Handbook On Line

The UUA's Congregational Handbook, How to Develop and Sustain Your Unitarian Universalist Congregation, (Third Edition, 1995), edited by Lawrence Palmieri Peers, is now available on the UUA web site.

The Handbook, a valuable resource for many aspects of congregational life, describes the role of various committees and includes information such as how to hire a new minister or religious education director, how to do a self-study of your congregation, and how to develop a RE department. The book also lists non-UUA resources available to congregations. A copy of the book may be available in your congregational office or it may also be ordered from the UUA Bookstore, (800) 215-9076, for $20.

Welcoming Congregation Program Revised

The Welcoming Congregation program has been revised and will be available by April 1. Four new workshop sessions have been added: Bisexuality, Transgender and What It Means, The Radical Right, and Racism and Homophobia. Most of the other sessions have also been revised. Suggested readings and hymns begin and end each workshop session. The questionnaires and other information have been updated as well. The program is available for $30 from the UUA Bookstore, (800) 215-9076. A reader is also due out soon.

For more information, contact the UUA Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Concerns, 25 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02108,  (617) 742-2100, ext. 470; obgltc@uua.org.

New at the Bookstore

The following books are new at the UUA Bookstore. They may be ordered by calling (800) 215-9076. Add $3 per order for handling.

Everyday Spiritual Practice: Simple Pathways for Enriching Your Life, edited by Scott Alexander, 1999, Skinner House, $16 #5666

Clarence R. Skinner: Prophet of a New Universalism, edited by Charles A. Howe. 1999, Skinner House, $14 #6400

Sex and the Church: Gender, Homosexuality and the Transformation of Christian Ethics, Kathy Rudy, 1997, Beacon Press, $12.50 #5573

Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Nonprofit Organization. Participants' Workbook, Peter F. Drucker,  1993, Jossey-Bass  $11.95  #7721

Creating Safe Congregations: Toward an Ethic of Right Relations, edited by the Revs. Pat Hoertdoerfer and William Sinkford, 1997, UUA Association, $30 #5331

Anti-Oppression Videos Available at Library

A collection of videos on anti-racism and anti-oppression topics is now available from the UUA Video Loan Library. Christine Murphy, of the Faith in Action Department, encourages use of the films as a follow-up by congregations which have completed the Jubilee Workshop or who simply want to develop a dialogue on race.

The films include Free Indeed (Mennonite Central Committee), about white privilege and Transitions, the Destruction of a Mother Tongue, by a Native American group, (Native Voices). Other films, such as Amistad, Mi Familia, Eyes on the Prize and Joy Luck Club are also recommended and available through local video stores.

The UUA Video Loan Library may be contacted at (716) 229-5325. More than 200 congregations have completed Jubilee World workshops, Murphy said.

Publication, Website for Youth Upgraded

Resources for keeping your congregation's youth and youth advisors informed and engaged in Unitarians Universlaism have been upgraded. Synapse, the UUA publication for youth and youth leaders has been redesigned to offer in-depth topics, advisor support, and local youth programming information. 

The Young Religious UU website has also been restructured to make it easy to find information on events, projects, and leadership opportunities. 

Synapse subscriptions are free by contacting Anne Fleming, (617) 742-2100, ext. 355, or subscribe on line.

From the Grape Vine to On-Line

A restricted-access area on the UUA website will soon become the home of a major new feature of the ministerial search process. Starting in July, each search committee will be asked to complete a congregational record, to be posted on-line by the UUA's Ministerial Settelment Office. Counterpart to the ministerial record sheet now expected from each minister in search, the congregational record will carry organizational, historical, theological, and financial information and will be available for minsterial viewing. Ministers in search may indicate--with the click of a mouse--those congregations they wish to explore.

These changes are in the interest of better congregation-minister matches, said the Rev. John Weston, settlement director. Ministers will bnenefit by the extensive new information about congregations. Search committees will benefit by receiving lists of ministers who not only know something about them, but have already indicated interest. Also, search committees may undertake wider and narrower searches than the present "one size fits all."

Weston will conduct several search seminars before the new system goes on-line, plus a Search Committee Breakfast and workshop at General Assembly.

For more information, contact Nancy Hezlitt, settlement assistant; (617) 742-2100, ext. 408; 25 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108.

Coordinator Selected for Large-Church Services

The Rev. Stefan Jonasson has been appointed coordinator of services for large congregations. For the past eight years he has been district executive of the Western Canada UUA district. In his new role he will continue to live in Winnipeg, Manitoba and travel to meet with congregations to fulfill his half-time position.

In making the appointment, Rev. William Sinkford, director of congregational, district and extension services, said Jonasson will help the UUA fulfill the need to create more effective ways to support our largest congregations, those with 550-plus members.

Jonasson has a background in human resources, a knowledge of UU history, and strong relationships with the UUA field staff as well as many Boston-based staff.

Vital Congregations Understand Their Purpose, Commitment

Whenever, as UU congregations, we take ourselves for granted, we miss tapping into a vital energy of purpose that can inspire and direct us, says the Rev. Lawrence Palmieri Peers, director of the UUA's Extension Education and Research Office.

Spiritually vital, growing congregations—meaningful to their communities—are 1) clear about how they want to express their deepest purposes and their commitment to UU values within their community; 2) they determine how they will express those purposes and commitments; 3) they do it; and 4) they continually learn from their experiences.

In Geoffrey Bellman's book, Your Signature Path: Gaining New Perspectives on Life and Work (Berrett-Koehler Pub.1996, $24.95), he defines path as, "where you touch the world. It is the difference you make by being there." Peers suggessts that congregations ask themselves, "Where does our congregation touch the world? What is the difference we make by being in this community?"

He suggests taking time at committee meetings to ask questions like these:

• Where has our congregation touched the world in this past month?
• What difference have we made this year by being in this community?
• What do we want our congregation to mean to future generations in our community?
• What are the enduring values and remarkable accomplishments for which we desire to be known?
• For whom does it matter that our congregation exists?

By regularly reflecting on your congregation's path, syas Peers, you may find the inspiration and motivation to become what you aspire to be.

Keeping Announcements Under Control

We've all been there. The service is about to start and the moderator asks the dreaded question: Are there any announcements? Yes, it seems there are, and they go on forever.

How best to handle them? Many of you favor a practice similar to that at the Oak Ridge UU Church, Oak Ridge, TN (230 members). All announcements are made by the moderator, said Bob Spore, treasurer.

The moderator greets the congregation, reads the announcements, and then rings a bell, turning the service over to the minister. "This approach works without interrupting the mood of the service," said Spore.

Make only necessary announcements, said the Rev. Harry Green, interim minister at Community Unitarian Church, White Plains, NY (234). "Necessary, to me, translates to 1) announcements connected to the congregation, and 2) announcements that aren't already in the order of service."

Having the moderator make all the announcements ensures that everyone can hear and forces people to be concise, said the Rev. Christine Robinson, minister of the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque, NM (537). Each Sunday one person or group is permitted to make their own announcement if they have a special need. An insert in the order of service has a calendar and additional announcements.

At First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee (525), members make their own pitches. They know more about their issues than the moderator, says the Rev. Drew Kennedy, and it lets the congregation put a human face with the project. Each speaker has one minute. Those who go over earn an official Announcements Violation Citation. "It's a light-hearted way of pulling people over, but it works," says Kennedy.

Then there's the way it's done at the UU Church, Medford, MA (60). At the close of a service, members join hands in a "closing circle" in the aisles and the "town crier" reads announcements. "I try to put some fun in them," said Erik Antelman. "I make volunteer requests sound like the most fun one could imagine."

Correction

The suggested salary range for a full-time director of religious education at a Large Size 1 congregation (500-749 members) is $39,900 to $55,900. It was incorrectly reported in the January issue of InterConnections that a salary of $30,000 fell within the range suggested by the UUA for a full-time DRE serving a congregation of that size.

Issued to ________________________

While I hope you know I really do appreciate all those who volunteer their time and talent in helping to make First Church the vitally active church community that it is, and, thus, I sincerely want to thank you for making your announcement (or your combination of several announcements) on ____________, nevertheless, I regret to issue you this Announcements Violation Citation for infringing upon that part of our Announcements Guidelines which states:

__ "Please limit yourself/your committee to two pulpit announcements per event."

__ "Announcements must be one minute or less. (It may be helpful to write them out and time yourself.)  If you want to do two announcements, sorry, you still have only one minute."

__ "Only church events or church-sponsored events are to be announced."

__ "Please be sensitive to the deliberately pluralistic nature of our Society. Remember: Unitarian Universalists include Republicans as well as Democrats, rich and poor, pro-choice and pro-life, etc. Similarly, please be sensitive not to inappropriately use 'inside jokes' and acronyms."

If you would like a complete copy of our Announcements Guidelines or if you would like to appear in purgatory court to protest this citation, please call or be in touch with me. Otherwise, there are no fines, fees, or fuss, just a friendly little reminder....

Warm regards,

________________________