The Board of Trustees of Unity Worldwide Ministries has set forth the intention to place before the 2013 convention body a proposed bylaw change that will allow UWM to charge a membership fee to member ministries. This change will be voted upon at the 2013 annual convention. This bylaw change is diametric opposed to our founding documents and many believe that it is not in keeping with our core principles. Should the motion to change this bylaw pass, the convention body grants UWM a mandate to develop a required membership fee structure to be placed before the convention in 2014. Given that the 2013 convention will take place on a cruise ship, many ministries, by choice or due to financial constraints, may not have an opportunity to be heard on this important matter. Therefore, we the undersigned, hereby voice our opposition to this proposed bylaw change. We stand for continued financial independence and congregational control of church/center assets. We further affirm that if the aforementioned bylaw change should pass, we will reject any imposed financial commitment, regardless of the amount, and will refuse to pay any membership fee, head tax or assessment.