Dialogue Session with the Board of Trustees: Have questions about the UUMA Executive search or any issues vital to our shared profession? Join the Board TOMORROW, November 14 at 4-5:15pm ET / 3-4:15 CT / 2-3:15 MT / 1-2:15 PT for the first dialogue session of the year. Click here to register and receive a reminder and zoom information.
Support for Trans and Non-Binary Colleagues and Religious Professionals: We remain fiercely committed to this important justice work, and we want you to know about 4 upcoming opportunities, with caucus options:
Information about Supreme Court cases and the LGBTQI+ Community with Sam Ames, Esq. MTS:
Immigration Justice: If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed with Immigration Justice issues, our partners at UU Refugee and Immigrant Services and Education (UURISE) are offering an online Justice Summit next weekend, Friday November 21 & Saturday November 22. Workshops will teach about current immigration challenges, different forms of organizing, art in the service of justice, and power/asset mapping in your community. Learn more about it and sign up here.
Something for the Journey
Janette M. Lallier, Director of Operations
I recently saw a bumper sticker that made me smile: “Change Lanes? I Will Never Change!” While it transported me back to my 17th birthday following a friend with a persistent turn signal along a very long and winding drive to the shore, it also made me think of my journey here at the UUMA. One of the things that has helped me stay engaged with my work here has been the constant opportunity to learn, to grow, and yes, to change. Not that it has always been easy, but as in life, ‘Change is Constant’ at the UUMA.
Something that has helped me navigate change was shared with me early in my voice studies by my dear and brilliant mentor, Betti McDonald. “Trust that you are exactly where you need to be.” While it took me years to fully understand the difference between NEED and WANT, it has become a maxim for me. And further, I have seen it hold true for the UUMA. From leadership change to leadership change, the right person has shown up! Each with specific talents, skills, passion and temperament that the association has needed, at the exact time, to move it to where it might go next. And each was more effective because of the person before. Like all change, it has not all been easy, but it has been transformative and brought us to this place.
And now we are in a new moment of change. While I look forward to the coming opportunities to thank Melissa for her years of service, today I am impressed, grateful and in a bit of awe as to how she has been the exact person for these last 10 years. Her constant discernment to her call and her partnership with me in this shared leadership team continues to help me trust that *I* am exactly where I need to be. And I trust that, as she moves to the next place she needs to be, the exact right person for the UUMA will appear.
I am grateful to the UUMA Board of Trustees for centering their commitment to shared executive leadership and including me in the search process. The Board’s call for applications for Search Committee members is below. If you might be called to this moment please apply. And, as always, thank you for your commitment to the ministry and the UUMA.
Important Search Information from the Board of Trustees
The UUMA Board of Trustees is working quickly and thoughtfully to create policies and processes to conduct a Search for a Director of Ministries and Programs who is a member of the co-led Executive Team. Their goal is to ensure a robust Committee reflective of the UUMA’s diverse ministries and ministers. As President Robin Tanner mentioned in her letter of Nov. 5, the Board has approved a charge and application process.
We expect the bulk of the committee’s work will take place December 2025 to April 2026. The first meeting of this team is currently scheduled for December 5, 2025 4pm ET, 3pm CT, 2pm MT, 1pm PT. The Board is looking for 2 members of the general UUMA membership to join the Search Committee. If you are called to add your voice to this committee please complete this application by Nov 26.
Something for Formation
The Ministerial Fellowship Committee meets December 3-7 and the MFN is pleased to be coordinating pastoral companions to the candidates who will have their interviews. If you are available to support one or more colleagues, reach out via email to MFN Program Manager Michelle Favreault for details.
Calling You to Meet the Moment: Contribute to the FACT Survey!Your congregation has received an invitation to participate in a national study of religious life in America. If your congregation has already filled it in, thank you! Please ignore this call.
This survey can be completed by you, a church administrator, a staff member, and/or lay leader. It will take approximately 20-25 minutes to complete. This link offers a PDF download of this 2025 survey, allowing many people to participate in providing the information before one person inputs it. Once you are ready, the live survey is here.
Your responses about your congregation are completely confidential and will contribute to a better understanding of UU congregations and how they operate. The deadline for completing the survey is November 14, 2025. Aggregate results will be shared about Unitarian Universalist congregations who respond before General Assembly 2026. — Patrice Curtis, UUA
Property & Casualty Survey and Contact Email:
Hugh Dennis, Church Staff Finances Deputy Director, urges an appropriate leader from every congregation to complete our Property and Casualty Insurance Survey. Your input will give us accurate, comprehensive information, helping us to better understand current lines of coverage and to identify future property insurance needs across congregations. The survey will close on November 21, and you may need to collect info you don’t have at your fingertips, so please do not delay!
We have a new UUA email address specifically for questions about property and casualty insurance: PropertyCasualty@uua.org
Upcoming Events
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.
“Change Lanes? I Will Never Change!” While it transported me back to my 17th birthday following a friend with a persistent turn signal along a very long and winding drive to the shore, it also made me think of my journey here at the UUMA. One of the things that has helped me stay engaged with my work here has been the constant opportunity to learn, to grow, and yes, to change. Not that it has always been easy, but as in life, ‘Change is Constant’ at the UUMA.