Membership Grace Period Ending: All memberships, with the exception of life members, expired June 2024. Thank you to the over 940 of you who have renewed. Our grace period ends on October 15th. If you haven’t renewed by this date you will lose access to UUMA programming, member only resources and more. Renew today!
Preaching and Teaching in Defense of Democracy:If you missed our Defending Democracy gathering we would like to share this brief snippet of a conversation between our President, Leslie Takahashi, and our President-Designate, Robin Tanner, as they answer the question “How do you preach and speak in the public square in a way that honors the role that clergy have be trained to hold and respect?”
Resource Curation: Thank you to those who have shared resources to Defend Democracy. Have you recently led a discussion in your community or congregation about how to fight fascism? We are compiling some resources specifically for that, please share yours.
Something for the Journey
Janette M. Lallier, Director of Finance and Operations
Today, Oct. 4, is a special day for me – my Camino Anniversary. Six years ago, while on my last sabbatical, I had the incredible experience walking into Santiago de Compostela at the completion of the Camino Frances. Amazingly, four years later, on Oct. 4, 2022, I once more entered the city gates from the shorter Portuguese Way. Both times I was filled with deep gratitude for the gift of time away and the blessing of having a job that believed in the importance of rest, renewal, and pilgrimage.
While there are a number of philosophies for sabbatical, one common thread seems to be that of “transformative time away.” My Camino was certainly that. And, although I find it amazing that I have been at the UUMA long enough for a third sabbatical, I am greatly looking forward to the opportunity to rest, renew, and seek out the transformative experiences that will fuel my next season. And this time the planning for it all felt different.
At this summer’s Staff Retreat, we planned an afternoon playing together at the lovely Mosaic on a Stick. Exciting, right? I thought so! At least until I saw the little unorganized pile of shards next to a bottle of glue that was somehow going to make everything beautiful. Just like organizing my sabbatical I was surprised at how daunted I was to trust the process to transform the chaos. And then it happened… piece by piece, drop by drop, the glue held and the picture came into view. And just like that, turning back to the sabbatical plan I remembered my glue! My sabbatical begins on October 28 and I trust the glue – the fabulous UUMA Staff – to continue the transformation. For those of you who are curious I will be spending this sabbatical – returning February 5 – living as a singer: spending time bringing balance back to the physical aspects of life while remembering what called me to sing. Thank you for this opportunity to remember, renew, and transform and Thank You for the glue!
Something for Learning
Did you know that we have an excellent Communities of Practice Resource Guide? Is there a part of your ministry that would benefit from regular interaction with colleagues, so you can learn to do it better together? The UUMA staff would be delighted to support you in creating a community of practice; please contact Jan and Julica to get things started, and we will handle all the admin fiddly bits. Learning together for the win!
The Land of Lifelong Learning Hopes and Dreams: Join Lifelong Learning Manager, Julica Hermann de la Fuente, for a chance to share your hopes, dreams, and needs for your lifelong learning journey. Julica is offering several sessions. Find the one that best fits your ministry setting here. Don’t see a time that works for you? Email Julica your hopes and dreams!
Collegial Care in Anxious Times: During this challenging season in ministry, there might be times when you, the pastor, would welcome the blessing of pastoral care for yourselves. Director of Ministries and Programs, Melissa Carvill Ziemer, still has space available each week. Find a time here.
Obituaries and Death Notices: We are in the process of launching a new way of sharing death notices and obituaries of UUMA members. You will now find them included here (image below) as well as posted to the Remembering the Living Tradition blog.Please note that sometimes you may know that a colleague has died before we receive official notification. If you are concerned that we are missing a notice email Hannah.
Upcoming Events and Our Podcast
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.
For this week’s podcast episode we are glad to share our recent Collegial Conversation: All Things International with guests Rev. Alicia Forde and Morgan McLean from the UUA’s Global Connections office. You can listen here. Subscribe to our podcast here.
