Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association (UUMA)

Subject: A Bold Intention Toward Beloved Community

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

September 11, 2026

Blessing on September 11 – 25 Years Later

25 years later,
we remember the bystanders and first responders –
those who rushed in, strangers helping strangers.
In a chaos driven by hate, Love emerged.
And the world forever changed.

25 years later,
We hold the dead in reverence
And offer blessings for the survivors and responders;
reminding ourselves and each other:
Return again to Love.

Something for the Journey

Michelle Favreault, MFN Program Manager

This time last year I was in a Forgiveness Group Facilitator training through the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard. Like so many wonderful continuing education opportunities out in the world for those of us in religious leadership, I found the engagement with the content as important as the chance to meet and work with people who share commitments to the work of repair and enhancement of individual and communal health. In the weeks ahead, I know many of us will explore themes of teshuva, repentance and how to “begin again in love” in worship and teaching. And every fall, it gets me to thinking about the complex history of forgiveness for Unitarian Universalists.

What do you think about and notice about prayers of confession and rites of renewal in our collegial community? What might you offer (or request?) as part of a community with liberation and love embedded in our values? The methodology I learned was grounded in an understanding that “forgiveness is the process of replacing ill will with good will towards an offender. This process involves reducing negative thoughts, emotions and behaviors toward a transgressor and increasing or replacing them with more positive ones.” Without a lot more contextualizing, I would guess that this is not an easy starting place for many of us who have experienced harm or caused harm.

This year, your UUMA program managers are working on ways for our offerings to help our faith and world move toward beloved community. I can imagine us arguing and celebrating and messing up and starting again, because that’s part of what we humans do – and I can imagine our hearts and minds changing, too. Meanwhile, we’re slower than we wanted with rolling out some initiatives. I know I’ve dropped balls, missed emails and tried to avoid a conflict or two, too. When we gather at ministry days next June, I hold hope that we might make liturgies that recognize the year long, life long work of forgiveness. But til then, may I forgive myself, may we forgive ourselves…and may our community of growth and learning make meaning as our spiritual care to the world, imperfect as ever because “forgiveness also does not mean giving up justice. Forgiving simply means desiring the ultimate good of the offender, and this can be done without excusing the wrongful action and while still pursuing a just outcome. Forgiveness can be an important, powerful, and freeing experience.” And getting free…well, there’s a bold intention toward beloved community if ever I’ve heard one.

[Alt text]

Something for Formation

MFN Mini-Retreats are coming up soon!

Theology of Calling – October 24 (3 hours)
Articulating Your Faith – October 25 (3 hours)

Mentoring & Coaching – Navigating Tough Conversations with Folks in Formation: Supporting folks in formation? Join us on October 22 at 2-3:30pm ET/1-2:30pm CT/12-1:30pm MT/11am-12:30pm PT for a gathering for intern supervisors, vocational advisors and mentors who want to learn more about supporting colleagues when differences of identity, generation, social location and perspective come up. We'll talk through some case studies and our UUMA guidelines when there are complicated conversations, power differentials and more!

Looking for other learning opportunities? Click here to see all the options available to you this fall.

[Alt text]

Something Extra

What You Missed Issue: In our last Weekly News we sent out an "in case you missed it" edition with things you might have missed over the summer. Read it here and stay up to date on the comings and goings at the UUMA!

Membership & Announcements: Membership renewals continue through the October 15 grace period, with waivers and installment plans available. If you moved or changed ministry settings this summer, please remember to let us know! If your S&H or Ministry Setting has changed since July 1 you may experience an invoice error. Please email [email protected] and we will be happy to send out a new invoice.

UUA Congregational Leader Conversations: Congregational Leaders – lay and ordained, staff and volunteer – are invited to the 2026-2027 Congregational Leaders Conversations. Each month, we invite leaders to be part of key conversations with UU leaders and others. How is our faith being lived today? What's happening, alive, and important?

Our first session is Tuesday, Sept. 15th, “Living Liberation by Challenging Detention” at 7:30pm ET/6:30pm CT/5:30pm MT/4:30pm PT with Revs. Erin Walter, Beth Johnson, Anya Sammler-Michael and Jamie Hinson-Rieger about organizing to witness against detention and state violence in TX, Chi, NJ and MA. Register here.

Resource for Board Retreats: The UUA New England Region offers this resource for your board retreats, based on the Deeper Joy framework they offer through Lifespan Faith Engagement.

[Alt text]

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.