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News and updates from the Central East Region to keep your congregation informed.
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News and updates from the Central East Region of the UUA to keep your congregation informed.
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Opportunities for Connection
CER Update
~ August 2020
Quick Links
Featured Resource: Primary Contacts
Do you know who your congregation's primary contact is?

The Central East Regional (CER) has a primary contact staff system to ensure our congregations know who to reach out to for assistance. Every CER congregation and community has a UUA Staff Member who serves as your Primary Contact for all services of the region and the UUA. This is someone with whom you can build a close, working relationship, who will have an intimate knowledge of your congregation's blessings and challenges, and can be proactive in helping you to share those blessings and meet those challenges. Your Primary Contact can help you to navigate all the support and opportunities available to your congregation. Find your primary contact now.
Gathering Virtually this Fall
It’s never too late to bring your church online this fall! Maybe you never really figured out how to do virtual church, hoping the pandemic would blow by before you had to learn? There’s still time to bring your church online for the fall by checking out these Zoom guidelines and services. You’ll see how to purchase a discounted Zoom subscription, tips for better worship, avoiding unwanted intruders and all the rest. Don’t let more time pass by before being together virtually this fall!
UU Leadership Institute Provides a Variety of Training Options
During this time of social distancing, online learning opportunities are more important than ever! The UU Leadership Institute offers 2 core leadership trainings, Centered Leadership 1 for any active members of your congregation, and Centered Leadership 2 for current or potential leaders. A robust Lay Spiritual Care training opened last Spring. It will help your pastoral care team serve with confidence.  

Co-Creating Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity in our Congregations is a course that will help you feel more at ease in conversations across difference in your social justice partnerships. You will also find trainings on Volunteer Sustainability, Outreach, Organizing, and several UU History trainings including a History and Theology of Covenant. Training fees range from free to $30. Materials—including readings and recorded videos—are available on demand. For more information, visit www.uuinstitute.org or email info@uuinstitute.org.
    Update Your Leadership Please!
    It's that time of the year again. Your congregation has held its annual meeting and elected new officers, or it's on your schedule. You have new committee chairs appointed to lead your work for next year. But have you told anyone outside the congregation about these changes?

    To help the UUA and the Central East Region stay in touch with the leaders of your congregation we need YOU to update your leadership information on myuua.org. This is the same place you update your UU World lists. Need help? Let us know or check out the webpage with the details. Please note that you can make these updates at any time. Many congregations hold elections in the spring or late fall, but appoint new committee chairs in summer or early fall. Each event should prompt a review of what is listed in myuua.org to ensure it is up to date. Staffing changes should also be listed in this location.

    Need more details? Check our blog post on this topic from June 8th.
    Better Together Blog: These Certain Times
    by Rev. Megan Foley

    I see commercials sometimes that refer to these as “uncertain times”. I don’t know. I think things are becoming pretty certain. I think it’s pretty certain that we’re suffering, pretty certain that our neighbors and families are sick and dying, pretty certain that we’ll be living in troubled spaces for a long time coming. Pretty certain that our churches will be operating in a different way for a while. Not to say that everything about these times is always bad – more about that later on. But these times aren’t uncertain. It is certain that everything is being deconstructed. It is certain that the future is uncertain – but now seems pretty certain to me.

    News from the UUA
    The UUA will be closed for a summer holiday from July 27 through July 31.

    Need resources to help your congregation with the COVID-19 Pandemic and resulting issues?
    Please check the LeaderLab COVID-19 Resources and the Safe Congregations Team Resources. You can find the UUA Guidance on Gathering In-Person When COVID-19 Subsides on the UUA website.


    The Office of Church Staff Finances
    reminds us this is a time when we have a lot of staff changes is our congregations. Please check out their LeaderLab page on Compensation Standards and Resources which includes their Benefits Workbook to help you make sure you don't miss any deadlines. You'll also want to check out their From Starting to Parting document that provides advice on welcoming new staff, providing ongoing support and ensuring healthy departures.

    The Living Legacy Project
    is offering a series of virtual programs focused on voting rights, past, present and future on the last Tuesday of every month between May 26, 2020 and Election Day. These are free and open to everyone. Learn more and register at their website.

    The UUA has created a response fund for those who want to make a donation to help in the current COVID-19 situation. Please donate if you can. Visit the
    UUA website for details on donations and guidelines for how the funds will be distributed. The Disaster Relief Fund continues to support congregations affected by tornadoes, fires, hurricanes, flooding and other natural disasters as well. To learn more about the work of the Disaster Relief Fund visit their webpage. We are Better Together.

    Looking for speakers for your virtual services? The reality is that you can choose anyone regardless of geography. Many community-based religious professionals have developed a list to make it easier to find speakers. You can find it here. Also, don't forget to check out the CER Guest in Your Pulpit program, which includes both lay and professional worship leaders.


    New publications from the UUA
    - Available now for ordering is Widening the Circle of Concern: Report of the UUA Commission on Institutional Change, The Stonewall Generation: LGBTQ Elders on Sex, Activism and Aging, and Breaking and Blessing: Meditations by Rev. Sean Parker Dennison. Also available order is Stubborn Grace: Faith, Mental Illness, and Demanding a Blessing by Rev. Kate Landis and Held: Showing Up for Each Other's Mental Health by Rev. Barbara F. Meyers.


    The UUA is hiring for several positions. Find job descriptions and application information at their Job Openings  webpage.

    CER Events at a Glance
    The following events are upcoming in the region. For full details and a complete list visit the CER Calendar Page. Also, please note, if you are mailing a check to the regional office to pay for your rgistration, you must write the name and date of the event in the memo line. Otherwise we may not get it properly credited.

    Due to COVID-19 we are expecting all events in 2020-2021 to be virtual. We strongly encourage congregations to do your part to flatten the curve by supporting your congregants virtually through online conferencing, phone, email or letters and forgoing in-person meetings.

    • CER Youth Treehouse online program is in full swing! Registration open through August 31, 2020.
    • Middle School Virtual Summer Camp ~ August 3-7, 2020, for youth entering 7, 8 or 9th grade.
    • Adult Faith Development Online Renaissance Module ~ 5 session starting August 13, 2020, 2-4 pm ET.
    • Leading Change in Changing Times ~ online, with prework required, August 22, 2020, 12-3 pm, Registration closes August 16.
    CER Webinars at a Glance

    The following webinars will take place in the region the next two months. For full details and a complete list visit the CER Webinars Calendar.

    • CER Networking Calls. We will offer one more round of these calls the week of August 31 with a focus on congregation needs around the new church year.
      • Monday, August 31 at 4 pm with Megan Foley (Capital Cluster & Northern VA)
      • Tuesday, Sept 1 at 6:30 pm with Patricia Infante & Paula Cole Jones (Greater Philly & Central PA)
      • Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 5 pm with Sunshine Wolfe and Renee Ruchotzke (Ohio & Western PA)
      • Wednesday, Sept 2 at 6 pm with Pat Infante, Paula Cole Jones, Evin Carvill-Ziemer and Hope Johnson (Northeast PA, New Jersey, NYC, LIAC, MetroNorth)
      • Friday, Sept 4 at 1 pm with Evin Carvill-Ziemer and Renee Ruchotzke (Upstate NY)
      • Join by going to https://uua.zoom.us/j/98736004337, password is 202006.
    • The Stewardship and Development Office is hosting twice weekly Salons for congregations to drop in and ask questions about budgets and pledge drives. The days and times are below. See the webpage for connection info.
      • Mondays at 4 pm Pacific/5 pm Mountain/6 pm Central/7 pm Eastern
    Congregation, Cluster and Affiliate Groups News and Events
    Our congregations and clusters in the region have many exciting activities and announcements going on. For a complete listing of events, visit the CER Congregations and Clusters Calendar Page. For news from congregations, please visit our News Blog. For job listings from congregations check the UUA Job Board.

    • Murray Grove is celebrating the sestercentennial of Universalism in America. It will be the 250th anniversary of John Murray’s famous 1770 sermon in Thomas Potter’s chapel in Good Luck, New Jersey. They have created a digital toolkit, have events planned for the year and a gathering scheduled in October at Murray Grove. Details are on the Murray Grove website.
    • Several UU Congregations in CER are hiring Religious Education, youth ministry and other positions. Check the listings.
    If your congregation or cluster has news or events to share, please send it to us at bcasebolt@uua.org
     
    This work is made possible by the generosity of member congregations and individual donors. 
    Sent to: _t.e.s.t_@example.com
    Central East Region of the UUA, 100 W 10th Street Suite 1008, Wilmington, DE 19801, United States

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    Central East Region of the UUA
    100 W 10th Street Suite 1008
    Wilmington, DE 19801
    United States