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

Congregational Handbook a Good First Place to Turn

Finding answers to congregational questions got a little easier this winter with the publication of a new and expanded UUA Congregational Handbook.

The new handbook, unlike previous editions, is only available online, at www.uua.org/cde/handbook. Part of the reason there is no print edition this time, says Susanna Whitman, coeditor of the book, is because the new edition contains links to many other sources. Having it online also makes it easier to keep it updated and to add relevant resources.

Whitman is growth services administrator for the UUA. Her coeditor is Margaret Beard, former UUA director of new congregation and growth resources. Compiling the handbook took three years. It was last updated in 1995.

"If you're in a congregation and you have an issue that concerns you," says Whitman, "the question is always where should I go to find out about this? The new handbook is a good first place for people to start, in addition to contacting their district staff."

The new handbook also reflects the UUA's increased focus on growth and antioppression work, including a section on identity-based ministry. Electronic links make it possible to go directly from the handbook pages to various other sources, including web pages, articles, and staff contacts. If you're looking for information about membership committees, there is a 53-page article on that topic from the new congregation and growth resources office, a list of 101 ideas for membership growth, and an InterConnections article on membership.

A section titled Sharing Unitarian Universalism includes an article on why growth is important, how to look at your congregation's facilities with a visitor's eye, how to reach young adults and youth, and how antiracism fits into growth. The handbook also includes an article on adding worship services and a link to the Uncommon Denomination advertising resources.

Not sure where to find an answer to your question? Doing a keyword search is easy. If you want information on "Small Groups," do a search on that term and that topic will pop up.

"We're starting to get lots of comments on it," says Whitman. "People like that it's comprehensive and updated. Some like the section on systems theory and conflict, and the membership journey is very popular."

She said the handbook identifies circumstances for when a congregation needs to go to a "real person" for advice, adding that it doesn't take the place of district staff although it is useful in conjunction with talking to staff. When the visioning committee at First Religious Society in Newburyport, Mass. (350 members), set out to create mission and vision statements and a covenant this winter, it looked no further than the handbook's 97-page section Vision, Mission, and Covenant: Creating a Future Together, says Bill Heenehan, a consultant and member of the group.

"A number of people on the committee," he says, "have personal and professional experience in these kinds of efforts, having either participated in or facilitated them. Everyone on the committee who reviewed the handbook felt that it provided a very useful set of information including definitions, process descriptions and alternatives, background on change efforts, sample statements, and recommended input gathering venues and exercises."

Heenehan suggested that they continue with the "best practice" search if people really wanted to, but said he felt the handbook was a good source upon which to base their efforts and that further searching was unnecessary.

Tandi Rogers Koerger, program specialist in the UUA's Pacific Northwest District, has reviewed the handbook. "This would be a good manual for all congregations to just go through periodically," she says. "There are topics in here that all of us need to pay more attention to, such as being welcoming to multicultural families."