PWR Newsletter - December 2023

Come to a PWR Holiday Party online – brought to you by your Transitions Team. It’ll be fun. You’ll get to meet lots of people in the entire region!

Just register here and join us either Saturday, December 16, 2023 from 12-2 PM Pacific/1-3 PM Mountain/10 AM-12 PM Hawaii/11 AM-1 PM Alaska or Tuesday, December 19 from 7-9 PM Mountain/6-8 PM Pacific/4-6 PM Hawaii/5-7 PM Alaska for a PWR holiday gathering hosted by your Transitions Team.

We will break into groups several times to allow you to meet different people. We will have ice-breaker questions if you want to use them. This is a time to socialize with UUs from a huge part of the US.

Let’s gather and connect at this year’s Regional Assembly! The UUA General Assembly will be all virtual this year, but we are hosting a Pacific Western Regional event where you can participate either in person or online. Regional Assembly will be held at the lovely First Universalist Church in Denver Colorado, on April 19th and 20th. There will be music and meetings, Keynote and conversations. More details to come. The Rev. Sarah Schurr is the staff working on much of the programing for this event. If you have any great ideas for our assembly, reach out to Sarah at sschurr@uua.org.

As part of our planning we ask that you fill out this survey. It is one way we can hear what matters to you.

The Award for Distinguished Service to the Cause of Unitarian Universalism (often informally referred to as the Distinguished Service Award) is one of the most prestigious awards given by the UUA. Recipients of this award have strengthened the institutions of our UU denomination, clarified our message in extraordinary ways, and exemplified what Unitarian Universalism stands for.

The Award Committee seeks nominations from throughout our Association so it may select from a broad range of the most exemplary leaders in our movement. The deadline for receipt of nominations is January 1, 2024.

Please visit this link for more information on how to submit your nomination.

February 2, 2024 to February 23, 2024

Central to our understanding of congregational systems is a grounding in the awareness that “everything we do is faith development; everything we teach is Unitarian Universalism and that the congregation is the curriculum.”
That expression, by Connie Goodbread, is the first part of going deeper into congregational systems, yet the second part must include an immersion into System Theory.

The “System Theory” Renaissance Module will:

Examine human beings as emotional, intellectual, and physical beings.
Discuss how everything humans create, discover, destroy, and build is born out of our humanity.
Explore and clarify what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist.
Discuss the human qualities that help and hinder the growth of the beloved community.

The overarching lens of System Theory will ground the experience and aid religious educators, and other religious professionals, to apply these learnings to their own professional context.

The Renaissance and Music Leadership Professional Development Programs provide Unitarian Universalist Religious Professionals learning communities within which they can easily access applicable skills and tools for religious leadership. Courses are also open to interested lay leaders.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Registration for this Renaissance Module is limited to 24 participants and will close on January 31, 2024. Register here.

January 15-February 14, 2024

Within each weekly theme, which will connect with one of our intersectional justice priorities, we plan to offer prayers, blessings, grounding, and meditative practices, a story or time for all ages, as well as a reflection from one of Side With Love's program and field staff.

To get an idea of what to expect or to enjoy some meditative breaks during your lunch this month, see last year's offerings at sidewithlove.org/30daysoflove2023.

Session 1: Monday, January 22, 2024
Session 2: Monday, Febrary 5, 2024

4:30pm PT - 6:30pm PT / 7:30pm ET - 9:30pm ET

Increasingly, our congregations are finding themselves the targets of online harassment, phishing, doxxing, and other forms of digital hate – often as a result of the ways we are embodying UU values in the world. Unfortunately, many of our UU communities do not have the skills and the infrastructure to protect themselves from malicious digital targeting that is constantly evolving.

Equality Labs' Digital Security For All Workshop is a dive into the world of digital security, and what that means for you and your organization. We will develop some common ground and shed light on types of attacks and security concerns that affect our communities, engaging with you at a strategic level as you plan for your organization.

We cover everyday, practical steps to mitigate online harassment, fraud, and other forms of cyber attacks. We look at how the data broker ecosystem coupled with open-source intelligence (OSINT) from social media increases security risks to individuals and organizations. We then look at key preventative measures including data broker scrubbing, phishing awareness, multi-factor authentication, password management, VPN, and other tools that can be immediately applied in anyone's daily lives.

Open to all congregational leaders but especially targeted to those who manage secure information such as congregational websites, social media accounts, databases, and communications.

Cost: $100 for congregational team of up to 5 attendees for both sessions. This cost is highly subsidized so we can bring this impactful training to our congregations.

Register your team of up to 5 attendees here.

Over the past couple of years, UUA Congregations and related organizations have seen an increase of outside threats and destructive incidences at our UUA congregations. In planning for ways to be supportive and affirming of your congregation’s ministry, it would be helpful to us to have a way keep track of these incidents.

We have designed a Congregational Incident form to help you help us keep track of these incidences. This simple form provides a way for congregations to inform the UUA of a threat or disruptive incident that comes from outside the congregation itself.

All forms come to the Safe Congregation Program email. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Compassionate Terminations
Involuntary terminations are never easy. We've created a new LeaderLab resource, Compassionate Staff Terminations, to help congregational leaders and staff supervisors ensure the best possible outcomes for the congregation while offering kindness and respect to the employee. Treating a departing staff member well is good not only for them but for the congregation.

Form I-9 Documents
Form I-9 provides proof of identity and authorization to work in the U.S. Verifying an employee's documents and completing the I-9 is a crucial legal aspect of the hiring process. You must inspect an employee's I-9 documents carefully. Expired documents, for instance, cannot be accepted. The I-9 Form was recently modified, and the new version is required as of last month. You'll find everything you need to know about completing I-9 forms at I-9 Central.

Congregational Salary Program Updates
Because so many congregations begin planning and budgeting for the next program year in the late fall, we revise our salary information in November for the following July through June. All of the updated resources can be accessed from our main Congregational Salary Program page.

Our Monthly Publication
Are you a leader whose responsibilities support staff (board, finance, personnel)? A supervisor of staff? A staff member eager to stay in the loop about employment-related information? Sign up for Compensation and Staffing News for monthly tips and resources on compensation, benefits, and personnel matters.

The work of spiritual community is complicated in the 21st century. The need for faithful leadership that is grounded and resilient is imperative. This is all the more true for leaders within our communities and congregations who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPoC). All too aware of this need, Congregational Life is excited to explore and co-create a network with congregational leaders that support them in this time in emergent ways through Taproot: A National BIPOC Space. BIPoC Leaders rooted in the Unitarian Universalist congregations are invited to take part in this monthly, virtual gathering. Second Thursday of the month. The last gathering of the year will be Thursday, December 14th at 8p ET/7p CT/6p MT/5p PT. Details and registration.

Trans, nonbinary, and other not-entirely-or-at-all-cis UUs are invited to join our monthly gathering, which we hope will feel like a cozy cup of something soothing (in virtual meeting form!). This intentionally multi-generational gathering is open to and welcoming of trans/nonbinary elders as well as children, youth, and young adults. Register here.

This gathering is intended to foster connection between trans/nonbinary+ UUs (and non-UUs who are ok with being in a UU-grounded space) to co-create support and community.

This is a closed event specifically for trans/nonbinary+ people. Anyone who is trans, nonbinary, metagender, multigender, genderfluid, agender, demigender, genderqueer, questioning, and otherwise not wholly or entirely cis is welcome to attend.

NOTE: There may be cisgender people present as parents supporting their 13-and-younger-child's presence in the space, as tech support, or as captioners.

However, if you are completely cisgender and not trans/nonbinary, please join other spaces supporting trans/nonbinary+ people that are open to all, such as our Side With Love Monthly Mixer or our monthly Faithful Grounding (click here for more info on each event.)

Have you heard of YUUP yet? The Young UU Project began in 2020 as a way for young UUs to keep in touch with each other and their faith during the pandemic, and is held by Lifespan Faith Engagement. The purpose of YUUP is to be a national community care network and multi-directional communication channel that centers BIPOC, trans/non-binary and neurodivergent youth and offers a transition zone for young people moving into emerging adulthood.

Anyone (youth, caregivers, religious professionals, lay leaders, everyone!) can tap into the social ministry of YUUP by following them on Instagram @yuup.uua and signing up for the YUUP newsletter. YUUP also has a community sphere just for youth, those who bridged in 2022 and support adults. These “Third Monday Meetups” are where youth swap ideas they can take home to their local communities. In August they swapped Favorite Check In Questions. In September they swapped favorite youth group games, which will soon be released on Instagram and in the newsletter.

Adult readers - We need your help connecting youth to this community! Please point them to UUA.ORG/YUUP to connect at whatever their capacity is.

UU young adults and friends from around the world are invited to attend our monthly worship service, held on the third Sunday of each month. Each month our Worship Team puts together a fabulous, faithful, spiritual program that reflects our faith and the fact that we are young adults. From our song choice, to the content of our reflections, this isn’t your traditional UU worship experience. So join us, and discover a different way to embody our faith. This is an intergenerational event, all people ages 18 and older are welcome to attend. Register here.

Do you know a youth who would love to ring in the new year in the mountains? Check out our upcoming Senior High Winter Camp. Campers will enjoy a week in the mountains with old friends while making new friends and welcoming in the new year with their “camp family!”

For those folks who seek other adventures, there are always plenty of choices for great things to do at Camp de Benneville Pines. Check out our events calendar for the 2023-2024 programming year.

Want to be the first to know about registration dates and more? Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list.

While global supply chain issues aren’t affecting industries as much as they have the last few years, we still recommend shopping early this holiday season. The
incredible booksellers at inSpirit have highlighted some great gift ideas in their holiday guide and they hope these suggestions will make your holiday shopping
easier so you can focus on the joys of the season. Free standard shipping on orders of $50 or more within the United States is available November 13th
through December 4th. Here are some favorites from the holiday guide:

Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families, edited by Peggy Gillespie—Groundbreaking in its depictions of joy and community, Authentic Selves celebrates trans and nonbinary people and their families in stunning photographs and their own words.

Chalice wooden bookmark—These striking wooden bookmarks have
been engraved with a chalice and flame design and an inspiring quote.

Homeland of My Body by Richard Blanco—A rich and intimate collection with new poems bookending Blanco’s selections from his previous volumes.

Remember Love: Words for Tender Times by Cleo Wade—From the beloved, bestselling author, a collection of prose and poetry that explores how we can find hope and love in hard times and strength in letting go.

Something, Someday by Amanda Gorman and illustrated by Christian Robinson—With inspiring text and powerfully stunning illustrations, Something, Someday reveals how even the smallest gesture can have a lasting impact. Ages 4–8.

Side with Love Scarf—Show your support for Side with Love with our new merchandise, including this new scarf, rainbow heart drawstring bag, baseball cap, mugs, and more.

Stoneware chalices—Handcrafted from stoneware clay, these stunning personal chalices are available in graphite, speckled gold, brown, and light green.