New Day Rising Follow-Up Blog Series
by Meck Groot and Hilary Allen
The following are based on content presented as part of the “Staying the Course” workshop at the New Day Rising Conference in February 2021. The full workshop is available to conference registrants through Whova and to new participants who enroll in the UULI course.
Consider the Bees
Why do we expect so much of ourselves? Like a bee, each of us is one person. What any of us can produce in our lifetime is pretty small in the scheme of things. But — here’s the good news — that’s all that’s asked of us. Just as we don’t expect a bee to produce more than she does, why do we expect it of ourselves or each other? Read more...
Close Encounters
We have to assume that if we are engaged in dismantling white supremacy, then we will have to encounter it along the way. It seems obvious, but often we forget: Dismantling white supremacy means we will encounter it. That's just the work revealing itself to us. Read more...
An Irresistible Future
That is what faith is about: believing in a world free from the tyranny of white supremacy. We can make that faith claim. We can listen for amazing stories in which love and justice are already happening. In particular, we can listen to how such a world is imagined by those with marginalized identities and listen to our own hearts paying attention to its longings for connection, belonging and liberation. Read more...
Choosing Ourselves
If we don’t take the rest we need, the temptation to act out of white supremacy culture is that much stronger. When we are operating from fatigue, any one of us — white or BIPOC — is more likely to fall into default white supremacy modes. ...We need to be unwaveringly committed to and invested in our resilience. We are not all powerful. We deserve and require rest. Read more...
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Planning for Multi-Platform Operations
Welcome to our new column with the latest guidance and opportunities for you as we explore pathways forward. In the future, this column will be found in our Resources section, below!
Multi-Platform Guidebook
We know lots of you are considering multi-platform ministries of various kinds, including worship and religious education, among other things. We are pleased to offer this Guidebook to help you in your discernment: Multi-Platform Resources: A Guidebook. (This Guidebook includes the four videos from the Central East Region’s presentation on which we based our own post-pandemic worship webinar in April. So, if you missed it or want to catch it again with slightly different framing, look for those in the same guidebook.)
Multi-Platform Worship Training
After you have done some discernment about what is right for your congregation, if you do decide to pursue multi-platform worship, check out this training from Rev. Kimberley Debus. She is a UU minister with a community ministry focusing on worship arts. This three-hour training is being offered 15 times (!) between now and September, so when you are ready to take it, it will be ready for you!
- As a faith community, we root our decisions in the values of inclusion and consent.
- Follow the science.
- Go slow and be flexible.
- Be humane and realistic with expectations of ourselves and others.
As always, your UUA regional staff are thought partners with you. Please reach out to them with any questions or learnings.
New Guidance on Reopening
Including specific recommendations and sample policies about when and how to reopen.
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The New England Region extends a big thank you to the following honor congregations, which have contributed their full FY21 pledge to the Annual Program Fund! |
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The Federated Church of Orleans
First Church in Roxbury
UU Society of New Britain
Nauset Fellowship Inc.
UU Congregation of Castine
First Parish in Kingston
Newfields Community Church Universalist Society of West Burke
First Universalist Society in New Haven
Hopedale Unitarian Parish
UU Meeting House of Pittsfield, Maine
The Universalist Society of Strafford
Nottingham Community Church UU
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Durham UU Fellowship
UU Church of Norwich CT
Leicester Unitarian Church
Federated Church
UU Congregation of St. Johnsbury
UU Church Greater Bridgeport
First Parish Unit Church of Hubbardston
Religious Society of Bell Street Chapel
Unitarian Fellowship of Northwest CT
First Universalist Society
UU Society in Brooklyn, Connecticut, Inc.
The First Church of Deerfield
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UU World Special Issue!
(Re)Building Democracy: A National Reckoning About Race, Justice, and Equity
We are excited to announce that a special issue of UU World magazine will be arriving in mailboxes in early May. Redesigned and including vibrant art and photography, this issue captures this historic moment in (re)building democracy in the United States. Through interviews, essays, images, and reflections, we seek to engage readers in examining how each one of us can help create a truly just, equitable, and anti-racist democracy.
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Registration for virtual GA 2021 is $200 per person. General Assembly registrants will receive access to the 2021 Online Participation Portal, including live, simu-live, and on-demand video content, the virtual exhibit hall, chat features, support, and a ( new!) GA mobile app. Register Now!
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Network of Hospitality for Bridging Youth
Congregations sending forth bridging youth (exiting high school) are encouraged to share the Bridging Youth Hospitality Network survey with their youth to fill out. That way, bridging youth will identify how they would like to be supported. Congregations receiving these new young adults are encouraged to also fill out the survey, to make the connection.
Questions about this network can be directed to Rev. Stevie Carmody, Emerging Adult Ministry Associate in the Office of Lifespan Faith Engagement of the UUA, by emailing [email protected].
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Stay home and travel the UU world!
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UUA Retirement Seminar Series
May 3, 5, 11, 29
Are you 50 years of age or older? Planning to retire within the next decade? Have questions about what might come next or about the mechanics of retirement (TIAA, Social Security, Medicare)? The 2021 Retirement Seminar is offered by the UUA Office of Church Staff Finances (OCSF) in partnership with the UUA Professional Development Office and the UU Retired Ministers and Partners Association.
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May 15 & 22, 10am - 12pm
We are excited to invite a team from your congregation to join us for a two-part workshop on the practice of spiritual leadership we call “Centering in Gifts.” Through pre-work and two online sessions, your team will explore how gifts are different from skills and competencies; how our faith calls us to see the gifts in ourselves, in others, in our communities, and in our circumstances; and how the practice of centering in gifts allows each of us to be seen and more fully known.
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The Well: A Spiritual Retreat for People of Color and Our Families
The Well is a life-giving retreat. Just like a communal well in ancient times, we gather at the Well, share wisdom and learn from each other, talk about things that matter, and fill our vessels with resources that sustain us.
As a rare multi-generational opportunity for children, youth, and adults, programming of the Well explores our spiritual paths, including rites of passage that bear witness to our experiences. There will be food, music, sports, history, arts, and bodywork that nurtures our souls, and worship, rituals and networking that uplift our spirits.
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While this era has many challenges, it also brings opportunities for us to realize just how interconnected we really are.
UUs from all over the country are now live-streaming worship! If you are among them, you can add your congregation to this list.
Consider dropping in on congregations you might never have a chance to visit otherwise!
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List of Resources for COVID-19 |
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About the New England Region |
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and to our UUA Annual Program Fund make all of our work possible.
We offer learning opportunities throughout the New England Region for congregational members, lay leaders, and religious professionals.
Know someone at church who would like to subscribe?
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Contact us!
(617) 948-6415
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