MEET OUR NEW FAITH FORWARD COORDINATOR: MARIE LUNA In August we said goodbye to Lori Emison Clair, who has served as Faith Forward Coordinator since January 2017, and welcomed Marie Luna to the Faith Forward team! She is working on establishing relationships with our current Faith Forward congregations, and is available to anyone who wants to learn more about how the program could benefit their congregation. You can reach her at mluna@dallasuu.org . Marie serves as the Director of Congregational Life at Fox Valley UU Fellowship in Appleton, WI, where she is implementing the Faith Forward program herself. She was a founding Board member of the UU Association of Membership Professionals, and continues as a leader in UUAMP's membership professional certification program. We are thrilled that Marie is bringing her wealth of experience to the Faith Forward program!

INTRODUCING: DEEPENING SPIRITUAL PRACTICE Deepening Spiritual Practice, part of the Faith Forward Advanced Path, is an eight-session exploration of the role of spiritual practice in our lives and how we can sustain it. It is an opportunity for participants to deepen their spiritual practice, and to infuse spirit in their daily lives, in their relationship with the church, and in their work in the world. This series is rooted in two affirmations: 1) There is no one right way to do spiritual practices, and 2) Spiritual life is not always solitary - we need each other. More details are available HERE .

Stay tuned for the next series on the Faith Forward Path - Biblical Literacy for Unitarian Universalists.

INTRODUCING THE ADULT BOSTON HERITAGE TRIP GUIDE In October 2018, First Unitarian Church of Dallas led an Adult Heritage Trip for participants in the Faith Forward program within our church. The Heritage Trip took a group of 25 adults to Boston (and surrounding areas) for five days to visit sites of historical significance to Unitarian Universalism. Participants gained a deeper understanding of Unitarian Universalism, past and present, and came to see in real ways how our history has shaped our present, including their experience of our local congregation. The Heritage Trip was explicitly framed as a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is not a vacation or sightseeing tour. It is a religious journey to a sacred place, or to a location of importance to our beliefs and faith. Based on this experience, we created a guide for Faith Forward Path congregations to organize and lead their own Adult Heritage Trip to Boston. The guide includes: Logistics (registration, travel and lodging, bookings and reservations, communication, participant preparation), a Detailed Itinerary with tour talking points, and outlines for Opening and Closing Circles. If your congregation uses this resource to plan a Heritage Trip, we would love to hear from you about the experience! Email us at faithforward@dallasuu.org . 

If you are interested in learning more about the program, check out www.faithforwarduu.org for descriptions, a video, frequently asked questions, the newsletter archive, and testimonials from Faith Forward congregations.