October 9, 2026

Something for the Moment

The revised Find A Minister is LIVE!

Over the past year, your participation and feedback have helped shape this relaunch. We've invested in a more intuitive design, improved search capabilities, and better ways to connect members with the services and support they need. We hope you'll explore the new Find a Minister, update your profile, and continue sharing your feedback!

You can find it here: https://uuma.org/find-a-minister/. Find A Minister (FAM) is the place we can go to find a minister for everything from mentoring and coaching, pulpit supply and officiating ceremonies, to leading a board retreat or consulting on religious education, and everything in between. You will be able to search by service type, ministry experience, and identity as well as geography.

We hope this will make it easier to find and support one another. Right now, FAM is available exclusively to UUMA members. We've also developed the infrastructure to offer subscriptions to individuals and congregations outside the UUMA and plan to begin testing these subscriptions this winter. If you know of any congregations who would like to test it, please let us know!

If you would like to know how to add or update your FAM profile you can find more info here: https://uuma.org/resource/fam-profile/. If you get stuck you can book a time to check in with Arran or come to our ‘FAM Office Hours’ on October 14 at 6pm ET/5pm CT/4pm MT/3pm PT, where we can look at our profiles together and have your questions answered.

If you have any feedback or need any other help getting set up, feel free to email arran@uuma.org.

Something for the Journey

Rev. Julica Hermann de la Fuente, UUMA Lifelong Learning Manager

Rev. Julica Hermann de la Fuente

I am very excited for the re-launch of the Find A Minister tool. Last year, we invited members to join our beta version of Find a Minister, build their profiles, and tell us what was working and what could be better. This spring, we brought that feedback together with our reimagining of mentoring and coaching through Support for All, making a significant investment in a more comprehensive, accessible, and easily searchable tool. Arran Morton has worked closely with our web developers to bring this new vision to life, and I'm excited about what it makes possible for our members and our ministries.

Until recently, if you needed a mentor or coach you would fill out a form and wait for someone on staff to connect you. Now, with the Find A Minister tool, you can reach out directly to each other and ask for what you need. You can also manage your own availability and capacity by updating your profile and letting others know what you offer and how to contact you.

Here on staff, we sometimes joke that the UUMA is a large congregation where we aspire to offer pastoral-size high-touch care and connection. I am hopeful that the Find a Minister tool will complement this high touch commitment with high tech support that gives us all more capacity and permission to name, seek and create what we want with and for each other. May it be so!

Thank you in advance for your grace, feedback and help making this tool a great resource for us all. As always, don’t hesitate to email support@uuma.org if you need help.

Something for Learning

This coming week is your last opportunity to sign up for Healthy Boundaries 101 – A 2 Day Training, which meets October 15 from 1-6pm ET/12-5pm CT/ 11am-4pm MT/ 10am-3pm PT and October 16 from 4-6:30pm ET /3-5:30pm CT/2-4:30pm MT/1-3:30pm PT. In this workshop, we will look at what every spiritual leader needs to know about relational boundaries, what boundaries are NOT, and how we can keep from violating boundaries inappropriately. This is an excellent offering for members in formation or anyone who hasn’t yet taken a boundaries training or needs a refresher. Read more and sign up here.

Join us in November for The Grief Altar: Ritual and Practical Support for the Grieving, November 5th & 12th at 8-9:30 ET/ 7-8:30 CT/ 6-7:30 MT/ 5-6:30 PT. The Grief Altar offers participants both the practical grounding and the ritual language needed to move through loss with more steadiness. Drawing on Rev. JeKaren Bell’s work as a certified death and grief doula and ritualist, each cohort pairs concrete planning tools with embodied, sacred practice, closing with a full ritual participants can carry forward on their own. Read more and sign up here.

Something Extra

Side With Love: Honoring 10 Years of Standing Rock: This October marks the 10th anniversary of the Standing Rock Water Protector Movement. Side With Love invites UUs to honor the movement, reflect on our shared commitment to climate justice, and explore what solidarity calls us to today. Join Side With Love in honoring the past and strengthening our commitments for the future.

October 12 | 8pm ET / 7pm CT / 6pm MT / 5pm PT
The Gathering: Honoring 10 Years of the Standing Rock Movement
Join Indigenous leaders and UU ministers for reflections on Standing Rock, energy sovereignty, and solidarity. Together, they'll explore the movement's lasting impact and the work of protecting land and water today. Register Here
October 21 | 7pm ET / 6pm CT / 5pm MT / 4pm PT
Defending Public Lands: Green Sanctuary 2030
Join Deb Cruz of JUUstice WA for a conversation about protecting public lands from logging, fossil fuel development, and other extractive industries. Learn about current challenges and opportunities for faithful action. Register Here

UUA Benefit Plans & Services Newsletter: Stay informed about important benefits information and resources! The October issue of the UUA Benefit Plans & Services Newsletter includes recordings of Property & Casualty Insurance town halls, retirement plan reminders for employers, and upcoming 2027 Health Plan Open Enrollment webinars on Oct. 13 and 27. Whether you are involved in managing benefits for your UU organization or participate in these programs, this newsletter is a valuable resource. Sign up to receive future issues and stay connected to important updates, deadlines, and opportunities.

A Friendly Reminder About Email Scams: We've noticed an increase in phishing emails and wanted to share a few reminders to help keep our community safe. The UUMA will never ask you to purchase gift cards or make unexpected financial transactions, and we will not send documents for your signature without prior communication about what you're being asked to sign. Be especially cautious of unexpected emails claiming to contain signed documents, signature requests, invitations, or greeting cards, and always check the actual sender's email address, not just the name displayed. If you receive a suspicious message appearing to come from a UUMA email account, please contact us so we can help verify the message and alert the account holder if necessary. For more information about recognizing suspicious emails and protecting yourself from scams, visit the Federal Trade Commission's helpful guide, How to Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams.

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.