created a Unified Ministerial Agreement, with considerations for different ministry contexts spelled out under each provision. This is the first attempt to consolidate agreement guidance for multiple types of ministries within a single document. (Look for the indented sections labeled “Additions” or “Considerations.”) We are excited to have all the recommendations in one place and hope you find this approach helpful. We consider this a “beta version” and welcome your feedback at unified-agreement@uuma.org.

Our charge for this project was to provide considerations for various types of ministry, not to revise the primary guidance. An overall content review will happen in a future phase. In addition to a few minor wording adjustments, there are three notable amendments that have been made since we began this project:

1. The explanatory box under Comprehensive Health Insurance, 3.2.3.1, was changed in the fall of 2024 to reflect new legal understandings.
2. Extended Medical Leave, 4.7, was revised for clarity in the spring of 2025.
3. The new guidance under Work Week, 4.0, is for ministers to be given 2 days per week free of congregational responsibilities. Assuring ministers of this weekly time apart from their congregational obligations supports healthy boundaries and optimal mental health and work/life balance.

We strongly recommend that all congregations and ministers amend their existing agreements to take these changes into account.

May our work help you craft clear agreements in support of fruitful ministries.

Faithfully,

The UUA/UUMA Unified Agreement Team:
Jan Gartner, Associate Director, UUA Church Staff Finances
Janette M. Lallier, UUMA Director of Operations and Finances
Rev. Ruth Vann Lillian, UUMA Good Officer and UUA Compensation Consultant