Featured in this issue:
Latest NER Blog; April Congregational Board and Trustee Gathering; April Liberating Governance gathering; Article II and 8th Principle resources; Part Time and Thriving!; UUA Presidential Forums...
...and more! Scroll down to find the article you are interested in.
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When We Wonder Together
by Meck Groot and Joe Sullivan
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In our experience, most Unitarian Universalist congregations are not culturally predisposed to using discernment as a way to determine direction, focus or action. Our congregations generally use "the democratic process" in which group decisions are made by majority vote. The vote is taken after one or more opinions have been debated with arguments for and arguments against. Arguments may be persuasive if well-reasoned, well-articulated and/or stated with passionate conviction. Once cases are made, a choice is offered to voters: Yes or No; option A or B (and occasionally C).
It's no coincidence that the words decide and homicide share a common root: caedere meaning "to kill or cut down."
Making choices in this way happens routinely in board, committee, and congregational meetings. It also happens in business meetings of the UUA. It is promoted in the 5th Principle: "The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large."
Of course, decisions need to be made. There's nothing wrong with making them using the democratic process. But that isn't enough. In times calling for faithful risks to change or resist prevailing culture in the service of love and mission, democratic process can't be the only way we find our way together.
Sometimes, we need deeper and wider wisdom than our minds can reasonably grasp but which our hearts call us to. Sometimes, we need to broaden our perspective by listening heart-to-heart to fellow congregants. Sometimes, love begs us not to marginalize anyone by turning them into the "minority opinion." Sometimes, we need to re-remember and recommit to our mission and values. Sometimes we need to pause and wonder together.
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Congregational Board and Trustee Gathering (online)
This is the NER quarterly zoom gathering for congregational board members/trustees.The gathering is open to current board members and people who will be on the board within the next several months. Join with your peers to share ideas, strategies, questions, concerns, and offer and receive support, Thursday, April 1, 7:00-8:30pm ET.
Please register as soon as possible. We'll send log-in details to all registered participants and you will have an opportunity to note the topics you'd like to discuss on the registration form.
Registration free and required. The registration deadline is Wednesday, April 12.
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Liberating Governance: Liberating Time (online)
Thursday, April 27, 7:00-8:30pm ET
When we think about liberating governance we often feel stymied by feeling we have too much on our plates already; that we haven’t the time to imagine, let alone implement, liberating changes. What if the path to liberating change is made of (or at least begins in) small steps? Before considering larger scale shifts to governance systems let’s explore some relatively simple ways to free up and/or affect the quality of time in board work – both within and outside of formal meetings – to create head and heart space for deeper reflection and discernment around missional goals and comprehensive, liberating change.
If you have not already joined the Liberating Governance community of practice, you can do so using this form. This program is open to all staff and lay leaders. It is especially appropriate for Board members and others in the congregation entrusted with significant decisions. We highly recommend participating as a team with others from your congregation. Once you join, you will automatically receive registration details and the pre-work assignment before each gathering. Please note, individual registration is required for each gathering. Find out more about this Community of Practice.
Registration open soon!
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Reparations and Tending Our Tradition (online)
Our community of practice will convene next in May 2023 (online). The theme will center on reparations and the practice of Tending Our Tradition. The pre-work will be communicated well in advance. Specific dates for these next gatherings will be:
- Evening offering: Tuesday May 23, 7:00-8:30pm ET or
- Daytime offering: Thursday May 25, 1:00-2:30pm ET
Thank you to all who participated in our March gatherings on the practice of Discernment for Faithful Risking. If you weren't there and would like to get a sense of what that one was about, check out the pre-work.
If you have not already joined the community of practice, you can do so using this form. The community is open to all — religious professionals and laity. Once you join, you will automatically receive registration details and the pre-work assignment before each gathering.
To learn more, follow these links:
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How to Participate in the Article II Conversations
Wondering how you and your congregation can contribute to the Article II conversation on the revision of our Principles and Purposes?
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Read the Article II Commission Report (pdf) or watch the video of their presentation (YouTube)!
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Watch the Article II Commission space! Starting April 1, you can suggest amendments ideas here. In May, discussion groups will be organized to craft the amendments. Check the webpage for more information and details!
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Commit to attend General Assembly! It might be fun for your delegates to attend this year’s General Assembly in Pittsburgh in person, but your delegates can also attend the business only online GA meetings for no cost. There really is no excuse for not representing your congregation at General Assembly this year. Register here!
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Plan a good process and select your delegates! How can your delegates represent the overall perspective of the congregation? Members should feel confident that your community’s chosen delegates have sufficient guidance to represent your whole congregation. How to do this? Our nominated candidate for UUA President, Rev. Dr. Sofia Betancourt, suggests some good processes here. Long story short, plan for intentional conversation and broad outreach!
The Article II Commission is looking forward to continued engagement with Unitarian Universalists about this important shift in our theology. Your voice matters!
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Coming in May: UUA Legacy Giving Webinar for Congregations
Saturday, May 6, 2023 1:00-3:00pm ET / 10:00am-12:00pm PT
The UUA’s Legacy Gifts Office offers a number of services, including an online workshop to assist congregations in creating legacy giving programs. The webinar on Saturday, May 6, 2023 covers the basics of legacy giving and how to set up a legacy giving program in your congregation. The office aims to equip congregations with the knowledge they need to start a legacy program.
Registration is required. To register for the webinar, email the UUA's Legacy Gifts Office at legacy@uua.org or call (617) 948-6509.
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It's April:
Shower Your Staff with Care
Every year, we update our Benefits Tune-up Workbook, one of the most popular resources offered by the UUA Office of Church Staff Finances. It helps congregational leaders understand our benefit plan rules – necessary documents, eligibility criteria, enrollment windows, and more. Ensure plan compliance and take good care for your staff by having good protocol in place for benefits administration!
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UUs of Greater Pittsburgh: Understanding Article II (online)
Are you familiar with the Article II revision process? Would you like to know how the current revision was arrived at?
If you want to know how you can be involved with Article II going forward, and what will be happening at General Assembly 2023; you are invited to join Rev. Sunshine Wolfe and leaders from the Greater Pittsburgh areas as they answer questions related to the Article II revision process.
Article II includes several sections including our current UU Principles and Sources. After time for information and Q&A, participants will have space to communicate with one another about Article II and what it might mean for their congregations and communities.
Please join us online on Saturday April 29 10:00am-12:00pm ET. Registration is free and required. The registration deadline is Friday, April 28. More information about the event can be found here.
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Part-Time and Thriving! (online)
Save the date for this virtual one-day event designed especially for congregations that have part-time ministry, ministers who are serving congregations part-time, as well as congregations and ministers who are considering part-time ministry.
“The Possibilities of Part-Time Ministry” will take place on Saturday, May 13, 2023, 12:00-5:00pm ET / 9:00am-2:00pm PT, featuring theme speaker G. Jeffrey MacDonald, author of Part-Time is Plenty, Thriving without Full-Time Clergy.
More details and registration coming soon!
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Presidential Forums 2023 (hybrid)
There will be a series of four presidential candidate forums, starting in March, to allow delegates and members to learn more about Rev. Dr. Betancourt. Planned in concert with the Election Campaign Practices Committee with support from UUA staff, each forum will offer both on-site and virtual participation. There will also be an additional forum during General Assembly in June.
All Unitarian Universalists are welcomed and encouraged to engage with the presidential candidate forums and the process as a whole, to ensure our next UUA President may establish the foundation for their leadership with broad participation.
Recording of March 18, 2023 in Arlington, VA (bottom of page)
April 29, 2023 1:00pm CT / 2:00pm ET in Evanston, IL
May 20, 2023 1:00pm PT / 4:00pm ET in Santa Barbara, CA
June 3, 2023 1:00pm CT / 2:00pm ET in Dallas, TX
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LFE Invites Congregational Religious Professionals to Join in Conversations about the Article II Revisions
The Lifespan Faith Engagement Office (LFE) of the UUA invites religious professionals in congregations that are considering the Article II revisions to share their creative ideas and resources. The office is putting all that content together in a public online document that is growing daily. The goal is to support congregational engagement and shared learning about this proposal. This process itself is faith formation! Every UU community is a little different from the next, so the tools you’ll need to faithfully consider the issue are not one-size-fits-all.
As you consider the Article II proposal in your community, check out the stories, sermons, lesson plans, lectio divina guides, activities, discussion slides and more on the Article II Resource Hub. Consider leaving a note there about a resource if you have feedback to share on how it went – or how you adapted content for your congregation.
During this process, we want to listen to congregations. What's the conversation like in your community? We are all learning together, and would love to add your wisdom and experience to the discussion. You can do that by filling out a survey by LFE.
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EqUUal Access Carolyn Cartland Sermon Contest
Since 2016, EqUUal Access has sponsored an annual contest for sermons related to disability. It is named after Carolyn Cartland, an early president of EqUUal Access. This annual contest highlights disability-related themes and topics. Entry deadline: May 1. One cash prize of $500. When feasible, the winner may be invited to present their sermon at an EqUUal Access event during UUA General Assembly. Travel costs to GA cannot be supported.
ELIGIBILITY:
- The sermon must be an original work on a disability theme or topic
- The sermon must be preached between May 1, 2022 and April 30, 2023.
- Entries (sermon text and entry cover information) must be submitted before midnight on May 1, 2023.
- This sermon contest is open to all lay or religious professional Unitarian Universalists.
Please click here for more information on submitting a sermon.
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