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September 22, 2023

Something For the Moment

50 Years in Ministry Panel: Please join us for a screening of the complete reflections from our colleagues celebrating 50 years in ministry on Friday, September 29, 2023 at 3-5pm ET/ 2-4pm CT/ 1-3pm MT/ 12-2pm PT. A montage of their reflections was shared during the Celebration of 25 and 50 Years in Ministry at Ministry Days 2023. During this session, we will share their reflections in full along with a conversation among them and an opportunity for you to respond.

A New Chapter for Retired Colleagues: We are happy to announce that, in collaboration with a group of retired members, we have created a new chapter for retired members. Read the full invitation and find instructions to join the chapter here.

Opportunities for International Colleagues to Connect: We will be offering a few times for international colleagues to connect with each other, UUA staff and UUMA staff. Read the full invitation and register for a gathering here.

Something for the Journey
from Melissa Carvill Ziemer, Director of Ministries for Collegial Care

If we are to flourish in ministry or even just be all right, we have to be connected. According to the research from the Flourishing in Ministry project, there are three different types of relationships which are key to our well being: relationships with “significant others,” “similar others,” and “supportive others.”

Significant Others – We all learn about the importance of investing in and tending to supportive relationships with our friends and family, neighbors and community when we are in formation. We learn about taking care of our close relationships as essential to our self-care and an important part of maintaining good boundaries.

Similar Others – Ministry can be a strangely lonely vocation. We need collegial relationships with peers who understand our work. It used to be that UUMA chapters were one of the primary places for nurturing collegial relationships. These days we connect in chapters, in clusters, in study groups, on social media and in a truly wide and creative array of small group experiences. There is no one right way to connect with colleagues. What is essential is peer relationships. If those aren’t happening for you as robustly as you’d like, I’d be very happy to talk with you about how you might get more connected.

Supportive Others – These are the relationships with people who can help us with our ongoing development in ministry. Early on we have Ministerial Network Vocational Advisors, CPE and internship supervisors, and then in Preliminary Fellowship we have a mentor. Then we keep growing and changing. We need experienced supportive others to help guide us as we continue to develop throughout our vocational lives. The UUMA is a great place to connect with a coach* or a mentor* for any season in your ministry.

One of the beautiful things about the UUMA is that we make it together. We take turns giving and receiving, volunteering and participating, holding space and being held. Thank you for being part of this covenanted collegial community. We appreciate you and are so grateful to be together in ministry with you.

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Something Extra

Membership Renewal Reminder: The end of our grace period is coming up quickly and we are getting ready to send out a paper mailing. Want to save some paper? Please renew today if you haven’t already. We are still waiting on our installment system but don’t fret – we are working on it!

Pulpit Supply Database: Our Pulpit Supply Database builds on a listing created by Kimberley Debus and can assist you in finding Pulpit Guests for worship and leaders for rites of passage. When you are using this list don’t forget about our Scale of Fees.

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.