Job Description
(Approved by the Board May 16, 2024)
Rationale: The Passages Coordinator helps welcome new UURMaPA members into the organization and oversees member notification of member deaths in collaboration with the Obituary Editors and other UURMaPA volunteers.
Expectations: Specific duties include:
- The Passages Coordinator writes welcome notes for new members and partners when “Intent To Retire” forms are received from the UUA.
- When the Passages Coordinator receives notice of the death of a minister or partner, the Coordinator checks the membership status of the deceased and sends a brief notice to the membership, specifying the date of death, the names of survivors, and, if the information is available, where to send condolences and contributions in memory, and where and when a memorial service will take place or has taken place. The Coordinator will also inform the membership that UURMaPA will contribute $50 to the UUMA Endowment Fund in the deceased’s memory, and in the case of a partner’s death, will contribute $50 to the partner’s church or a charity of the partner’s choice.
- The Passages Coordinator tracks member deaths on a chart, maintains a file of all member obituaries by name and death date, and provides Obituary Editors and Conference ln Memoriam Service leaders with information as needed.
- The Board decided to fully honor only the deaths of our own members (ministers or partners), except for the following actions: the Passages Coordinator should report via a brief announcement on the death of a minister who was 65 or older, whether or not a member; and the Board should invite the surviving spouse to join UURMaPA. (The President may do this at the GA Service of the Living Tradition.)
Note: When a Board Member becomes aware of the death of one of our members other than through UURMaPA or denominational notices, they should pass the information along to the Passages Coordinator so that the death of a member is not overlooked. Elderberries should include periodic notices to remind members to notify the Passages Coordinator or a Board person of the death of any member, minister or partner.
Drafted and submitted by Joy Atkinson, May 13, 2024