May 10, 2024

Something For the Moment  

• Welcome Our New Life Long Learning Manager: We are excited to announce that Julica Hermann de la Fuente has accepted the position of Lifelong Learning Manager. Julica brings a wealth of experience in coaching, education and curriculum design, training and facilitation as well as a deep commitment to collegiality and collective liberation to this reimagined position. Although we anticipate some early onboarding, Julica will officially begin her position on June 1, 2024.  Please join us in welcoming Julica back to the UUMA! 
  
  From Julica: Hello colleagues! I’m Julica, a coach, trainer and facilitator for liberation, transformation, and justice; and, I’m in the running to be the longest ministerial candidate in Unitarian Universalism. I look forward to inviting you to my ordination in the near future. I come to the Lifelong Learning Manager position after my most recent work as Special Advisor for Justice and Equity at the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, and I am celebrating what feels like a return home to the UUMA, where I served as your intern in 2019-2020. I’m soooo excited to support your lifelong learning as ministers in our faith, and I can’t wait to get started. As many of you know, I stubbornly believe that liberation is found at the intersection of joy and justice. When not on shift for the resistance, you will find me playing with fabric, planning my week-long costume extravaganza for Halloween, looking for more excuses to frost fancy cakes, and reading optimistic sci-fi and fantasy possibilities of a just and equitable universe.
   
• 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! To register, CLICK HERE
   
• Annual Meeting Agenda Reminder: If you wish to propose something to the Board to consider placing on the Annual Meeting agenda, including an amendment to any motion already on the agenda, please email Board Secretary Connie Simon before 5pm ET/4pm CT/ 3pm MT/ 2pm PT on Monday, May 13. To review the Annual Meeting materials, CLICK HERE.

Something for the Journey

Rev. Michelle Favreault, Ministerial Formation Network Program Manager

It’s commencement season again! With ceremonies for Starr King School for the Ministry (May 9), and Meadville Lombard Theological School (May 19), we have the chance to celebrate with colleagues who have reached an important milestone on the academic path. A round of applause please for the faculty, mentors and all the learning partners that help us find our way into our caps and gowns! 

I find that year after year, the graduation season arrives too quickly (wasn’t it just February?) and the chance for nostalgia mixed with optimism can be a bit of a roller coaster for my spirit (wasn’t it just yesterday – certainly not the year 2000 – when I handed in the last paper – on paper?).  A lot has changed, and keeps changing, since the turn of the century. I traverse the path of memory: moving cross-country and living in a dorm with other UU seminarians attending two schools in Berkeley, commiserating about theology and eschatology over breakfast, long late-night hymn sings, and knowing that colleagues in Chicago and Boston were doing likewise, with plans to move for an internship coming up around the bend.

However,  it’s interesting to note that participants in the Ministerial Formation Network today are enrolled in at least 40 schools. Approximately 60% of aspirants and candidates are educated in non-UU settings. And, about 25 folks are the only UU in their community. With much classwork happening online and in asynchronous virtual classrooms, we know there’s a significant shift from past generations where UU identity was formed in congregational leadership and was honed with curricula designed primarily for parish ministry-bound religious leaders.

As we head towards the conversations about the Future of Ministry during our UUMA ministry days, I find it challenging and somewhat exciting to reflect on the innovations in spiritual care, community discernment and collegial development for these days and the decades to come.  With more spiritual direction, movement chaplaincy, and creative approaches to transformation in congregational and community based ministries, the ways in which we mentor, support, learn and grow together are ever changing, too.  I hope that we can take a moment to appreciate the many and varied ways in which we continue to learn and grow in this faith and celebrate the living tradition that grows and changes, too.

Something Extra

• Introduction to the Revised Good Offices Handbook: Click here to take a brief tour of the new handbook! Then join us for an hour to hear more about our thinking with regard to some of the key updates we made and ask any questions you may have about the contents of the handbook. To register, click on the session you plan to attend:

• AUUMM UU Song Leaders Convergence: July 31-August 4, Albuquerque, NM. The Association for UU Music Ministries (AUUMM) would like to extend a special invitation for UUMA members to join us at our conference this year. The AUUMM annual conference now includes a conference-within-the-conference for singers and song leaders. It’s meant to welcome everyone in UUism who loves community singing, whether you’re a music professional or not. And we particularly want to welcome you! We have scholarships available for Convergence participants, but applications are due THIS Wednesday, the 15th! For more information and to register, CLICK HERE.

Something for Formation

• Show Me the Money!: The MFN recently held a “rich” and important conversation to explore Money, Ministry and Meaning Making with our colleagues in the UUA Office of Church Staff Finances. You can view the video and access the slide show of the presentation by clicking here.   If you’re needing a refresher, or are new to the reality of clergy tax and compensation issues, this is a great resource to continue your stewardship education.