May 2, 2024

Something For the Moment  

• Good Offices Handbook Resource: We are very pleased to share that we have completed a significant revision of the Good Offices Handbook.  Any member is free to access this resource and may find the “Skills” section to be especially helpful in locating resources to support you in your ministry. Many thanks are due to our Program Administrator Rev. Jan Taddeo and our Good Offices Coordinating Team (Rev. Eva Cameron, Rev. David Messner, Rev. Aaron Payson, Rev. Catherine Ishida, Rev. Amy Petrie Shaw and Rev. Aija Simpson-Newbury) for their assistance in bringing this revision to fruition. 

• Communities of Practice Handbook Resource:  With thanks to the good work of Rev. Darrick Jackson before he concluded his employment with the UUMA, we now have a Communities of Practice Resource Guide available to you as well.  If you are part of an intentional collegial group that gathers to reflect on your practice of ministry, this guide may be useful to you in supporting your gathering and learning.  

Something for the Journey

Rev. Melissa Carvill Ziemer, Director of Ministries and Programs

The UUMA Board of Trustees voted this week to sign on to this statement in solidarity with student protests for Gaza organized by MPower Change. We urge you to read the statement and to consider whether you might also find ways to be in solidarity with the student protests sweeping across the globe in support of a ceasefire in Gaza. In supporting the call for a ceasefire and in speaking out for the right to peacefully protest, we are not overlooking the reality that the protests are attracting some people who are seeking a platform to advance their own hateful views and agendas. We denounce all expressions of Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and Anti-Arabism in every setting. These protests are not about hate; they are about an end to violence, and the establishment of peace and liberation for all.  

I did not realize when I accepted the call to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent in 2005 that I was about to begin an extended study in community trauma and its impact over time. On May 4, 1970, members of the National Guard shot into a crowd of students protesting the expansion of the Vietnam War with the invasion of Cambodia. Four Kent State students were killed that day and nine were wounded.  Kent is a small town and the UU congregation there was and is deeply connected to the university.  It is impossible to overstate the impact of those events on the individuals involved, the university, the congregation, the town, the state and really on students everywhere. As the minister at that congregation, I participated in May 4 commemorations on campus every year. Over the years, I heard from many of the people who were there that day as well as from scholars and activists about the tragic events on May 4 and all that followed. The voices of student protestors are critical to our collective discernment about the most pressing matters of our times. Whether or not we agree with what they have to say, I hope we can all remember the grave risks that come from police and military suppression of student voices and organizing. 

Something Extra

• Save the Date Military Chaplaincy Webinar
  Tuesday, May 28, 2024, 8-9pm ET/ 7-8pm CT/ 6-7pm MT/ 5-6pm PT/ 2-3pm HT Serving as a UU in the military chaplaincy is an option more and more of our colleagues are pursuing. It is “mission critical” that we have a strong contingent of UU ministers serving the diverse and largely young adult population within the military. Join us to learn about the military chaplain candidate programs for those in formation, as well as the many joys, opportunities and challenges of active duty, reserve, guard or volunteer service with the Coast Guard Auxiliary or the Civil Air Patrol. This is a great opportunity to learn from your colleagues!

• Recording Available: Collegial Conversation: Building Good Relationships Between Parish and Community Ministers A panel of colleagues in the parish and community offered us their reflections on building good relationships with one another when they are called/affiliated/connected with the same congregation.  Click here to access the recording.

Something for Formation

The Ministerial Formation Network will offer two pre-Ministry Day Gatherings for Candidates, Aspirants and their Mentors! We encourage you to register for each of these events, as well as the whole Ministry Days program as a way to demonstrate and expand on your commitment to UU community life. 

• Discernment As Spiritual Practice on Monday, June 17, 2024 at 2:00-3:30 ET/1:00-2:30 CT/12-1:30 MT/11-12:30 PT. Led by the UU Wellspring team, this gathering will include a contemplative time for exploring the ways that our growth and self discovery within a supportive, accountable community sustains and encourages flourishing in ministry. 
• Change as Spiritual Practice on Monday, June 17, 2024 at 4:00-5:30 ET/3:00-4:30 CT/2-3:30 MT/1-2:30 PT. In conversation with Rev. Darrick Jackson and MFC members, this is a time to learn about recent changes with the MFC and what that means for folks at different phases and stages of the preparation process.