Vol. IX Issue 2 April 2006 In this issue: LEADERSHIP In Times of Trouble, Call Conflict Resolution Team MONEY To Build or Not to Build; Alternatives to an Edifice TOOLBOX Congregational Handbook a Good First Place to Turn MEMBERSHIP Set Safety Policies Now, Before You Need Them NOURISHING THE SPIRIT UU Trauma Ministry Team Responds in Times of Crisis QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Minimum contributions, getting new members UU World, and explaining our political activism BRIEFLY NOTED Congregational Life Articles at UUA.org; Telltale Signs That Conflict Exists; Resources for Creating Safe Congregations; and more! EMAIL LIST Find out when the new InterConnections is online InterConnections Archives

Resources for People with Vision Impairment
The following resources are now or will soon be available for those with impaired vision:

Spoken Word: The following are currently available on four-track audio tapes with tone indexing and Braille labels:

• UU World: no cost from Identity-Based Ministries
• A Chosen Faith: two-tape set is $12 from the Massachusetts Association for the Blind Coming soon:
• UU meditation manuals: from the Massachusetts Association for the Blind
• UU Pocket Guide: from the Massachusetts Association for the Blind

MP3 format CD: The following are spoken word, searchable, and with tone indexing:

• Welcoming Children with Special Needs by Sally Patton: no cost from Identity-Based Ministries

Digital Files in Microsoft Word: These can be sent as an email attachment or a CD, and converted on an individual computer to any size font for printing, to spoken word (screen reader), or to Braille.

• Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide: no cost from Identity-Based Ministries
• Singing the Living Tradition—all lyrics and readings: no cost from Identity-Based Ministries
• Soul Work: Anti-Racist Theologies in Dialogue, edited by Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley and N.P. Jones: no cost from Identity-Based Ministries
• Weaving the Fabric of Diversity (RE curriculum): no cost from Identity-Based Ministries

Coming soon: UU meditation manuals: no cost from Identity-Based Ministries Because of copyright restrictions these alternative format media are for use only by people who cannot utilize them in regular printed form.

Contact information: Identity-Based Ministries Staff Group: access@uua.org. Or call Devorah Greenstein at 617-948-6451. Massachusetts Association for the Blind has hundreds of books on 4-track tape for sale—including many progressive books. For more information, email rpierson@mabcommunity.org or call 617-926-4232.

Congregations to Confer about Youth
As part of a process that will lead to a Summit on Ministry to and with Youth in July 2007, congregations are being asked to hold "congregational conversations" about their youth ministry in April and May. These conversations are part of a two-year UUA-wide discussion about how the Association might better reach and serve youth. The effort is coordinated by the Task Force on Ministry to and with Youth. Find more, including a process guide, UU youth ministry survey, and updates from the Task Force at www.uua. org/trus/youth; names of the more than 200 congregations that have already signed up are on the website. The task force contact is Beth Dana, bdana@uua.org; 617-948-4352.

Leadership Training Planned before GA
A day and a half of leadership training immediately before General Assembly is being offered to current and future congregational presidents and those with financial and membership leadership roles. The new program, called UU University, will run June 20-21. GA begins June 21. Cost is $95 and is separate from GA.

Speakers include church consultant Peter Steinke, discussing congregations as emotional systems, and Dan Brody and Larry Ladd, current and former UUA financial advisors. Membership leaders will learn to "Repel Fewer Visitors," said the Rev. Harlan Limpert, director of district services and an organizer of the event, which will be held before GA in alternate years.

Details are at www.uua.org/uuuniversity. For information on the 2006 General Assembly, scroll down this page to "General Assembly Coming June 21-25 to St. Louis" (located on page 5 of the print edition).

Congregational Life Articles at UUA.org
The following new documents on congregational growth and management are available at www.uua.org/cde/education: Congregational Growth in Unitarian Universalism; Congregational Life Dynamics and Conflict Management: Governance for UU Congregations; Meetings That Work; The Membership Journey; Your Congregation's Facilities; Effective Congregational Committees; Facilitating Fruitful Retreats; and Size Transitions in UU Congregations.

Telltale Signs That Conflict Exists

• People complain about someone to a third person.
• Resistance to change, turf wars.
• Rampant gossip, secret meetings.
• Calls for resignations.
• Email and telephone cliques that exclude some people.
• Abrupt changes in support of and participation in congregational life.
• Committee on ministry is ineffective.
• High staff turnover.
• Unexplained resignations and/or departures of members.
• During transitions (ministerial search, etc.) seemingly unrelated complaints arise.

From Churchworks: A Well-Body Book for Congregations, by the Rev. Anne Heller (Skinner House, 1999). UUA Bookstore, 800-215-8076.

Liberal Religious Radio Available Online
Check out liberal religious radio at UURadio.org, an Internet broadcasting project of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Canandaigua, N.Y. It produces short radio segments designed for broadcast on local AM-radio stations or listening to on the Internet. Its content includes sermons, interviews, and audio profiles of UUs.

New UU Advertising Materials Available
The UUA has new advertising materials available for congregational use. These materials can be found in the Uncommon Denomination section of the UUA website (www.uua.org/ uncommondenomination).

The materials were developed for the UU Houston "Imagine a Religion" advertising campaign. Messages such as "Imagine a religion where people with different beliefs worship as one faith" and "Imagine a religion for people who simply can't accept what they've always been asked to believe" are meant to create a vision of a faith community for those seeking an alternative to more doctrinal religions. The graphics of actual UU Houston families and the colors—cyan blue, yellow, and black—are eye-catching.

The campaign materials include four black and white print ads (one with a Welcoming Congregation message), a print ad targeted to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community, three postcard templates for direct mail, large outdoor banners, brochure graphics, and text for public radio announcements. These materials are designed so that your congregational information can be added.

For further information contact Susanna Whitman at swhitman@uua.org.

Resources for Creating Safe Congregations
A handbook, Creating Safe Congregations, Toward an Ethic of Right Relations, edited by Patricia Hoertdoerfer and William Sinkford is available for $30 through the UUA Bookstore, 800-215-9076 or www.uua.org/bookstore.

See the Safety Policy of the UU Congregation of Rock Tavern, N.Y., on its website at www.uucrt.org.

Contact your district office for more examples of safety policies and other documents, as well as guidance on how to engage the congregation in safety issues.

See InterConnections, June 2005, "Help Prevent Harmful Acts With Responsible Staffing," and InterConnections, New Church Year 2002, "Safe Congregation Policies Protect Children, Adults." Both issues are available in the online archives at www.uua.org/ interconnections/archives/.

General Assembly Coming June 21-25 to St. Louis
General Assembly will be held on a Wednesday through Sunday schedule this year (June 21 to 25 in St. Louis), rather than the customary Thursday through Monday. The change is to make it more compatible with attendees' travel and vacation schedules.

The GA Planning Committee is revising its scholarship process this year. Those applying for scholarships will be required to secure a pledge of financial support from their congregations. The Planning Committee will match that pledge up to $250, and in some cases will pay the whole registration fee.

Registration for adults is $280 before April 30 and then $325. An adult one-day registration is $95/$110. Youth (14 to 20) are $155/$180 and $55/$65 for one day. There is daytime care for children through age 5. Those from 6 to 10 may enroll in day camp, and 8 to 14 in Young Fun, a full-time overnight program held off site.

Presidents of congregations are eligible for a 75 percent reimbursement of registration fees.

Highlights of GA will be the Opening Ceremony Wednesday night, Service of the Living Tradition Thursday night, youth-to-adult Bridging Ceremony Friday night, Ware Lecture Saturday night (with poet Mary Oliver), Sunday morning worship, and the Closing Ceremony Sunday night. Official delegates to GA (the number is based on your congregation's membership) are asked to attend all six plenary (business) sessions of GA.

Future GAs will be: June 20-24, 2007, Portland, Ore., and June 25-29, 2008, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Tapestry of Faith Curricula Under Way
The UUA's Lifespan Faith Development Staff Group is continuing to work on "Tapestry of Faith," a comprehensive new religious education program for children, youth, and adults.

All of Tapestry of Faith will be available online, free of charge. Additional website resources will include the Teacher Development site, currently available at www.uua.org/re/teachers. Some curricula in the new program are expected to be completed and online around the time of General Assembly in late June. Other curricula and resources will be added as they become ready for use. The final parts of the program are projected to be completed by 2011.

Tracey Hurd, the UUA's children and family programs director, said, "One of the parts that we're most excited about is the Coming of Age program, which will be part of Tapestry. This will be a huge tool for congregations—up to now they've had to piece together their own programs."

A draft version of the program should be available by next fall, Hurd said, for testing by any congregations that want to use it.

Authors are being sought for some of the children's programs. Contact Hurd at thurd@uua.org or 617-948-6519 or go to www.uua.org/re.

Sunday Attendance Numbers Requested
The UUA is asking congregations to keep Sunday attendance figures as well as membership figures and provide both numbers in the annual online certification process. Those numbers will be due Feb. 1, 2007. The attendance figure is voluntary, but the UUA's Growth Team is encouraging congregations to begin keeping it as another way to assess growth of the association and of individual congregations.

More information is at www.uua.org/congregation/attendance.html.

Book on Relationships Available for Use In Men's, Women's Groups
Neil Chethik, a founder of the UU Men's Network, has written a book on relationships that can be used in men's, women's, and couples' groups. VoiceMale (Simon and Schuster, 2005) is based on Chethik's national survey of 360 husbands of all ages, ethnic and racial backgrounds, religious affiliations, and lengths of marriage.

The book challenges stereotypes about men and relationships, including: men are commitment-phobic; all men care about is sex; and you can't change a man. Chethik also found a statistical link between housework and sex.

Chethik's first book was FatherLoss (Hyperion, 2001). VoiceMale brings to the fore the male point of view on such marital issues as money, sex, housework, balancing home and family life, raising children, and other issues. VoiceMale also delineates a "masculine style of loving" that, in comparison to the feminine style, relies more on actions than words, more on sharing space than feelings, and more on side-by-side closeness than face-to-face intimacy.

In addition, Chethik is available to congregations to preach, speak, and lead workshops based on the findings of his book.

For more information visit his website, www.voicemalebook.com/ or contact him at nchet@aol.com.

LREDA Booklet Promotes Diversity, Inclusiveness
A 12-page pamphlet designed to help congregational leaders determine if their congregations are open and available to all has been issued by the Liberal Religious Educators Association. The pamphlet offers checklists for evaluating the accessibility of facilities, determining if there is a welcoming atmosphere at church, evaluating curricula, creating and planning worship with a multicultural antioppression lens, and searching for professional leadership with diversity in mind.The pamphlet also includes a list of books, articles, and other resources that help promote diversity and inclusion.

Available from LREDA, P.O. Box 691254, San Antonio, TX 78269, or from the LREDA website, www.uua.org/lreda.