Community Ministers Retreat
Tending Your Spirit: Rest, Renewal and Reflection
Hosted by the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association
Dear Colleagues,
Our journey together these past few months is ending soon, hopefully in a way that will really allow you to soak in and savor some much needed rest and renewal during our retreat on July 19-21. If you will be traveling to connect with colleagues or to be in a beautiful space away from home, we wish you safe travels and warm and welcoming arrivals. If you will be retreating from home, we hope you can take time on the 19th to prepare your space, supplies and yourself and we wish for you that all the pieces fall into place as you finalize your preparations. It will be very good to be together again for this final segment of Tending Your Spirit: Rest, Renewal and Reflection.
We are grateful for the many hands and hearts that have come together to give you this beautiful offering. In particular, the Planning Team who worked with us: Michelle Pederson, Joy Christi Przestwor, Jessica James, Allison Farnum, Aastha Poudel. The people that brought our vision to life: Hannah Franco-Isaacs, Janette Lallier, Darrick Jackson, Jan Taddeo. The session leaders: Nourish (Aisha Ansano and Emily Conger); Tánia Marquez, JeKaren Olaoya, as well as worship leader Sabrina Trupia. The musicians: Lelaina Romera and Amanda Thomas. The Spiritual Directors: Diana McLean; Lora Brandis; Laura Bogle; Annie Scott; Elizabeth Terry. The Chaplains: Lindasusan Ulrich and Kristina Spaude. We offer our sincerest thanks to each of these individuals for helping to make our retreat a meaningful reality.
We are grateful to the funding that enabled us, the UUA and the UUMA, to work together as we continue to build our relationship on your behalf. This Continuing Education Fund was created by our former UUA President Rev. John Buehrens who wanted all ministers to be able to grow and flourish and created the fund that continues to fulfill his vision.
And we are deeply grateful for you, our colleagues serving in community ministries! We love you; we notice the difference you make and we honor and appreciate all your ministries which can only come forth through you and your commitment to follow your call. Thank you for your holy yes. We are all blessed as a result. Hallelujah!
During the retreat we invite you to use MeetUp to organize informal, optional gatherings with colleagues either onsite in your area or virtually through your Zoom room. Please schedule these outside of our scheduled sessions.
We appreciate all the people who filled out the survey over a year ago that informed this offering and we are so happy to have more than 75 community ministers participating in this retreat. We are truly glad you are among that number. May the retreat weekend be all and more that your hearts, bodies, minds, and souls needed and wanted as we all journey toward collective liberation.
In faith,
Marta Valentín, UUA Professional Development Director and
Melissa Carvill Ziemer, UUMA Director of Ministries and Programs
| Event | Eastern | Central | Mountain | Pacific | Hawai’i |
| Worship The Holy Yes | 12-12:50pm ET | 11-11:50am CT | 10-10:50am MT | 9-9:50am PT | 6-6:50am HT |
| Workship The Poetry of Rest | 1-3pm ET | 12-2pm CT | 11am-1pm MT | 10am-12pm PT | 7-9am HT |
The Holy Yes led by Community Ministers Retreat Planning Team: The UUA/UUMA planning team welcomes you to a weekend for Tending your Spirit. We invite you to recognize the varied spaces, places and settings we each occupy and to then set them down, for now. Through words, music, and meditation, you are invited to open yourself up to what your spirit needs from the weekend. What will you say Yes to?
The Poetry of Rest led by Tania Marquez: Expanding on our previous time together and reflecting on how your relationship with rest has been these past three months, we will continue to explore resources to map our individual needs for rest and renewal. A time to reconnect and reclaim our birthright to the beauty of rest and renewal.
Private Spiritual Direction available – please sign up using the tab “Spiritual Direction” above.
| Event | Eastern | Central | Mountain | Pacific | Hawai’i |
| Worship | 12-12:50pm | 11-11:50am | 10-10:50am | 9-9:50am | 6-6:50 |
| Workshop | 1-3pm | 12-2pm | 11am-1pm | 10am-12pm | 7-9am |
Worship led by Sabrina Trupia: This will be a service with a lot of meditative space and music. I hope to make it an open and spacious occasion for ritual and spiritual rest. There will be opportunities for interaction in the chat, and the reflection will be on “Revolutionary Rest”.
Workshop led by JeKaren Olaoya: This workshop aims to guide participants on a journey of self-discovery and inner healing through the exploration of connections between art and spiritual care practices grounded in community care. This 2-hour workshop will expand on the previous session by focusing on community care and creative resources that can be share in small groups. You do not need to have attended the first session to get valuable takeaways from this session. Please feel free to bring any supplies you might need to create. That includes paper, pens, markers, glitter, stickers, magazines, fancy paper, paint and canvas boards, or, if you like digital art, iPad and stylus. Each art prompt will allow you to express yourself however you need to.
Private Spiritual Direction available – please sign up using the tab “Spiritual Direction” above.
Please don’t share the Zoom link with anyone not registered for this event.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 468 942 9310
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Meeting ID: 468 942 9310
Find your local number: https://uuma.zoom.us/u/ac6UaTfKXE
How do I log on to the retreat?
Please use this link for the three hour sessions on Saturday and Sunday July 20 and July 21. You can access the event here. You will receive a different link if you sign up for private spiritual direction or if you ask to connect with a retreat chaplain.
Is there a page I can bookmark with all this information?
Yes! You can find all this information plus more, including a list of retreat participants, on the UUMA website.
How can I access the pre-retreat recordings?
- March 3: Click Here to view the recording and resources from this session.
- April 21: Click Here to view the recording from this session.
- May 19: Click Here to view the recording from this session.
Who do I talk to if I have problems with the retreat funding I requested?
All requested funds have been sent. Please reach out to the UUMA Program Administrator Jan Taddeo if you had problems accessing retreat funding.
Who do I talk to if I didn’t get my Snack Magic link or gifts?
Please reach out to UUMA Membership Administrator Hannah Franco-Isaacs if you did not receive your Snack Magic link or other gifts. Please note that if you registered after April 15 you may not recieve a snack box. Everyone registered for the retreat by June 1 will recieve a small gift.
How do I connect with colleagues during this retreat?
You can connect with colleagues participating in the retreat through the Community Ministers Retreat Group. You will find in the Group Discussions several invitations to gather with colleagues during the July 19-21 retreat. To see a video clip about creating and participating in group discussions CLICK HERE.
Spiritual Direction Sessions will be with Diana McLean, Lora Brandis, Laura Bogle, Annie Scott, or Elizabeth Terry. We are so grateful to these folks for being willing to support our retreat participants in this way!
Diana McLean is a cisgender queer mom of one young adult, living with her wife in Minneapolis. She has served in parish ministry, faith formation, and entrepreneurial ministry, including spiritual direction.
Laura Bogle is a queer mom of three living in East Tennessee. After serving a congregation in the foothills of the Appalachians for 10 years, she is now pursuing Spiritual Direction, hospice chaplaincy, and end of life care.
Lora Brandis lives in Dallas, TX primarily serving as the nanny to her daughter’s two-year-old twins. In addition she is a part-time hospital chaplain, provide pulpit supply to area congregations, and am a newly certified spiritual director.
Annie Scott served for 32 years as a religious educator, then as UUA field staff. She has had a spiritual director for more than twelve years and was certified as a Spiritual Director last spring. She is cis-gender.
Elizabeth Terry is a Black, Queer, married cis-gender woman who lives in the land of the Lene Lenape (Philadelphia, PA) Elizabeth believes in the power of individual and collective power.
Times are listed in Eastern Time. Scroll down to the bottom for different timezones.
Please fill out the form below to indicate your first choice and second choice for session times and if you are BIPOC. We will do our best to honor your requests. Information about your session including Spiritual Director, time, and Zoom access will be sent in a direct email.
| Eastern | Central | Mountain | Pacific | Hawi’i |
| 3:00-3:30 PM | 2:00-2:30 PM | 1:00-1:30 PM | 12:00-12:30 PM | 9:00-9:30 AM |
| 3:30-4:00 PM | 2:30-3:00 PM | 1:30-2:00 PM | 12:30-1:00 PM | 9:30-10:00 AM |
| 4:00-4:30 PM | 3:00-3:30 PM | 2:00-2:30 PM | 1:00-1:30 PM | 10:00-10:30 AM |
| 4:30-5:00 PM | 3:30-4:00 PM | 2:30-3:00 PM | 1:30-2:00 PM | 10:30-11:00 AM |
| 5:00-5:30 PM | 4:00-4:30 PM | 3:00-3:30 PM | 2:00-2:30 PM | 11:00-11:30 AM |
| 5:30-6:00 PM | 4:30-5:00 PM | 3:30-4:00 PM | 2:30-3:00 PM | 11:30 AM-12:30 PM |
We have two wonderful Chaplains (bios below) who will be on duty during the scheduled hours of the retreat. If you need to get a hold of someone after hours please use the numbers below and either Rev. Melissa Carvill Ziemer or Rev. Marta Valentín will answer.
To contact a chaplain:
- For General Chaplain Needs: 617-848-0498 ext 701
- For General Chaplain Needs and/or BIPOC specific Needs: 617-848-0498 ext 702
During the scheduled retreat Chaplains can either stay on the phone with you or have the ability to start a Zoom meeting. Please let them know your preference.
Rev. Lindasusan V. Ulrich (they/them) is a minister, writer, musician, and activist dedicated to a vision of radical inclusion, deep collaboration, and courageous kindness. A graduate of Starr King School for the Ministry and Hesychia School of Spiritual Direction, Rev. Lindasusan previously served as Minister at the Unitarian Society of New Haven, CT and Assistant Minister at the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor, MI. They are currently a member of the Ministerial Fellowship Committee. Rev. Lindasusan identifies as a nonbinary bisexual person of color, and while you may not be able to tell from this bio, they are also quite funny.
The Rev. Kristina Spaude (she/her) is a clinically trained chaplain who currently serves as a contract minister for congregations in central Florida. Her six-word story of faith is, “We’re here to build Love’s house,” and she is passionate about making the way for more justice in this world. Rev. Kristina has two cats and loves cross stitching.
The UUMA Meetup page makes it easy to gather groups of people together! Here’s what to do:
- Join Meet-up or sign in here: http://www.meetup.com/
- Join the UUMA Meet-up here:http://www.meetup.com/Unitarian-Universalist-Ministers-Association/ You need to be approved to be a member, which we do manually, so try to sign up before the retreat! If you signed up for a previous UUMA event, you do not need to sign up again.
- Everyone who is approved as a member is also (eventually) made an Event Organizer. To schedule a new Meet-up, click on the “Schedule a New Meet-up” at the top of the group page. If you need more detailed instructions, you can find them here. Make sure you are not scheduling your Meet-up during another Ministry Days Event
- Announce your Meetup! Make sure to say yes when asked if you want to announce your Meetup so that other members will be notified.
- When you plan a meet up, please pay attention to inclusion and remember to attend to our accessibility guidelines for all UUMA events.