Youth Survey Planned for January,
February
A survey of youth in January and February will be one of the
first steps taken by a UUA Board-created task force to determine how
the Association might better reach and serve youth.
The Task Force on Ministry to and with Youth, which met for the first
time Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, is asking congregations to send names of youth
and their contact information to Beth Dana, bdana@uua.org, or by ground
mail to Beth Dana, Youth Office, UUA, 25 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02108.
The task force hopes to reach as many youth as possible who have a
variety of involvement, and noninvolvement in UU activities, including
members of YRUU, youth who are connected to congregations, but not involved
in youth programs, and youth who left their congregations after junior
high. Send names and contact information to Dana by Jan. 15.
The task force expects to follow the survey with “congregational
conversations” about youth in April and May. If your congregation
is willing to have a conversation about your youth ministry, contact
Dana. More information on this process is at www.uua.org/TRUS/youth.
A guide to the congregational conversation process will be posted in
January. You can also sign-up for an email list to receive periodic
updates and reports from the Youth Ministry Associate, Co-Conveners,
and the taskforce.
Please go to: http://lists.uua.org/mailman/listinfo/youthconsultation.
These events and others will lead up to a “Summit on Ministry
to and with Youth in July 2007.
Midsize Congregation Conference
in March
The 2006 National Conference for Midsize Congregations will be March
2 to 5 in Phoenix. Registration information will be online until January
1. After that date contact Diane Martin at dmartin@uua.org or 617-948-6461.
The theme of the conference is Congregational Change is Personal: Meeting
People Where They Are and Moving On. Workshops include sessions on hospitality,
staffing for growth, social justice, campus and youth ministry, governance,
stewardship, marketing, and congregational identity. More information,
including registration procedures, can be found at www.uua.org/cde/midsize2006.
Keynote speaker William Bridges is an author and consultant who shows
individuals and organizations how to deal more productively with change.
He is the author of ten books. Midsize congregations are those with
150 to 550 members.
New PR Manual Available
Sharing the Good News: A Public Relations Manual for Congregations,
a new step-by-step handbook for communications committees, by Janet
Hayes, the UUA's information officer, is available on the UUA's website,
www.uua.org/info/prmanual.
New Guide Available On Welcoming and Growth
Membership committees and other leaders striving to help their congregations
become more welcoming and to grow will want to check out a new 53-page
guide, The Membership Journey, available on the UUA's Congregational
Services website at www.uua.org/cde/education/membershipjourney.pdf.
The Membership Journey is a compilation of practical information written
by the New Congregation office and drawn from various UU and liberal
religious sources, including InterConnections. It includes a bibliography
and helpful workshops. The guide also suggests approaches to moving
toward being an antiracist/antioppressive /multicultural congregation.
Copies of the document are also available from Susanna Whitman, Administrator,
Office of New Congregation and Growth Resources, Congregational Services
Staff Group, Unitarian Universalist Association, 25 Beacon Street, Boston,
MA 02108; 617-948-4270; swhitman@uua.org.
UU World on Web More Useful 2 Ways
Check out uuworld.org, the UUA's new Internet publication. The site,
www.uuworld.org has been transformed
from a digital archive of past issues of UU World to a dynamic web magazine
that is updated weekly with articles about congregations and Unitarian
Universalism--and now it contains more UU World articles than ever.
The new web magazine is a place where you can direct visitors so they
can learn more about us in an attractive format, and it's a way for
the rest of us to keep current with what's happening in the UU universe.
You can also sign up for a weekly email update of what's new on the
website by going to www.uuworld.org/subscriptions/emailnewsletter.shtml.
New CD and DVD Offer Inspiration for Leaders
"Drive Time Essays," a CD with audio recordings of 21 short
essays about issues affecting congregational life, provides good conversation
starters and inspirational material for meetings of committees, strategic
planning sessions, retreats, and other congregational gatherings. It
can also be handed out to leaders to listen to at home or in their cars.
A DVD of presentations made at General Assembly by the four congregations
that were designated as breakthrough congregations by the UUA Growth
Team is also available for the same purpose.
Neither the CD nor the DVD are copyright protected-copying and sharing
is welcomed and encouraged.
Information about these tools is at www.uua.org/programs/layleader,
where both a text copy and audio files can be accessed. Click on the
essay you are most interested in.
Young Adult Consulting Service Organized
Consultants from the Young Adult and Campus Ministry office are available
to help congregations with organizing a campus ministry, outreach and
ministry to young adult families, designing and implementing contemporary
worship, leadership development, and strategic planning.
For more information visit www.uua.org/yacm/consulting
or contact Michael Tino, UUA director of Young Adult and Campus Ministry,
mtino@uua.org or 919-401-9944.
New Hymnal Format Aids Those With Sight
Disability
The Unitarian Universalist hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition,
is now available at no cost in Microsoft Word format for people who
are unable to read the bound version. The UUA's accessibilities program
associate, the Rev. Devorah Greenstein, will, on request, send you an
email attachment or mail a CD of lyrics and readings (no music is included)
in the hymnal.
Contact Greenstein at dgreenstein@uua.org or 617-948-6451. This service
is available only for people who cannot read regular printed material.
Copyright law prevents copying parts of the hymnal without permission
for use by sighted people.
Consider 'Moral Values'
Need a lifespan education topic for spring? Consider a course on "Moral
Values in a Pluralistic Society," the Study/Action Issue approved
by General Assembly delegates in June. A packet of information on this
topic was mailed to congregations in October and is also available online
at www.uua.org/csw.
Best Way to Help Hurricane Congregations
Congregations wishing to provide support to Gulf Coast congregations
impacted by hurricanes this season should continue to check the websites
of the UUA's Southwestern Conference, www.swuuc.org,
and Mid-south District, www.msd.uua.org,
for the latest information on the needs of congregations in those areas.
Check also with the individual congregations, especially First Unitarian
Church, New Orleans, www.firstuuno.org,
as it considers renovating its flooded building; Community Church UU,
www.communitychurchuu.org,
as it determines its future in the absence of its destroyed building;
and North Shore UU Society, www.nsuu.com,
which had to replace its roof. Also check the front page of www.uua.org
for reports on how the UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund is being used
to help Gulf Coast residents and UU congregations.
Uncommon Postcards Ready for Purchase
Uncommon Denomination postcards featuring positive messages that invite
inquiry into Unitarian Universalism are available for $15 per 100 cards.
Useful for thank-you notes to visitors, general promotion, neighborhood
mailings, etc. For orders of 1,000 or more the printer will include
your message for an additional cost.
Contact Diane Martin in the UUA's Congregational Services office at
dmartin@uua.org for details. The postcards can be viewed at www.uua.org/programs/congservices/uncommon/postcards.html.
New Hymnal Format Aids Those With Sight
Disability
The Unitarian Universalist hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition,
is now available at no cost in Microsoft Word format for people who
are unable to read the bound version. The UUA's accessibilities program
associate, the Rev. Devorah Greenstein, will, on request, send you an
email attachment or mail a CD of lyrics and readings (no music is included)
in the hymnal.
Contact Greenstein at dgreenstein@uua.org or 617-948-6451. This service
is available only for people who cannot read regular printed material.
Copyright law prevents copying parts of the hymnal without permission
for use by sighted people.
RE Teacher Development Website Is Launched
The UUA's Lifespan Faith Development staff group has launched a teacher
development website to provide resources about teaching. The site, www.uua.org/re/teachers,
includes practical information including sample RE handbooks, teacher
feedback forms, guidelines for creating group covenants, models and
philosophies about teacher development, and resources about teaching
as social justice work. Reflections and testimonials of teachers are
also included.
There are seven sections of the website including: a teacher development
survey and articles on framing teaching, understanding learners, sustaining
teaching, supporting teaching, teaching as social justice work, and
enriching teaching. Materials will be added to the site on a continuing
basis.
For more information, contact teacherdevelopment@uua.org. Submissions
for the site are invited.
Best-Selling Books at Alban Institute
The following books are among the top sellers at the Alban Institute,
an interfaith organization that supports congregations through book
publishing, educational seminars, consulting services, and research.
For complete book descriptions go to www.alban.org/Bookstore.asp
or call 800-486-1318, ext. 244.
- The Practicing Congregation--signs that mainline Protestant
churches are finding a new vitality.
- Holy Conversations--strategic planning as more than just
finding the answer.
- Healthy Congregations--deep explanation of the congregation
as an emotional system.
- How Your Church Family Works--how to recognize and deal
with the emotional roots of such issues as church conflict, leadership
roles, congregational change and irresponsible behavior.
- Discover Your Conflict Management Style--self-assess your
conflict response and discover options appropriate to different levels
of conflict.
- Practicing Right Relationship--the health of churches and
synagogues depends on congregations learning how to live out love
in right relationships.
From the UUA Bookstore: New Titles This
Winter
Bless
This Child: A Treasury of Poems, Quotations and Readings to Celebrate
Birth, collected by the Rev. Edward Searl. Useful for composing
birth announcements, birthday cards, and notes; performing readings
at birth ceremonies and naming rituals; and honoring an adoption. Skinner
House, 2005; $14.
Beyond
Absence: A Treasury of Poems, Quotations and Readings on Death and Remembrance,
collected by the Rev. Edward Searl. Words ancient and modern on life's
final passage. Useful for composing eulogies, readings at memorial services
and funerals, and writing sympathy and condolence cards. Skinner House,
2005; $15.
Rejoice
Together: Prayers, Meditations and Other Readings for Family, Individual
and Small-Group Worship
(2nd ed.), Helen Pickett, editor. Opening words, chalice lightings,
devotions, meditations, and more, gathered from traditional and contemporary
sources. Includes practical suggestions for creating worship services
at home and in church settings. Expanded and updated from the popular
1995 edition, Rejoice Together features more than 50 new selections.
Skinner House, 2005; $12.
Humanism,
What's That? A Book for Curious Kids, by Helen Bennett. In
a fictionalized discussion, a humanist teacher and her class talk about
secular humanism. They talk about big issues such as separation of church
and state, evolution, abortion, and many others. Complete with discussion
questions, suggestions for activities, and a bibliography. Ages 9-12.
Prometheus Books, 2005; $12.
Playing
War by Kathy Beckwith, illustrated by Lea Lyon. When Luke and
his friends decide to play their favorite game of war, a new child in
the neighborhood tells them about the real war where he used to live
and the other children see their game in a new light. Ages 8-12. Hardcover.
Tilbury House, 2005; $16.95.
January
2006 Index · Contact
the Editor
InterConnections
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