June 26, 2026

Something For the Moment 

Membership Renewals Open July 1: We’re putting the finishing touches on this year’s renewal system, including a new ACH payment option. Watch your inbox on Monday, June 29 for your renewal invoice. Members enrolled in automatic renewal will also receive an email Monday, with charges processing on July 1. If your Salary & Housing has changed this year please take a moment to log in before Monday to ensure the most accurate invoice. If your member type should be changed Parish to Community, Candidate to Regular, etc please email support@uuma.org. 

A reminder that, as shared in the Treasurer’s Report and at the Annual Meeting, a processing fee will be added at the time of payment. Members who choose to pay by ACH can avoid those fees by entering the discount code ACH during checkout. Here is a short helper clip if needed.

We know summer schedules can be full and many ministries change, so renewals may be completed any time through the October 15 grace period. As always, we want finances to never be a barrier to your connection with the UUMA and your colleagues. If paying dues presents a hardship, confidential dues waivers are available. Because we need one another.

Summer Schedule: During July and August, the Weekly News will shift to a biweekly schedule to accommodate staff vacations. There is still plenty happening across the UUMA, so be sure to keep an eye on the Calendar and the Latest News section of our website for announcements, registration deadlines, and other updates throughout the summer.

Formation Partners Needed: July and August are busy times for our aspirants and candidates who are in Summer Classes, CPE programs and starting internships, so the need for new vocational advisors & discernment group facilitators who are available to offer guidance and support is HIGH!  Reach out directly to Michelle to learn more about the roles and responsibilities that can best nurture our newest colleagues who are preparing for life in UU ministry.  

Something for the Journey

Robin Tanner, UUMA President 

I have a playlist for the hard times.  It’s called “Refuel and Remember.” On that playlist is a song from Rag’n’Bone Man entitled “Human.”  The lyrics include the lines “some people think I can solve them.   Lord heavens above.  I’m only human after all.”

It is a reminder that I often need, especially now.  My spouse is in recovery from alcoholism and as I began my journey with Al-Anon I realized much of my harmful behavior involved fixing and solving.  Part of my healing journey is to recognize my humanity and accept what I cannot control.  

I would suspect I am not alone in this journey and work among our association.

Our ministries include tangible markers that set us apart from our communities – collars, robes, stoles, uniforms, and titled badges.  We receive security clearance whether in the form of confidential pastoral confidence or badges that literally allow us to enter into spaces that civilians are not able to be in.  We have training and degrees that can further reinforce our understanding of our separateness.  And as one of my mentors reminded me: never believe you are the worst thing you have ever done, but also don’t believe your own PR!

Recently, I encountered my own humanity up close and personal when without title, or signifier, I sat in a medical office receiving hard news about a loved one.  In that moment, my humanity felt very exposed.  After leaving the doctor, the first person I called was a member of the UUMA. Not because of their title or degrees, but because I knew it was safe to be human with them.  They understood and didn’t try to pastor me.  They were present in the only way a colleague can be.

As we come into the summer, our ministries shift in different ways. For some, this season brings opportunities for rest and renewal; for others, it is a time of continued or even heightened ministry. No matter what the coming months bring I hope for you, dear colleagues, a collegiality that allows you to be human as you take off the collar, put down the badge, or hang up the uniform.  I pray that in the coming year, your UUMA will foster more restorative spaces that embrace our humanity while encouraging our collective growth.  I know we need one another, and even as tired as I am, I deeply believe in our collegiality and the promise of what our Association is and yet can be. 

In the spirit of that humanity, your UUMA is going to take some time over the next few weeks for transition and also tending to our humaneness.  Please understand if there is a couple weeks delay from your board and staff in non-urgent matters.  We look forward to returning to the work, together, in August.

Something for Learning

Discussion: 2026 Berry Street Essay
Tues, July 14 OR Tues Aug 11 at 4-5:30pm ET/3-4:30pm CT/2-3:30pm MT/1-2:30pm PT

Let us gather and discuss the Berry Street Essay together! We will offer caucus spaces for BIPOC and Trans/Non-Binary colleagues, and for parents of Trans/Non-Binary kiddos, and a space where all identities are welcome. We will also coordinate a watch party right before the discussion for those who want to watch in a caring community space. Click here to register for July 14, or click here to register for August 11 (same discussion, offered twice).

Fundraising for Ministers
Tuesdays July 7, 14, 21, 28 at 4-5:15pm ET/3-4:15pm CT/2-3:15pm MT/1-2:15pm PT
Course will be offered again: Tuesdays Sept 22, Oct 6, Oct 20 & Nov 3

Most UU ministers are doing the work of a development director without much training: navigating pledge drives, stewarding major donors, and trying to move a reluctant board toward fundraising, often all at once. This free webinar series offers fundraising education that goes beyond formulas to address why fundraising feels so hard for ministers – and what to do about it. Sessions are grounded in relationship-based fundraising principles, delivered in plain language with practical action steps, and deeply respectful of the theological complexity ministers bring to conversations about money. Read more and sign up here.

Sacred Reckonings – A 6 Session Series
July 8, 15, 22, 29 and Aug 5, 12 from 4-6pm ET/3-5pm CT/2-4pm MT/1-3pm PT
Course will be offered again Wednesdays Sept 23, Oct 7 & 21, Nov 4 & 18 and Dec 2

We are living through a moment that many have described as “the modern re-articulation of the Doctrine of Discovery.” The forces of White Christian nationalism, a diseased distortion of genuine Christianity, are wreaking havoc on our communities and our democracy. Now, more than ever, we are called to embody the power of love through praxis that reckons with and seeks to repair these harms.
This six week course will utilize the Sacred Reckonings Reparatory Eco-Map to focus on truth-telling, spiritual practices, relationships of followership, political solidarity, and wealth return as a lens to this current moment and a guide for how we might embody love in action. This program may be of particular interest to retired colleagues and those who are moving into new ministries. Read more and sign up here.

Integrating Your Sabbatical
Weds Aug 19 OR Tues Sept 1, 6:30-8:00pm ET/5:30-7:00pm CT/4:30-6:00pm MT/3:30-5:00pm PT

After a sabbatical, it’s easy to get swept back up in the work of ministry, and our sabbatical experiences can seem like a distant memory. Whether you are coming to the end of a sabbatical, or returned from your sabbatical months ago, you are invited to take a brief time out to remember and integrate the fruits, challenges and unanswered questions from your sabbatical. Darcey Laine is hosting a collegial gathering where we can process and integrate our sabbatical experiences. Sign up here for Weds Aug 19 or here for Tues Sept 1 (same discussion, offered twice).