We Look Forward to Seeing You Soon!

In just over 48 hours we will be gathering with you in Pittsburgh! All of our Ministry Days Events will be in the David Lawrence Convention Center located at 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. We look forward to welcoming you in our main space: Spirit of Pittsburgh Ballroom A. The Ballroom is on the third floor of the convention center and can be accessed directly from the sky bridge from the Westin Hotel. Registration opens at 2 pm in Ballroom A Foyer. There have been some slight changes to the schedule. You can access the current schedule here and we have included it below. 

It is always our intention that Ministry Days nourishes your spirit, engages your mind, and gives you space to just be. In order to show up as fully yourself as possible, we’d like to remind you of some ways we will be taking care of each other and ourselves. We will be giving everyone who has registered virtual access in case you want to attend virtually. Access information will be sent tomorrow. 

• Emergency Preparedness: We have created an emergency preparedness plan designed to help our staff and volunteers know the order of operations and roles involved in responding to any emergencies that could happen during Ministry Days. This plan will remain at the registration desk and will include a copy of contact information for attendees and their emergency contact. When you check in please double check that you have an emergency contact on file. If you have any questions about this plan, feel free to check in with a UUMA staff member or a member of the Board of Trustees. 

• Methods of Support: We are pleased to once again have wonderful colleagues forming our Care and Covenant Teams who will be available to you throughout MD. As part of our commitment to accessibility, we also have an amazing tech team of colleagues ready to help you as well as professionals from our production company VideoWest staffing a Virtual Access Help Desk. You can learn more about contacting the Care, Covenant, Tech Teams and our Virtual Access Help Desk here or through our virtual access portal.

• Making Ministry Days accessible for all: One drop of perfume or scent can make our event space a dangerous environment for some. Please leave your scents at home so you do not accidentally use it during morning preparations. Same goes for peanuts! More details on our plans for accessibility can be found here. If something additional would add to your experience, please let us know.

• Child Care: We look forward to welcoming your family in room 318 of the convention center. While there is no child care during the opening reception, there will be family friendly activities. Families who registered for childcare can find information about it here and also in their emails.

Collegial Connections  

Opening Reception: On Monday evening, after worship, please stay and join us for a welcoming reception in the South Terrace. We will have a chance to mingle and spend time together as colleagues. This is a family friendly event and children are welcome! 

Wednesday Lunch Table Talks: We are providing a simple lunch on Wednesday (if you have food allergies please check out the caterers allergen statement here) and are offering the opportunity for people to host lunch table talks. If there is a conversation you would like to have with colleagues at lunch on Wednesday, please let Hannah know. We will make placards to place on the tables to denote the focus of that table’s conversation.

Caucus Space and Sensory Space: There will be dedicated caucus spaces for our BIPOC, Trans/Non-Binary and Disabled attendees as well as a meditation/sensory break space if you need somewhere to decompress. These spaces can be found on the map of the convention center and will be open any time the UUMA is hosting programming. 

MeetUp: We hope you will continue to use MeetUp to coordinate informal time with your colleagues outside of scheduled program time. When you create a MeetUp, please remember that you are responsible for finding space and coordinating with the other people interested in attending. When you plan a meet up, please pay attention to inclusion and remember to attend to our accessibility guidelines for all UUMA events.

UUA Conversations: we are still seeking conversation topics an questions for our time with both the UUA President and Presidential Candidate. Please email Janette.

Getting Around Pittsburgh  

As a staff member’s 2 year old lovingly said, “I can’t wait to go to Pittsboo!”. Thanks to Rev. Kate Walker for her recommendations for restaurants and things to do around town. You can view Kate’s list here. We also know that finding Vegan and vegetarian friendly options might be a challenge so check out this list of Vegan friendly restaurants in Pittsburgh. In your spare time perhaps you’d like to explore fun things to do in Pittsburgh. 

Limited Baseball Shuttle: For those planning to attend the baseball game on Tuesday night, we have pooled the extra money saved by exceeding 100 tickets and rented a small shuttle bus. The bus will be available for those who may need assistance getting to the park. We anticipate it will take two trips (traffic willing at 6:15 and 6:45). Board member Nic Cable will be our bus captain. Please meet Nic in the lobby after the 25/50 program. Others wishing to carpool or share an Uber may also meet at the time to make connections and share resources.