Black History Month: Resistance | |
Featured in this issue:
Latest NER Blog; 8th Principle/Anti-Racism Workshop with New Day Rising; Side With Love Presents Guidelines for Arrestee/Defendant Support (Social Action); 2023 Intergenerational Spring Seminar: Demilitarization & Abolition; February Liberating Governance gathering; Congregational Board/Trustee Gathering; February RE Meet & Eat...
...and more! Scroll down to find the article you are interested in.
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When We Pause
by wren bellavance-grace
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Leadership in our dominant culture tends to evoke images of politicians inspiring crowds with fiery speeches, or breathless heroes leading the charge. But church leadership isn’t a political campaign or an action movie.
Many of us engage in church life through meetings — of boards, committees, covenant and support groups. To paraphrase an old saying, wherever two or more are gathered, there are meetings! And there are differences of opinion; values in tension with each other; heated emotions that deepen conflict.
And where there are meetings, there are opportunities to engage in the practice of spiritual leadership that we call Doing Our Inner Work.
NER staff have heard from many congregations across New England where anxiety is high. There's a lot to worry about: the health and safety of our children, our parents, the elders in our church we haven’t seen for three years. We worry about when (or whether) families will come back to worship, and about how we can stretch our budget to heat the building.
Worries, like pennies in our pockets, add to the weight we are carrying. The more the weight, the less capacity we have to carry even one more thing. This can manifest in a lack of patience, and lower trust between and among us. It can lead us to react, instead of respond. It can cause us to dig in, instead of lean in and listen. All of these are common human responses.
This month, we want to share a practice of Doing Our Inner Work that we have used on the New England Region team. Maybe you’ll find it useful in your church community or in your workplace. It’s also a practice you can teach children. It’s never too early to begin claiming one’s spiritual leadership!
We call it Practicing Pause. Here’s how it works:
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The Big Picture
Tuesday, February 28, 7:00pm ET
As we begin our shared learning, let’s start with some imagining. What would governance feel like if it were as spiritually alive and as mission-aligned as it could be? What have we already experienced (in our congregations or elsewhere) that helps us imagine what liberating governance would include? And what more can we envision?
If you have not already joined the Liberating Governance 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. Individual registration is required for each gathering.
Find out more about this Community of Practice.
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Sustaining Practice!
Our community of practice will convene next in March 2023. The specific theme and pre-work will be communicated well in advance. Specific dates for these next gatherings will be:
Daytime offering: March 28, 1:00 to 2:30 PM (ET)*
Evening offering: March 30, 7:00 to 8:30 PM (ET)*
*Each offering will have the same program.
An optional orientation to Spiritual Leadership Q&A
session will begin 30 minutes before each offering.
Thank you to all who participated in our January gatherings on the practice of Reimagining Core Values and Identity. If you weren't there and would like to get a sense of what that one was about, check out the pre-work here.
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. Individual registration is required for each gathering.
To learn more, follow these links:
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Congregational Board/Trustee Quarterly Gathering (Online)
This is the NER quarterly zoom gathering for congregational board members/trustees.This 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 support, Thursday, February 16, 7:00-8:30pm ET.
We’ll send details for logging in to the conversation to all registered participants a few days before each session, along with a survey about what issue(s) you’d like to discuss. Please register as soon as possible.
Registration is free and required. Deadline by Thursday, February 9 or until maximum capacity is reached.
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New Guidance on Committees on Ministry
We received a lot of inquiries about Committees on Ministry and what exactly they should be doing. We also hear how volunteer time and energy are so precious that no one wants to waste them. In response, a team of Congregational Consultants from multiple UUA Regions have pulled together new resources to respond to shifting approaches to Committees on Ministry. Generally, what we are encouraging in these resources is that a congregation does not necessarily need to formally organize a standing Committee on Ministry, but there does need to be attending to the functions that have typically been managed by CoMs. These include:
We also have an overview article sharing more about the most up-to-date reflections on CoMs. Please have a look and let us know what is helpful to you and your fellow congregational leaders so that we can make these resources support purposeful and doable shared ministry. Kindly send feedback to newengland@uua.org.
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So You’re Working on the 8th Principle. . .
Join this year's New Day Rising event, sponsored by the Central East Region, to learn from neighboring congregations about what path they've taken with their 8th Principle and other antiracism work, and how your congregation might move itself forward.
We’ll have worship, a panel discussion on Kickstarting Your Congregation’s Anti-Racism Work, caucusing and workshops based on where your congregation is now. This workshop includes pre-work and resources on the UU Institute.
Saturday, February 25, 12:00-6:00 pm ET / 11:00am-5:00pm CT /
10:00am-4:00pm MT / 9:00am-3:00pm PT
Please find details at the CER website. Registration is required and available on a sliding scale. Do note, there is a cap of 500 participants for this event.
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What Do We Do When Our Conscience Goes to Jail?:
UUs Showing Up for UUs Who Show Up
Side With Love presents a Virtual Training and Toolkit:
For generations, UUs have been jailed for our conscience in resisting systems of oppression. As our tradition becomes more justice-oriented, rates of UU arrests are on the rise. How does our conscience also call us to be there for those whose bodies are on the line?
Learn how UUs are building capacity to support and share the load in the face of mass arrest. Find out more about how to organize support for those who are arrested and jailed as a conscientious form of protest.
UUs have been engaged in social change efforts, including nonviolent civil disobedience, for many generations. Today, it seems that UUs who resist injustice are being arrested and detained at increasing rates. This is due, in part, to an enhanced partnership between corporations and the state in criminalizing dissent.
The sustainability of UU activism, as well as the sustainability of UU activists, well may depend upon the capacity of UU entities to provide a spectrum of support for those at the frontlines. Join us!
Presenters: Rev. Karen Van Fossan, Antoinette Scully, Rev. Dr. Clyde Grubbs, and friends.
Tuesday, February 7, 7:00pm-8:30pm ET / 6:00pm-7:30pm CT /
5:00PM-6:30PM MT / 4:00pm-5:30pm PT
Registration is free and required. Download the toolkit here.
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Save the Date! 2023 Intergenerational Spring Seminar
The UU Office at the United Nations is excited to announce that the 2023 Intergenerational Spring Seminar will take place April 1-3, 2023, with the theme "Demilitarization & Abolition: Resist Policing and Empire." The event, planned in close partnership with the UU Service Committee & the UU College of Social Justice, will be a multi-platform event, held in-person in Minneapolis, MN and online.
More details to follow, registration opens in January. Please put it on your calendars now!
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February Religious Educator Meet and Eat Series
We are inviting religious education professionals, from across the country, to virtually join members of the UUA’s Faith Development Co-Lab on Tuesday, February 21 12:00pm-1:30pm ET. The meet and eat gathering for religious educators is a wonderful opportunity to connect with other DRE’s.
Our conversation topic will be twofold. First, we will explore the importance of community connection with colleagues. Then, we will share what folks are thinking about for spring/summer religious education opportunities which focus on service and multigenerational connection.
Bring your ideas and questions on spring/summer social justice initiatives that welcome children, youth, and adults; Coming of Age experiences for youth; and summer program ideas!
Please find more information here. Registration is free and required.
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The Presidential Forums are coming in early 2023!
You’ll be able to attend in person or online to meet the next presidential nominee(s). Want to know when/where they’ll be held? Subscribe to the New England Region newsletter for updates.
Coming in February... UUA Legacy Giving Webinar for Congregations
Saturday, February 11, 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, February 11, 2023 covers the basics of legacy giving and how to set up a legacy giving program in your congregation. We aim to equip congregations with the knowledge they need to start a legacy program.
Registration is required. To register for the webinar, email us at legacy@uua.org or call us at (617) 948-6509.
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Spring Right Relationship Team Training is Open for Registration!
Creating beloved community requires intention and practice. Our covenants articulate our intention, but how do we live into the practice? Right Relations Teams (RRT) are lay leaders entrusted to help the congregation practice faithful communication and creative conflict based on values of mutuality and consent.
This training is for congregational teams who will be helping their congregations live into their covenants.
In this facilitated version, you will learn with other congregations during the 6 live practice sessions. The cost of $400/team covers the facilitators and includes a code to access to training materials. Registration is required for this training. Deadline to register is Wednesday, February 22.
Note: The training can also be taken on your own ($30/person) through UU Institute. There are instructions for you to facilitate your own practice sessions.
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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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Are You in Connecticut? Come UNCONFERENCE with the UU Church in Meriden, CT (in-person)!
On Saturday, March 11, 2022 from 8:30am– 4:00pm congregational leaders from around the state will gather to make connections; inspire each other; learn and teach leadership skills; and discuss Unitarian Universalism and congregational life.
They will be using the UNCONFERENCE Model: an open-space approach where those in attendance determine the teaching and learning opportunities. More information is available here.
It is also requested that all those attending bring something to share for the potluck lunch (how UU does this get)!
If there is a weather or Covid cancelation for the in-person event, it will move online and all those registered will be sent a Zoom link via their registration email.
This event is free and registration is required.
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