Something For the Moment 

• “From Uncertainty to Hope: Circles of Trust”  January 11, 25; February 8, 22, 2024; 2hrs, 1pm ET/ 12pm CT/11am MT/10am PT. A small group ministry program for ministers offers spiritual deepening during precarious times.
   
• Collegial Conversation: The Ministry of Spiritual Direction: Wednesday, January 17, 1-2 pm ET/ 12-1pm CT/ 11am-12pm MT/ 10-11am PT/ 8-9am HT. Join us in exploring how Spiritual Direction can amplify your ministry.
   
• Ending Well Workshop:  Thursday, January 25 at 1pm ET/ 12pm CT/ 11am MT/ 10am PT. If ending a ministry may be in your future in the next few years and you’d like to reflect on how to end your ministry well, this session is for you. 

Something for the Journey

Rev. Melissa Carvill Ziemer, UUMA Director of Ministries for Collegial Care
 
Happy New Year Colleagues! I hope there was a pause for you over the holiday season and that you had some time for yourself and your beloveds. I was grateful to have that kind of time and for the seasonal rituals of looking backwards and looking forwards. If, as you look forward, you note that you are entering, or anticipate entering, a season of challenge or change, please remember that the UUMA has resources to support you. In addition to mentoring, coaching, continuing education opportunities, and collegial connections you can access, Good Offices is always here for you. There are numerous ways for you to connect locally or continentally. If you are ever unsure about what type of Good Offices might be best for you or how to connect, please let me know, and I will be glad to assist.

I’m proud of the work we have been doing to expand and strengthen Good Offices in recent years. We have made really good progress on an extensive revision to the Good Offices Handbook, and we are also preparing to launch our next Good Offices specialty team – the Good Offices Care Team.  If you have been thinking that you might like to give back to our colleagues by becoming a Good Offices person yourself, I’d be glad to speak with you about places you might share your gifts. We are especially in need of colleagues who might like to become part of our Dedicated Good Offices corps, and there are a range of ways to become involved in this important way that colleagues care for colleagues.

Something Extra

• How to Read Our Contract and Why it Matters: This session will be helpful for people in search this year, and all colleagues who would like to build their skills in reading their contract are welcome. Thursday, 2/8/24 2pm ET/ 1pm CT/ 12pm MT/ 11am PT/ 9am HT
   
• An Interactive Retreat for Religious Professionals Planning to Retire in the Next Ten Years: Monday, March 18 – Friday, March 22. Questions about the application process and/or this retreat can be directed to Mary Krigbaum, Retreat Registrar, at OCSF@uua.org.

Announcements:

• Congratulations to UUMA Administrator Hannah Franco-Isaacs on the arrival of Benjamin Franco-Isaacs, born Sunday, November 19, 2023, at 10:46am PT.  
   
• Rev. Connie Simon, Incoming Berry Street Essay Scribe: Read more. 
   
• Threshold Series: The First UUA Threshold Conversation to update, reimagine, and renew the work of Essex Conversations: Visions for Lifespan Religious Education has launched.

• Ministerial Search Webinar 2024
• Multigenerational Collegial Conversation
• Disability Justice Course Available 
• Introduction to Good Offices for UUMA Members
• 2023: Reflections on 50 Years of Ministry

• Betty L. Pingel (September 26, 1925 – September 6, 2023)
• Lewis “Lew” Herbert Dunlap (April 19, 1926 – September 7, 2023) 
• Joel Donovan Baehr (February 16, 1941 – September 22, 2023)
• Susan K. Weickum (March 28, 1948 – October 8, 2023)
• Carolyn Sheets Owen-Towle (July 27, 1935 – October 23, 2023)
• Cynthia Barnes Johnson (May 30, 1942 – November 13, 2023)
• Olivia Holmes (November 1944 – December 11, 2023)