Quick and Caring Expertise Available on E-Mail Lists

Alice Hurley, president of the 20-member UU Fellowship at Mountain Home, AR, was looking for advice when she sat down at her computer last July. But more than that, she needed a friendly voice. Deep in central Arkansas' Bible Belt, surrounded by fundamentalists, she and her tiny liberal band felt outnumbered. And disheartened.

She tapped an e-mail message onto UU-LEADERS, one of the UUA's new electronic discussion groups, asking for advice from other UUs about ways to rejuvenate her group. The responses were swift. Within a day or two she had heard from 10 UUs from across the country. They offered advice on ways to build up the fellowship, ranging from community service projects to inviting friends and neighbors to services and holding social events which are open to the public.

Contacted later, Hurley said her group would adapt some of the ideas. But at least as important as the helpful messages, she said, was the reminder there were other UUs who cared. "One of the great benefits to us was just to relearn that we are not alone, that there are people out there who are willing to take us seriously. And it's worth a lot to just be able to cry on someone's shoulder if you need to."

UU-LEADERS is one of more than 70 Internet discussion groups, also known as listservs, that are sponsored by the UUA and run by UU volunteers. Most didn't exist a year ago. Most are aimed at a particular group of people such as ministers, religious educators, or members of specific committees such as membership. The largest listserv has more than 1,000 subscribers. In total, an estimated 3,000 UUs are using the listservs.

The lists are free and can be subscribed to from the UUA's Website. The listservs were started as a way to draw far-flung UU congregations together and enable them to help each other with practical advice. One of the founders of the UU e-mail boom is Margaret Levine Young, a lifelong UU from Vermont and the coauthor of The Internet for Dummies. She notes, "E-mail doesn't have the same glitz as the Internet, but in many ways it's more important, because we can network and meet in ways we can't otherwise. People from fellowships, who may have no one locally they can talk to, can get on to talk about their problems, like how to handle church disputes, what kind of photocopier to get, what kind of things to put in the church newsletter."

Here are a few of the other listservs with a substantial following:

• MEMB-L, for those interested in membership and growth. Topics include ways to greet visitors and keep track of old and new members. Both UU-LEADERS and MEMB-L are about eight months old and have 250 to 300 subscribers.
• 550 PLUS, restricted to challenges that face larger congregations.
• REACH-L, for religious educators, who use it to talk about curriculum and teaching methods and to trade songs and skits.

Lee Sanchez Carr, director of religious education at First UU Church of Seattle, WA (142 members), e-mailed a colleague on REACH-L, thanking her for "a silly story" she had just posted. Carr, who was preparing for a childrens' service the next day, expressed her gratitude for the on-line community. "It was good to smile and know that I am not alone. There are others out there in the little lamp lights at their computers, digging through boxes, searching through bookcases, scouring storage rooms just like I am . . ."