Five Ways to Live UU Values in 2005
From the UUA Web site:
• Learn more about the 2004-2006 Study Action Issue on global warming.
• Become involved in a covenant group/small group ministry in your congregation.
• Become a more active lay leader in your congregation.
• Talk to other Unitarian Universalists and share information and learning.
• Nurture your spirit by reading a Skinner House or Beacon Press book.

Addresses Can Now Be Changed Online
Church administrators and lay leaders can now use online forms to change an address of an InterConnections subscriber or delete them.
Make address changes at: www.uua.org/interconnections/icforms/ic_coa.htm. To remove a name, go to www.uua.org/interconnections/icforms/remove_ic_request.htm.
Additions to the mailing list must still be made through the Congregational Elected Board and Staff Packet sent to congregations around the time of their annual meeting. The packet can also be requested online.

UUA Worship Web Increasingly Useful
The Worship Web, an online database of worship resources at: www.uua.org/worshipweb/main.html is being revitalized and needs your help, says the Rev. Marshall Hawkins, consultant to the Worship Web.
“We need your help, suggestions, and input,” says Hawkins. “We are developing a UU liturgical calendar that includes many of the events that are often celebrated in UU worship throughout the year.” A draft can be found at: www.uua.org/worshipweb/calendar. “Tell us what you think of it and offer your additions and suggestions. We hope to have links to readings, prayers and other materials for the commonly celebrated events of our church year.”
Suggestions can be forwarded to: worshipweb@uua.org. Hawkins can also be contacted at mhawkins@uua.org.

UUA Committees Seeking Volunteers
The UUA relies on volunteers to serve on its committees, boards and panels. Information about positions and an application can be found at www.uua.org/TRUS/cocmbrochure.html. The deadline is August 15 for two-year committee terms that begin in January 2006.

Certification Report Due by Feb. 1 to the UUA
Your congregation’s Annual Certification Report and Directory Update is due at the UUA before February 1. You are encouraged to file this report electronically, if possible. Go to www.uua.org/congregation and log in to your account, or if you don’t have one, create one. The number of delegates a congregation can send to General Assembly is based on this report as is its Annual Program Fund Fair Share contribution to the UUA and to the districts for the next fiscal year. It is also important to update your directory information at the same time.
If it is not possible to file a report electronically, you can get a paper form by contacting Peg Sullivan at 617-948-4641.

Young Adult Conference August 12-15 in Iowa
Congregations interested in encouraging and developing young adult leadership will want to send young adults to ConCentric 2005, the annual business meeting and leadership development conference of the Continental Unitarian Universalist Young Adult Network (C*UUYAN) that will be held August 12-15 at Camp Hantesa in Boone, Iowa. ConCentric gives young leaders tools and tactics to help them build and energize religious communities.
Workshops will focus on developing strong local young adult groups and making connections on a national and international scale.
For additional information go to www.uua.org/ya-cm/conferences/concentric.html or contact Petra Aldrich at the UUA Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry, paldrich@uua.org, (617) 948-4629.

Report on Giving Available on the Web
The UUA’s complete Report on Giving for last year is online at www.uua.org/giving/annualreport2004.pdf. The report is an expression of gratitude for both the individual and congregational support that makes it possible for our Association of Congregations to provide programs and services to our congregations and to bring a message of tolerance and religious freedom to the wider society.

Useful Ministry Books, Growth for UU Leaders
Beginning Ministry Together, the Alban Handbook for Clergy Tran-sitions, by Roy Oswald, James and Ann Heath. Addresses the period between the departure of one pastor and the settling in of another. De-scribes how clergy can better end and begin pastorates. Shows them how to say good-bye while discerning their future needs. (Alban 2003) #7047 $20

Raising The Roof, Pastoral-to-Program Size Transition, by Alice Mann. Designed for a congregational learning team to effect transition. Features a five-step process to help the team 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. (Alban 2001) # 7232 $15.00

The In-Between Church, Navigating Size Transitions in Congregations, Alice Mann. Addresses fears of church expansion or contraction in size and the obstacles that can get in the way. Details the adjustments in attitude, as well as practice, which are needed to support successful size change. (Alban 1998) #7734 $11.25

These books can be purchased at the UUA Bookstore, www.uua.org/bookstore; (800) 215-9076.

Sex Abuse Resource Helpful to Churches
Among the most difficult decisions congregational leaders face are those dealing with ethics and safety, including the decision to allow and welcome (or not), someone with a history of sexual offenses/abuse into a congregation. Congregations often find themselves ill equipped to make such a decision. Now, the Rev. Debra W. Haffner, director of the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing, and a UU minister, has developed a resource to help congregations deal with this issue. Go to www.uua.org/cde/ethics/balancing/index.html for information that includes what to do when abuse is suspected, how to screen for sex offenders, keeping children and youth safe, educating children and adults on this issue, how to support survivors of sexual abuse, forumulating church policies, and background information on child abuse, pedophilia, and sex offenders.

CLF Online Resources For Children and Adults
The Church of the Larger Fellowship, which ministers to people who are not connected to a UU church in their community or live far away from any congregation, has a new interactive Web site, www.clfuu.org/kidtalk, designed especially for kids to share their ideas and questions about what it means to celebrate their UU faith. Kids’ questions are answered by a UU religious education professional, and children are invited to listen and talk to one another on the “KidTalk blogspot.” UU children who are not part of CLF may also participate.

In addition, CLF’s religious education offerings now include a new curriculum resource, Curriculum for a Quarter, developed by the Rev. Helen Zidowecki, offering a season’s worth of lessons based on different themes, including UU identity, world re-ligions,ethical and spiritual development, and social justice.The lessons are age-appropriate, and organized by age group, from age three to adult.

CLF’s regular offerings include the monthly publication Quest, the Church on Loan program for small congregations, religious education curricula and resources, loan library, and online discussion groups.

For more information about the CLF, or to become a member, go to: www.clfuu.org or call Administrator Lorraine Dennis at (617) 948-6166. Access CLF’s wealth of RE resources at: www.clfuu.org/re. The curriculum could be used by any RE department.

Small Group Ministry Training Camp Planned
The first ever Unitarian Universalist weeklong small group ministry training camp will be held Aug. 13-19 at Ferry Beach, Maine. For more information go to www.smallgroupministry.net/events.html.

UUA Press Room Useful to Congregations
Congregations who need to respond to media requests about same-sex marriage, etc., can get quick access to UUA positions at www.uua.org/pressroom. The site includes an index of recent articles, UUA press releases, and an electronic media kit. It is also a way for UUs to stay up to date with the Association’s public witness activities.

The Press Room is a service of the UUA’s Office of Information & Public Witness, which plans and directs the UUA’s public outreach programs to help increase awareness of Unitarian Universalism. It provides congregations and districts with resources for their own communication efforts, oversees public relations training programs, coordinates national public radio campaigns, and responds to information inquiries from constituents, the general public, and the media. The UUA’s Customer Service Representative serves as the contact person for any complaints regarding the Association’s service. The office works with the Office of Electronic Communications to develop and maintain the UUA’s presence on the Web.

Healthy Congregations Show These Signs
Compiled by Qiyamah Rahman, Thomas Jefferson District executive.
•Provide a quality Sunday service experience that bonds people to one another and to the greater whole.
•Are enriched, not imprisoned by the past, and open to possibility.
•Care for the “corporate soul” of the congregation as well as individuals
•Are committed to a shared vision from which it prioritizes and uses its energies and resources.
•Are committed to an effective process of welcoming and integrating newcomers to the congregation.
•Demonstrate healthy leadership: a positive dynamic between minister and congregants, a board with a clear sense of vision and values as it cares for the congregation and a staff with a high level of trust and motivation.
• Are committed to growth, realizing that growth brings change.
• Are able to face and deal constructively with conflict.
• Place a high priority on the application of faith and values to daily life.
• Are committed to thinking globally while acting locally.

State of the UUnion Report Shows Activism
Interested in how your congregation compares to others in social justice areas? Here are highlights from the “State of the UUnion” report written in February by the Rev. Meg Riley, director of Advocacy and Witness Programs for the UUA. There are approximately 1,000 UU congregations.
• 438 of our congregations have been certified as Welcoming Congregations, which is to say that they are intentionally welcoming to bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender people and concerns. Twenty-two congregations have additionally begun a newer program entitled Living the Welcoming Congregation. See www.uua.org/obgltc.
• 105 congregations participated in congregationally-based community organizing coalitions, fighting for living wages, all-day kindergarten, homeless shelters, day care centers, and environmental justice. See www.uua.org/programs/justice/cbco.html.
• At least 285 congregations are doing young adult programming, either through campus groups or young adult groups. See www.uua.org/yacm.
• 561 congregations have trained leaders for at least one level of the sex education program, Our Whole Lives. See www.uua.org/owl. This means over half of our congregations are supporting comprehensive sexuality training for their youth.
• 170 congregations are involved with partner churches in six countries-Transylvania/Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, India, The Philippines, and Poland. See www.uua.org/uupcc.
• 20 congregations have been certified as Green Sanctuaries. See www.uuaspp.org.