May 25, 2023

Something For the Moment 

• June Neurodivergence Webinar: Claiming our Fullness: The seventh in our Supporting Neurodivergence in Our Congregations Skill Up series, this webinar will explore the intersectionality of being BIPOC and neurodivergent. Both of these identities require navigating systems that were not meant for them. Click here to read more and register for this program on June 9, 2023, 1-3pm ET/12-2pm CT/11am-1pm MT/10am-12pm PT. 
• Chapter Leader Orientation: If you are a new chapter leader or considering moving in to a chapter leadership position, this short orientation will help you know what is expected and where you can access resources to support your leadership. Click here to register for the event on Thursday, June 1, 2023, 2-3pm ET/ 1-2pm CT/ 12-1pm MT/ 11am-12pm PT
• Virtual MD Programming: If you are planning on attending Ministry Days virtually we need your help!  We are looking for folks who would like to present a spiritual practice or host a small group experience for virtual attendees.  If you are interested in participating in this way please contact Melissa Carvill Ziemer. 

Something for the Journey

I was looking for a quote for our virtual weekly meeting of our Elder Journey group, and I came across these words: “Whatever happens to you, you can either see it as a curse and suffer it, or you can see it as a blessing and make use of it.” At times this sentiment would have seemed very irritating to me—in this moment, I can see wisdom in Sadguru’s words.  So much has been the “whatever-happens-to-you” variety in these years, and for us as ministers, we have had to make this choice again and again.
 
In this context, we will gather for our Annual Meeting this month—and later for our Ministry Days. These gatherings can be seen as something to suffer through or something to be blessed by, and I am inviting you into the latter approach, especially as you consider our business gathering, which will be virtual on June 6 and June 8.  As we meet to discuss a few items of important blessings and get caught up with the larger frame for our collective work as ministers in this Unitarian Universalist tradition, how we show up and do the blessed democratic work of the UU Minister’s Association matters. As your elected board, we have designed the meeting to allow some time each day for connection with one another, and we invite you to engage with a heart prepared for blessings.
 
A special thanks to those who have done this through the dialogue sessions we have offered most months. Part of the time at the Annual Meeting is designed to hear your reactions to some of the themes that have arisen when we have asked what you need your Association to address to allow you to thrive and survive in ministry. As the world of organized religion changes and as the expectations and demands of our profession and call change within it, this is a critical topic around which your board seeks engagement.  Please come, and please attend; don’t leave when the small group spaces are launched. I know in the past, I have done that, feeling that I might not have it in me to talk to those I might not know or who might have a different frame than I have.
 
Your board invites you to take a risk of connection so that we might more fully meet this ministry era together. 

Something Extra

• PDF Version
• Audio Version (thanks to those who lent their voices to record the packet)