Congregational Growth Requires Enough Staff

Some congregations do not grow because they are not staffed for growth. As a rule of thumb, if you desire to staff for growth, you need one full-time program person on your staff for every one hundred active members (not including such staff as custodians or secretaries). Active members refers to how many are attending worship in an average week. You are staffing for maintenance if you are just slightly under that figure. You are staffed for decline if you are seriously under that figure.

From Making Your Church More Inviting, by Roy Oswald, Alban Institute, 1992. May be ordered from the Alban Institute: #AL134 $14.95 (800) 486-1318

UUA Resolutions Now in Web Database

The UUA's official actions and resolutions, from 1961 to 1999, are now online at the UUA website. The new feature includes a topical list for searching for actions by category as well as by keyword.

New E-Mail List For OWL Facilitators

Facilitators of the Our Whole Lives sexuality curriculum now have their own UUA-sponsored e-mail list, OWL-L, where they can share resources and ask questions of one another.

It also provides an efficient way for the Sexuality Education Task Force to send announcements to all facilitators concerning resources, helpful hints, and educational opportunities. Participation is limited to trained Our Whole Lives facilitators, trainers, staff members of the UUA and the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries, and authors of the curricula.

To subscribe, go to http://lists.uua.org/mailman/listinfo/owl-l.

Do's and Don'ts In Leading Worship

Don't feel it's necessary to reinvent the wheel. Originality in worship is no special virtue. Familiar language, like an old shoe, soothes and reassures.

Don't put anybody down, including yourself. Do take care of your congregation. They are really yours: They have placed themselves in your care for an hour. Some are hurting. Some are angry. Some need sympathy, others to be challenged, others just to laugh or cry. Try to make worship a safe place for them all.

Do overrehearse. Don't try to wing it until you've been doing this every week, for say, 10 years. Maybe not even then.

Don't draw attention to yourself. The message counts, not the messenger. Do, however, share something of yourself in worship. If you can, try to say something that costs you something to say.

Do be brief. Each time you open your mouth to speak, 200 others must keep theirs shut. Leave them asking for more, not wishing for less.

From Shared Ministry Sourcebook: Resources for Clergy and Lay Ministering Together in UU Congregations, (out of print) edited by Barbara Child, 1996, UUA.

UU Leadership Schools Offer Summer Courses

Information about Unitarian Universalist leadership schools, which generally hold one-week summer sessions for congregational leaders, is available now from UUA district offices. There are 11 such schools in the US and Canada and a twelfth in Great Britain. Many have registration deadlines of mid-April. The Florida District has a session in November.

Congregations are encouraged to send one or more persons annually to one of the leadership schools. Cost is generally $500 to $600 and congregations often pay part. Information about some schools may be found online at www.uua.org/related.html.

Coursework generally includes organizational development, theology, UU history, elements of worship, and the creation of a worship service. Participants explore new ways of looking at issues and find solutions to problems through a combination of lectures, exercises, and discussions. The programs are designed to provide insights and confidence, enriching participants' church, work, and personal lives.

Antiracism Programs Available From Faith in Action Department

Individuals who would like to build interest in antiracism efforts in their congregations and communities are invited to consider a series of programs offered through the UUA's Faith in Action Department. The usual path for congregations wishing to increase their awareness of white privilege and to learn how to dismantle racism is as follows:

• Begin by experiencing the Weaving of the Fabric of Diversity antiracism curriculum
• Read the Journey Toward Wholeness Report and participate in its congregational antiracism assessment and congregational reflection action process guide
• Participate in the annual Journey Toward Wholeness Sunday
• Sponsor a weekend Jubilee World workshop for your congregation
• Hold an Introduction to Building a Transformation Team workshop
• Hold a Jubilee World 2 workshop

If a congregation wishes to go farther than the steps listed above, it may consult directly with the Faith in Action Department for a plan that fits its circumstances and desires.

Most congregations develop antiracism transformation teams in cooperation with other nearby UU congregations to share costs and develop relationships. The formation of a team is a two-to-four-year process that costs approximately $5,000.

For information about creating such teams, including any of the preliminary steps, contact Susan Gershwin in the UUA Faith in Action Department at 25 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02108; (617) 742-2100, ext. 642. Ask for the Journey Toward Wholeness Path to Antiracism brochure. Information is available on the web and at General Assembly in June at the Faith in Action booth.

New Books On Lay Ministry, Fund-Raising 

These books for congregational leaders are new in the UUA Bookstore, (800) 215-9076.

Letting Go: Transforming People for Ministry, by Roy D. Phillips. Revised and updated edition of Phillips's book, Transforming Liberal Congregations for the New Millennium. This book challenges clergy to let go of traditional views of their role in the congregation in order to allow lay ministries to flourish. Study questions included. Alban Institute, 1999. #7015 $13.95

Creating Congregations of Generous People, by Michael Durall. Build gift-giving based on reflections of "who we are." Increase your church's spiritual growth while implementing an annual stewardship appeal. Durall is a UU and editor of Charitable Giving, an interfaith newsletter on financial issues. Alban Institute, 1999. #7018 $13.95

General Assembly Coming in June to Nashville, TN

General Assembly 2000, five days of leadership and inspirational forums and worship services, will take place from June 22-26 in Nashville, TN. More than 200 workshops are spread over five days. Denominational and congregational leaders will lead workshops and respond to questions about all aspects of congregational life, including fundraising, religious education, social justice, and small-group ministry.

Congregations are encouraged to send teams of leaders. Adult registration is $230/full week, $160/weekend. Youth fees are $120/week; $80/weekend. Higher fees apply after May 18. Downtown hotel rooms average $125 per night.

Information is available on the UUA website or from the GA Office, UUA, 25 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02108; (617) 742-2100, ext. 209.

Money From the Internet? It Could Happen to UUs

Many UU congregations that believe they're not set up to receive credit card donations might be surprised to learn they're listed on a new internet site for that very purpose. The website, www.Helping.org, a charitable arm of media monolith America Online, lists thousands of nonprofits, including many UU congregations and affiliates.

Visitors to Helping.org may make online credit card donations to any of the nonprofits listed, including churches. Recipients get a check in the mail from Helping.org. The only fee deducted is two percent by the credit card company. Eligible institutions were compiled from lists of organizations that are designated 501(c)(3) nonprofits or have filed a Form 990 (for nonprofits with income of $25,000-plus) with the IRS. The filings are publicly available. The UU Church, Buffalo, NY (355 members), has gone a step further, building a DONATE NOW button into its church website and linking it to the Helping.org site. Church webmaster/ trustee Bill Parke hopes the button, which he installed in January, will make it easy for the church's far-flung friends to support it and will be a popular service for those who'd like to make a contribution at odd times, such as New Year's Eve, for tax purposes. "This could be a conduit for contributions we might not otherwise receive," he believes.

2 New Ways to Add Punch to Your Website

A new banner for congregational websites that illuminates UU news and information is available from the UUA. The banner is automatically updated weekly.

Also, a new e-mail list called websters is available for website designers to share tips, tricks, tools, and techniques. Subscription information to the free list is at www.uua.org/lists/subscribe.html. List managers are Kasey Melski, UUA Web Designer/Developer, and Donald Griggs, member of the UUA Electronic Communication Committee.

Services Guide Online

Comprehensive information about all UUA services, programs, and resources is now available online, accessible by clicking on Programs & Services on the uua.org homepage. You'll find information there on hundreds of programs from accessibility information and listings of Actions of Immediate Witness, to information on ordination and installation services, to materials on young adult ministry and youth advisors.