Scale of Fees Survey: The UUMA invites all members (including those in formation, in active ministry, and retired) who performed a ministerial service for a fee in 2024 to complete our survey about the UUMA Scale of Professional Fees. The results of this survey will be used to make recommendations about the scale and to assist in determining appropriate fees for professional services. Please accept our apologies that the original release of this survey didn’t include the Canadian Geo-Index, an oversight we hastily corrected.
Ministry Days Registration Update: There are 201 of your colleagues registered to join us at Ministry Days! Register today to join your colleagues On the Path Of Love. We are looking forward to gathering with you both in Baltimore, MD and virtually wherever you find yourself June 16-18.
Institute for the Learning Ministry: As we are deep in prep for this year’s Ministry Days we are still turning our thoughts and energies towards the 2026 Institute (January 26-30, 2026) and we are excited to announce that we will be opening registration later this month!
Something for the Journey
Melissa Carvill Ziemer, Director of Ministries and Programs (with gratitude for shared reflection of our UUMA staff team)
Here is a polarity I’m holding. How do we know when to resist and when to accept?
One truth of our time is that we must resist the risks of facism in every way we can. So much has already been damaged and destroyed, so many lives have already been irrevocably harmed. Historians and scholars are spelling out the grave risks we face and so many people are finding creative, imaginative ways to embody and invite resistance. I’m studying and learning and trying to practice and follow as best I can.
And, I am also realizing yet again the wisdom of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s caution to beware the dangers of a single story. What is needed in one realm isn’t necessarily right for another. In my own personal life and ministry practice, I’m finding it helpful to be reminded that resistance is not the only way. Another approach, counseled by many spiritual sages and therapeutic practitioners alike, is the power of acceptance. In her book on leading in liminal times, Susan Beaumont calls this the power of surrender. Acceptance and surrender is sometimes necessary in order to find our way into new possibilities and emerging futures not yet ripe but already forming, like the first hint of buds on the early springtime trees.
How do we know when to resist and when to accept? Maybe we can’t always know. But we can tend to our own spirits and to the spirits of one another. We can acknowledge grief and loss as well as joy and delight. We can be gentle, decent and brave and commit to show up as we are able. We can remember the beauty and wisdom that grows from emergence, from the collective wayfinding together, even in the midst of the storm.
Something for Formation
Scholarship Opportunity: Are you in MFC Candidate Status? Are you attending a “non-UU theological school?” Do you have an interest in international and interfaith engagement? You are invited to apply for the UUA’s Tsubaki Grand Shrine Scholarship!
The scholarship recipient will be provided with funds to travel to the Tsubaki Grand Shrine (TGS) in Suzuka, Japan, as well as room and board at the shrine for 2-3 weeks (typically in July or August). TGS is one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan, dating back to the first century BCE. This scholarship was established to provide opportunities for UU seminarians to develop a deeper understanding of shrine Shinto tradition, customs, and practices, and to further develop close relationships between the Tsubaki Grand Shrine and Unitarian Universalists.
The deadline to apply is May 5, 2025. You can find more information about the scholarship, the application, and stories from past participants on the Tsubaki Scholarship webpage.
Ministerial Formation Network Connections: The Ministerial Formation Network offers so many programs for aspirants and candidates! Come join with us this spring and learn more about our offerings on Ethics, Chaplaincy Innovation, Spiritual Deepening and Vocational Discernment! And if you are in Fellowship, your wisdom as mentor, facilitator and collegial companion is needed and valued, too! Reach out to get involved!
Something Extra
Chapter Leader Gatherings: Resources, Support, and Connection: We are offering four opportunities at a range of times for Chapter Leaders to gather in May. We ask that at least one elected leader from each chapter attend one of these one-hour calls for updates, discussion, and collegiality. (Please note: Sending at least one leader of your chapter to one of these calls is required to request a chapter subsidy.)
You can view our calendar events here. Please make sure you are logged into uuma.org to see our full calendar as some events are available for members only.
