Help with Worship Available on the Web

Worship committee chairs and others will like WorshipWeb, a new UUA Web site offering worship resources on-line. It includes words to open a service, meditations and prayers, information to help construct services, readings, closing words, and more. WorshipWeb was developed with the help of the UU Ministers Association and the UUA Department of Ministry through funding from the UUA's 1997 "Handing on the Future" capital fund campaign.

...to update your membership rolls with the names of those who joined your congregation this spring. Remember to add them to the UU World subscription list by mailing or e-mailing their names and addresses to circulation@uua.org, 25 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02108. Include your congregation's identification number, which can be found next to your congregation's name in the UUA Directory. And remember to also send her the names of those who have left your congregation and should be removed from the UU World list.

More than six months after Sept. 11 congregations are continuing to hold discussions, classes, and forums on terrorism and related topics. Several new resources to help congregations in these efforts have evolved.

At the UU Church of Marblehead, MA (202 members), the Rev. Mary Harrington began a series of Sunday afternoon Conversations of Conscience in March to allow her parishioners to talk about issues like the attacks, the continuing war on terrorism, and the prospects of war and peace in the Middle East.

River Road Unitarian Church, Bethesda, MD (705), has held a series of terrorism-related forums and classes since Sept. 11. One of its most recent efforts was a Tuesday night series this spring on Islam and the Muslim World. Each session was attended by 70 to 90 people. Another well-attended series has been on Nonviolent Social Change. In addition, a weekly program on Coffee, Controversy, and Conversation, held between River Road's two Sunday services, has often focused on terrorism and related issues since September. "There's still tremendous interest in these topics," said the Rev. Scott Alexander.

The UUA Washington Office is preparing a curriculum on faith, patriotism, and civil liberties. It is expected to be available on their Web site by June along with other resources on this topic. "It's designed to help congregations look at these issues and provide a safe space for dialogue," says staff member Rob Cavanaugh.

Another resource is offered by a group called Public Conversations Project, which offers guides to community and family dialogues about terrorism and related topics.

Harrington said she began the Conversations sessions at Marblehead as a result of her habit of reviewing New York Times headlines on the Internet. "I was gone for four days and when I came back there was such an array of appalling and upsetting and fearful things happening in the world, that I wanted to do something."

Ten people came to the first session. "It was a powerful experience. We read from the new book, Poems To Live by in Uncertain Times. Then we went around the circle and people talked about what had brought them there. It ranged from feelings of tremendous helplessness to a lot of fear, despair, and just feeling very isolated." She encouraged the group to share feelings of both opposition to military force and support for it.

She added, "In the '60s and '70s there was a very strong antiwar point of view in this church and many felt drowned out, and left. So this time she encouraged the Conversations group to "not let us be driven apart by strong opinions, but let us be questioning, curious, and respectful. I want this to be a wellspring of caring and confidence that we have in one another — a place where we can sort things out together."

Congregations wanting to use popular films as ways to begin discussions about anti-oppression and anti-racism issues can now obtain discussion guides for these films from the UUA's Faith in Action office.

The films include Smoke Signals (Native American culture), Come See the Paradise (Japanese immigrants), Kandahar (Afghan), Nanook of the North (Inuit), and Higher Learning (racial and sexual tensions on college campuses).

For a complete list of films and film guides, click here or contact Pam Bachman (pbachman@uua.org), (617) 742-2100, ext. 642.

For anti-oppression film discussion guides for youth, contact Paula Nett (yruu@uua.org) at (617) 948-4351 in the Youth Office.

At least one person from each congregation is encouraged to subscribe to the UUA-sponsored e-mail list UUA-L. This list, for UU leaders, is the conduit for UUA announcements, including notices of any UUA responses to further terrorism. Traffic on the list is light, about one or two messages weekly. It's especially important for newsletter editors and ministers to subscribe.

To subscribe, go to the UUA-L information and signup page. Subscribe to other UUA-sponsored e-mail lists here.

Four UUA-sponsored e-mail lists are available for social justice purposes. Just-UUs is a new list for discussion of social justice issues. Sac-news is another new list, for chairs and members of social action committees, and also includes announcements from the UUA Washington Office.

JTWNews will bring news from the UUA's Journey Toward Wholeness anti-oppression, anti-racist, multicultural initiative. Every six weeks or so, an issue will be published that features a story from a UU congregation or organization about efforts to build justice-making congregations, organizations, and communities.

The Washington Office also offers Washofc-L, which provides announcements on legislation and developments in particular issue areas.

For information and to subscribe to any of these lists, go to the Guide to UUA Sponsored E-mail Lists.

The Church of the Larger Fellowship continues to offer attractive four-color order of service covers for congregations. The covers, including autumn leaves, a brook, flowers, chalices, and candle designs, may be viewed on the CLF Web site. Text can be copied onto the inside and some covers have room for a congregation's name on the outside.

The covers are $15 per hundred with discounts for larger orders. Contact CLF through their Web site or at (617) 948-6166.

Applications are due by April 1 of each year for new 11-month internships in the UUA's Washington office. Positions are filled for this year, but watch for an announcement this fall of the 2003 cycle. The internships are from Sept. 1 to July 31.

Go to the Washington office's Web site for more information. Young adults over 21, seminarians, and community ministers are especially encouraged to apply. The experience demands "whole life commitment" and pays a living wage.

A major reorganization of the UUA staff structure will take effect in July to provide better accountability and more responsiveness to congregations. The change is the first comprehensive realignment since the UUA was formed in 1961. Its goal is to make it easier for departments to work cooperatively. Changes include the following:

• The Department of Ministry will become Ministry and Professional Leadership, expanding services to lay religious educators starting this fall and, later, to church musicians and administrators.
• The Department of Religious Education will become Lifespan Faith Development, creating curricula not only for church school and adult education courses but also resources for worship, teachers, parents, and justice-making efforts.
• A Department of Advocacy and Public Witness is being created and will include the UUA's Washington Office, the Information Office, and the International Office.

Parts of the Department for Faith in Action are being incorporated into four new departments. Under the plan all departments will share a commitment to anti-racism and anti-oppression work.

Click here for a complete description of the restructuring. Most staff phone numbers will remain the same.

Skinner House Books, which publishes titles on UUism, spirituality, church community life, and living out UU values, and markets them to UUs and others who share liberal religious values, is seeking proposals on the following topics: spirituality in the workplace; spiritual practice in everyday life; prayer collections; becoming a social justice activist; nature and spirituality; interconnectedness; collected stories for children; cultural appropriation vs. cultural diversity, etc.

To submit proposals or get more information contact Patricia Frevert (pfrevert@uua.org) or write to: Publications Department, UUA, 25 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108.

Young adults from our congregations have two opportunities this summer to network, worship, learn about, and practice leadership at a camp north of Seattle. The first is ConCentric 2002, August 9-12 at Lions Camp Horizon, Birch Bay, WA. Cost is a sliding scale of $75 to $125. ConCentric is the annual UU young adult and campus ministry leadership and networking conference and includes the annual meeting of Continental UU Young Adult Network.

The second event, Opus 2002, is August 13-18 at the same place. Cost is $200 to $250. Opus is the annual UU young adult retreat bringing together people from across North America and Europe for a week of workshops and worship, plus a focus this year on astronomy and astrology.

Contact the Young Adult and Campus Ministry Office at (617) 948-4629 or go to the C*UUYAN and YACM Office Web site for more information.

A new Web site has been launched to better provide information about UU young adult activities to congregations as well as young adults. The site is by the Continental UU Young Adult Network and the Young Adult/Campus Ministry office, which have combined their Web sites. On this site you will be able to find information on starting a campus or young adult group, young adult conferences, and how to get connected to the larger young adult movement.

Congregations are being asked to set aside a Sunday this fall as Youth and Young Adult Sunday as a fundraising event for UUA youth and young adult programming and a worship celebration of those age groups.

Click here or call (617) 948-6105 for more information.

The following new books for congregational leaders are available from the UUA Bookstore, (800) 215-9076.

• Ministry and Money: A Guide for Clergy and Their Friends, by the Rev. Dan Hotchkiss (Alban Institute, 2002). Straightforward guidance for clergy seeking to develop a sound theology of money and the related skills of church administration. Explores how to become a more effective leader by examining one's personal anxieties and convictions about money. # 7235   $16.00

• Raising The Roof: Pastoral-to-Program Size Transition, by the Rev. Alice Mann (Alban Institute, 2001). Features a five-step process to help congregational development teams engage a wider circle of congregational leaders and church members in study, discernment, and planning activities. Provides all the resources needed to address significant size transitions. # 7232   $15.00

A new religious education guide, Stewardship and The Joy of Giving, is available from the UUA to help congregations examine the importance of giving and stewardship in developing our spiritual lives. It's designed to help all generations learn about and celebrate generosity in their lives. And it's free!

The Humboldt UU Fellowship, Bayside, CA (178 members), makes sure that everyone knows it is kid-friendly by putting the following announcement in each issue of its newsletter. "Board Policy: Child care will be provided at every fellowship event, including concerts."