Board Dialogue Session: The Board of Trustees wants to meet with you for a conversation on issues vital to our shared profession. We will share brief updates on current issues for your feedback and also understand these sessions as an opportunity for you to bring your concerns and questions. Join us on Thursday, February 26 from from 7:30-8:45PM ET / 6:30-7:45PM CT / 5:30-6:45PM MT / 4:30-5:45PM PT.
Community Ministers Panel Discussion: NourishNook:Calling all Community Ministers! The next Community Ministers retreat “Tending to the Landscape of Your Ministry,” is coming this spring & summer and we want to be sure you know all about it. Join us for NourishNook – a one hour panel discussion to guide you on how the Community Ministers Retreat works, featuring ways to connect you to your deeper ministry and your larger community of Unitarian Universalist Community Ministers. Gain tips for making 2026 the year you make deeper connections and feel the love holding us all. All community ministers welcome! Join us on Wednesday, March 4, 8pm ET/ 7pm CT/6pm MT/ 5pm PT.
CPE Educator Gathering: As part of the Ministerial Formation Network (MFN) at 10 series we’ll be hosting a conversation on Friday, February 27 at 12pm ET/11am CT/10am MT/9am PT for ACPE, ICPT, CPEI and VA Clinical Pastoral Educators (and supervisors-in-training).
If you weren’t able to attend the Institute you can now purchase access to the recordings of our five amazing worship services, our Keynote with Kai Cheng Thom and the Non-Compliance Training with the Unitarian Universalist Association. Purchase here or by clicking the image above.
Something for the Journey
Janette M. Lallier, Director of Operations
I’ve been thinking about how easy it is to move through our days with our heads down — focused on what’s next, what’s urgent, what’s waiting. The other morning, walking through NYC on my way to sing an early morning mass, I was doing just that. But rushing to catch the crosstown bus, I happened to look up and saw clouds — actual clouds — drifting across the mirrored upper floors of a midtown skyscraper as part of the Summit One Vanderbilt installation “Air”. As seen from the street a “Beacon of Light.” For me – A quiet interruption – A moment of wonder.
Later, transferring to my uptown train home to the Bronx, I turned a corner in Times Square and caught sight of a video stretched across three buildings: a canoe paddling slowly into a brilliant sunset — or sunrise, depending on your point of view. I don’t know what it was meant to sell, but it was unmistakably calm in the middle of Times Square’s urgency. Again, a pause.
When I got home and began sorting through UUMA email, I found myself reading congregational newsletters — glimpses of humor, care, inspiration, and connection. I was reminded of the old UUMA paper newsletter that lifted up joyful moments from the work of ministry. These, too, are clouds in the skyline. A still canoe in the rush.
In the heaviness of the news cycle and the demands of showing up in this pivotal time, it can be easy to miss the moments that steady us — the reflections of something life-giving in the midst of all that asks our attention and calls us to action.
One way to feed that well — to intentionally move out of the rush to remember what sustains us — is by gathering with colleagues. As we move into a season of Chapter Retreats we invite you to also consider the upcoming Community Ministers Retreat (include link to info session) a space to pause, reflect, and reconnect with the quiet amazements that ground your work. And for today I leave you with this simple, yet difficult invitation:
To look up. To notice what shimmers. To share the small amazements that sustain the life changing work of ministry.
Something for Formation
MFN Mini Retreat: The Arts of Farewell and End-of-Life Rituals: The three-hour online retreat, led by Rev. Mary Ann Macklin, will serve as a professional development opportunity, bridging theoretical study with real-world ministerial competence, including emerging end-of-life practices in the 21st century. Join us Saturday, February 28, 12-3pm ET/11am-2pm CT/10am-1pm MT/9am-12pm PT.
MFN Mini-Retreat Theology of Calling: This mini-retreat will offer participants a time and space to explore the personal, professional and spiritual aspects of being called into religious leadership. We will engage in dialogue, prayer, and contemplation within a collegial community of care. Join us on Saturday, March 14, 2026, 12pm-3pm ET/ 11am-2pm CT/ 10am-1pm MT/ 9am-12pm PT.
MFN Mini-Retreat: Articulating Your Faith: This mini-retreat will offer participants the opportunity to reflect on their personal beliefs, values and commitments. With a grounding in worship and time to reflect with peers, we seek to create a time for contemplation, creativity and community building. Join us onSunday, March 15, 2026, 6-9pm ET/5-8pm CT/4-7pm MT/3-6pm PT
Something Extra
February News from UUA Church Staff Finances: We encourage you to read the February 2026 issue of Compensation and Staffing News. In particular, note these items:
Our Benefits Tune-up Workbook has been updated for 2026. This is our popular compliance tool for administering UUA benefits. Help your leaders manage risk, improve confidence, and show you and your staff the love.
Eager to explore creative, values-driven approaches to aligning your mission, priorities, and staffing with your budget? Many congregations are struggling to align mission, staffing, and resources. Join Jan Gartner for the Sustainable Staffing Strategizers wave cohort – six weekly sessions, Tuesdays, beginning March 3.
From the Insurance Team: We have a new Insurance Plans Director! Meet Jennifer Markewitz. The newsletter includes links to annual insurance experience surveys for participants and employers. Your feedback helps shape our plans and services.
— focused on what’s next, what’s urgent, what’s waiting. The other morning, walking through NYC on my way to sing an early morning mass, I was doing just that. But rushing to catch the crosstown bus, I happened to look up and saw clouds — actual clouds — drifting across the mirrored upper floors of a midtown skyscraper as part of the Summit One Vanderbilt installation 