Vol. IX Issue 4 Fall 2006 In this issue: LEADERSHIP Books on Leadership From the UUA Bookstore MONEY Planning Eases Stress From Natural Disasters TOOLBOX Videos Help Congregations Share Their Stories MEMBERSHIP Midweek Events Create Strong Connections NOURISHING THE SPIRIT Meaningful Worship Requires Attention, Focus QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Including Youth, Inspiring People to Attend General Assembly BRIEFLY NOTED A Different Approach to Joys and Concerns; Notes from UU University On Welcoming, Anxiety, And Congregational Health; And More! EMAIL LIST Find out when the new InterConnections is online InterConnections Archives

Books on Leadership From the UUA Bookstore

Rose Hanig, UUA Bookstore manager, has identified the following books on various congregational leadership topics as being useful to lay leaders. All are available from the UUA Bookstore, (800) 215-9076 or uua.org/bookstore.

Called to Serve: Creating and Nurturing the Effective Volunteer Board, by Max De Pree. A guide to navigating the potential problems and pitfalls encountered by any fledgling or established volunteer board member. Eerdmans, 2001; Item 7248, $10.

A Change of Pastors . . . and How It Affects Change in the Congregation, by Loren Mead. Revised edition of Critical Moment of Ministry: Change of Pastors. Explores the challenges of forming committees, negotiating denominational relations, and managing the search process. Describes seven steps congregations can take to ensure a smooth transition: termination, direction-finding, self-study, search, decision/negotiation, installation, and start-up. Includes a chapter on tasks that should take place throughout the transition and into the congregation's future: coming to terms with the past, discovering a new identity, allowing for needed leadership changes, rediscovering the denomination, and committing to new directions in ministry. Alban, 2005; Item 7285, $13.

Growing Up Generous: Engaging Youth in Giving and Serving, by Eugene Roehlkepartain, Elanah Dalyah Naftali, Laura Musegades. Explores how Jewish and Christian congregations cultivate in young people a deep and lasting commitment to giving and serving. Based on a two-year project by Search Institute, a nonprofit research and education organization that specializes in the healthy development of children and adolescents, this book highlights the roles of various congregational leaders in shaping the attitudes of young people. Alban, 2000; Item 7287, $14.

A Manual of Worship: Insights from Over 50 Years as a Unitarian Universalist Minister, by Frank Schulman; edited by Terry Sweetser. Explores the theoretical and practical elements of worship services. This book was written to help Unitarian Universalist ministers and lay people create more spiritually meaningful, well-structured worship services. It primarily focuses on Sunday morning services, but also discusses other services and events. UUA Stewardship & Development, 2006; Item 7295, $14.

Memories, Hopes, and Conversations: Appreciative Inquiry and Congregational Change, by Mark Lau Branson. Illustrates a four--step process--initiate, inquire, imagine, innovate-that uses constructive conversations and questions to evoke storytelling and spur imaginations. By encouraging memories of the congregation at its best, members construct "provocative proposals" to help shape the church's future. Alban, 2004; Item 7247, $18.

Moving on from Church Folly Lane: The Pastoral to Program Shift, by Robert T. Latham. Outlines four major attendance-size cultures while focusing on the critical shift that occurs between the pastoral-size congregation and the program-size congregation. Includes a committee on ministry model and a mission-covenant statement process model. Wheatmark, 2006; Item 7292, $19.95.

When a Congregation is Betrayed: Responding to Clergy Misconduct, edited by Beth Ann Gaede and Candace Reed Benyei. This collection is for "afterpastors"--interim or settled pastors who follow pastors who committed misconduct. Also for lay leaders who may themselves have witnessed or been victimized by the misconduct. Offers guidance about how to assess and respond to the misconduct, how to care for victims/survivors, and how to carry out the congregation's mission and ministry. All of the contributors have consulted, taught, and written about clergy misconduct. Alban, 2005; Item 7294, $25.