April 28, 2023

Something For the Moment 

• Annual Meeting Reminders: Our Annual Meeting, held in two parts on June 6 and 8 from 2-4pm ET / 1-3pm CT / 12-3pm MT / 11-1pm PT, is coming up. Please register to receive reminders. For more information on the meeting, please read UUMA Board of Trustees’ Secretary, Connie Simon’s message below. Please make note that the deadline to propose to the board to consider placing something on the agenda is May 5, 2023.
• Ministry Days Registration Rates Increase: Registration rates increase Monday, May 1. If you have received a first-round scholarship you must register prior to this date. Don’t delay – register now! 
• Zoom Updates Required: Please make sure you have updated your Zoom to the most recent version. Zoom makes frequent updates and you will loose functionality or, possibly, access to your account if your Zoom client is out of date. For directions on updating your Zoom client, click here. Zoom is also forcing updates to the new meeting join flow for all users starting May 20th. You can learn more about that update here. 

Something for the Journey

It has been my honor and privilege to serve as secretary of your UUMA for the last two years. As we on the board and staff prepare for the Annual Meeting and Ministry Days, I couldn’t help but think back to my first Ministry Days. I had been attending Priestley-Kingsbury cluster meetings as the intern at the Unitarian Society of Germantown, and I was part of the Ministerial Formation Network, but it wasn’t until  2018 – my first Ministry Days as an ordained minister, that I really felt like I was a part of this Association. I was excited to be among so many talented and experienced colleagues and eager to learn. I wasn’t familiar with many of the topics on the agenda, so I tried to prepare by reading as much of the materials as I could. You might say I was an overachiever. 

Five years later, as a member of the board, I still study and prepare for each meeting. And, after five years of full-time ministry, I know there’s only so many hours in the day and I can’t always get to everything. I can only imagine, dear colleagues, that many of you are in the same situation. So, here are some quick notes to help you prepare for the Annual Meeting which will be held virtually from 2-4pm ET / 1-3pm CT / 12-2pm MT / 11-1pm PT) on June 6 and June 8.

• We will again observe a progressive stack. The first three speaking slots for discussion will be reserved for Black, Indigenous, People of Color, disabled, fat, trans, non-binary and other members with marginalized identities.   

• After the progressive stack, the floor will be open for all folks to speak up to two minutes each. 

• We’ll be voting on the Nominating Committee slate for NomCom members and Trustees.

• We’ll also vote on two bylaws amendments. After much input and discussion, we’re ready to vote on updates to UUMA purposes Article I Section 3. Thanks to all who participated in discussion sessions and gave feedback. The second vote corrects a typo in Article XIV, Section 1 which states that proposed bylaw amendments “shall be mailed sent to all voting members.” We’re simply proposing removal of the word “mailed” so that the sentence reads “shall be sent to all voting members.” 

• To propose something for the Board to consider placing on the agenda, including an amendment to any motion already on the agenda, please send it in writing to me (Secretary@uuma.org) before 5:00 pm EDT on May 5, 2023. 

I hope these highlights are helpful. If you’d like to read the full text of the 2023 Annual Meeting Agenda and Rules you can see them here. They will also be sent out next week, along with the Agenda, full text to the Bylaw revisions, and Staff and Board Reports, in our Annual Meeting Packet. 

Looking forward to seeing you at the Annual Meeting!

In service,

Connie

Something Extra

Multigenerational Collegial Conversation: In March, nearly 40 ministers in diverse life stages and ministry settings came together to discuss our grief and losses.  Even though many of us were meeting for the first time, participants let us know it was a touching, tender and open-hearted conversation.  We also heard that there wasn’t enough time and that it would have been good to have more than one session arranged.  Still experimenting, we’d like to come together again, this time for a multigenerational conversation on the deep satisfaction and great joy of our ministries.  Co-sponsored by the UUMA and UURMaPA (the UU Retired Ministers and Partners Association), this multigenerational Zoom gathering of UU ministers will be about us, about our joy in this vocation we have chosen. Once again we will gather in small multigenerational group breakouts.  The groups will be lightly facilitated and will include an opportunity to consider a few words about your small group sharing that you might share back with the larger group at the end of our time.  Through connecting meaningfully and deeply with one another across our generations of ministry, we hope to strengthen our collegial community.  Click here to register for the event on Wednesday May 10, 2023 at 2-3:30pm ET/ 1-2:30pm CT/ 12-1:30pm MT/ 11am-12:30pm PT.

Part Time Ministry Conference: The UUA, in partnership with the UUMA, is hosting a virtual gathering for small congregations exploring part-time ministry, with special guest G. Jeffrey MacDonald, author of “Part-Time Is Plenty: Thriving Without Full-Time Clergy” on Saturday, May 13 12:00pm – 5:00pm ET, 11am-4:00pm CT, 10am-3:00pm MT, 9:00am-2:00pm PT. Click here for more information and to register.

Empower Update:  The Retirement Plan team has created a video demonstrating the Empower Manual/Direct Contribution Entry process! The direct entry option may be a better fit for your location the fewer W2 employees you have. You can enter the hours worked in the period for all W2 employees alongside any employee pre-tax, employer, or employer match contributions. The guided entry process is simple and effective; the team still recommends using the cash file for larger congregations/locations with more employees, but this feature is available to everyone.