“How are you?” I asked my DRE colleague on our recent phone call. Her response was not exactly typical, but becoming more familiar. She’d had a bout of Covid about six or eight months before. Although she’d been quite sick, it could have been much worse, and she was grateful for the vaccines her family had received. “Still,” she said, “even all these months later, I find I get winded easily. It’s harder to lift heavy things. Some things are just harder now.”

We return to our traditional New England UU church year in September, many of us feeling the same way after three years of covid - so much of what we used to do is just harder. Some of us who have chronic conditions or care for loved ones who do, it feels hard to show up for Sunday worship, and harder still to imagine going to coffee hour. For some families, it feels harder to rally the kids to go back to RE or youth group - it’s hard enough getting them to school five days in a row! It’s harder to find volunteers to staff our programs, serve on committees, companion the youth group, run the annual auction, or any one of a number of other things we once had an army of volunteers to help with in the before times. Everything is just a little harder.

We gave this blog post a provocative title, one that looks like social media clickbait designed to lure you to our pages with quick fixes for complex problems. These internet traps are really effective at getting eyeballs on their pages, but they aren’t effective at bringing viewers any actual help.

Being in Right Relationship with Change

Daytime offering: September 27, 1:00 PM (ET)*

Evening offering: September 29, 7:00 PM (ET)*

*An optional orientation to Spiritual Leadership Q&A session

will begin 30 minutes before each offering. 

In describing the concept of "emergent strategy," adrienne maree brown asks: 

“How do we get in a right relationship with change that allows us to harness and shape things towards community, towards liberation, towards justice?” 

As change envelopes us today, what might it be like for congregations to get into right relationship with change? How do practices of Spiritual Leadership — such as faithful risking and doing inner work — help sustain such a right relationship and guide our collective lives towards mission? 

We will kick off our community of practice for the new church year exploring how some congregations are shifting their orientation to change and what new possibilities emerge as they move into right relationship with change, steering toward community, liberation and justice. Registration and pre-work details will be sent out in early September.

Our bi-monthly gatherings allow congregations to learn from each other; share concerns, stories and questions; and explore opportunities for collaboration. 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: 

• General description of this community of practice and a listing of scheduled gatherings
• Community Expectations and Covenant Practice
• The community's Resources list, which includes links to pre-work assignments and follow up notes, if any, for each session

Board/Trustee Gathering

(online event)

This is the NER quarterly zoom gathering for congregational board members/trustees. Join us and your peers on September 8th from 7-8:30PM ET to share ideas, strategies, questions, concerns, and support. Registration is free and required. Registration ends Wednesday, Sept. 7. 

Admin Gathering (online event)

Join your peers to share ideas, strategies, questions, concerns, and support on September 13th from 12-1:30pm ET Open to New England Region congregational administrators. 

We’ll send details to all registered participants a few days before the gathering, along with a survey inquiring about what topic(s) you’d like to discuss. Please register by Wednesday, Sept. 7. 

Claiming our Spiritual Leadership (in-person event) 

As leaders in your congregation, do you feel your church commitments are more like chores than a joyful expression of your faith? Are you collectively worried about having enough -- time, money, volunteers, funding, members? Do your people long to deepen or recapture their connection to each other, to spirit, to purpose? Do you have a vision for change but feel unsure how to bring it about or how to express it in a way that will be welcomed? 

If you answered “Yes” to these questions, now is the time to claim your spiritual leadership. Starting Sept. 25, 2022 - 1:30 PM to 3:00PM (ET).

A workshop designed for boards, committees, church staff, newly nominated or elected leaders, and volunteers who want to tap their individual and collective power for living into the mission and purpose of their congregation.

Registration is open and ends September 16th.

Can't join us in-person? Take the course online through the UU Institute. 

Welcome Sherri Lysy to the New England Region Team! 

After a long and tough search the New England Region is welcoming Sherri Lysy (she/her) as our new Administration and Finance Manager. 

Sherri lives in Raymond, Maine with her partner, Andrew, and pup, Hubert. Sherri likes to garden, hike, kayak, read and do yoga (not necessarily in that order). She brings experience from the private and non-profit worlds and a history with Unitarian Universalism. We look forward to her sharing her gifts with us.