| 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 ~ July 2023
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| CER Chalice Lighter Program Revamped!
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Change can be challenging and disorienting but can move us to a better place. The Central Eastern Regional Chalice Lighter Program Committee wants to share with you news of the exciting, transformative changes to the program.
These changes will make the program more responsive to the needs of our congregations, covenanting communities, and groups of congregations, regardless of size or location.
- We have reduced the paperwork.
- We have
expanded the range of grant sizes. Regular grants can range from $10,000 to $20,000, depending on the project.
- We have reduced the matching amount required. Grants can be made for up to 80% of the cost of a project.
- We have eliminated rigid categories and will look for the congregation to make the case that their project will increase their vitality and capacity to serve their mission, is viable, and meets the goals of the CER Chalice Lighter Program.
- We’ve adjusted the submission calendar so that it works with the fiscal year schedule used by most of our congregations.
If you think your congregation has a project that one of these grants can help fund, please check out the Grants FAQ page. The next Intent to Apply deadline is August 1 for grants to be given out in November.
If you would like to support congregations that are growing and doing outreach, please sign up to be a Chalice Lighter!
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Helpful Habits Board Retreat
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August 5, 2023, 9-12 pm ET, online, $15 per person. Registration is open!Help your board follow good decision-making processes by developing helpful board habits. Self-paced pre-work will include frameworks such as governance, conflict and change dynamics, cultural competencies, fiduciary responsibilities, efficient meetings, mission-based budgeting and decision-making,
self-differentiation and boundaries, and spiritual grounding. In the live session you will be able to engage with board members from other similarly-sized congregations as you work on case studies and creative problem solving. You will also be given planning tools for a self-directed goal-setting session.
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Our Whole Lives Trainings for Elementary and Adult Age Levels
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Our Whole Lives Facilitator Training for Elementary Levels, August 11-13, 2023, York, PA. Registration is open! Our Whole Lives Facilitator Training for Adult Levels, August 11-13, 2023, York, PA. Registration is open! Our Whole Lives (OWL) is an excellent, comprehensive sexuality education program that offers participants the opportunity to explore their values and gain accurate information about topics that are often not easily accessible. The overall goal of the Our Whole Lives program is to help participants gain the knowledge, values, and skills they need to lead sexually healthy, responsible lives. The goals of this workshop are to prepare the participants to implement the curriculum as well as the Sexuality and Our Faith component. Through a varied program
including practice and participation activities, the trainers will cover implementation techniques, curricula details, and technical information. You can see all trainings, including online trainings, at the UUA Our Whole Lives Facilitator Page.
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Leading Large: Board Training
for Large Congregations
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Are you a board member of a large “corporate” sized congregation with multiple staff focused on mission, policy, and strategy? Your LeaderLab team is offering a training especially for you! Self-paced prework will include frameworks such as Hotchkiss's Governance and Ministry partnership, conflict and change dynamics, cultural competencies, fiduciary responsibilities, efficient meetings, mission-based budgeting and decision-making, self-differentiation and boundaries, and spiritual grounding. In the live session you will be able to engage with board members from other large congregations as you work on case studies and creative problem solving. You will also be given planning tools for a self-directed goal-setting session. Saturday, August 26, 12-4 pm ET. Pre-work will
be available on August 1. $200 per congregational team. Registration is open!
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Leaders: Mark Your
Calendars for Next Year’s CER Skill Ups
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The Central East Region team is excited to announce our monthly Leadership Skill Ups for Changing Times series next year! These are drop-in calls for all congregational leaders where you can learn a new skill - or fine tune an old one - with CER staff and other leaders doing similar work in other congregations. Join us on Thursday, September 7th at 7 pm for our worship service launching the year. Calls alternate monthly between Tuesdays and Thursdays – mark these dates on your calendars and stay tuned for topics as they emerge – and let us know what topics would be helpful to you. All times are 7-9 pm ET.
Thursday, September 7th: Gathering Worship for Leaders in Changing Times
Remaining dates: Tuesday, October 3rd - Thursday, November 9th - Tuesday, December 5th - Thursday, February 1st - Tuesday, March 5th - Thursday, April 4th - Tuesday, May 7th. The link to join the Skill Ups will be provided in August's newsletter.
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UU Networkpalooza - Chesapeake Area
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Have you ever longed for a chance to talk with leaders from other congregations who are doing the same work you are? Do you find yourself at workshops just wishing you could pick the brains of all the other worship leaders/justice seekers/treasurers/Board presidents/membership teams in the room? Are you interested in an opportunity to enhance your work in your congregation by learning what others are doing in theirs?
Networkpalooza is a time to treat yourself to dedicated time to talk to others who are helping their congregations the same way you’re helping yours.
Join us September 23, 2023, online, from 1-4 pm ET. Registration is open.
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| Upcoming Renaissance Online Renaissance Modules
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Dimensions of Faith Development Renaissance ModuleC o-led by Lillian Drab-Braddock and Nancy Combs-Morgan, Congregational Life Consultants in the Southern Region of the UUA and grounded on the original work of Natalie Briscoe.
Meeting online, four Tuesdays, starting August 15 from 12-2 pm ET. Registration closes August 9.
System Theory Renaissance Module
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 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 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.
Meeting online, four Fridays, starting September 8 from 12-2 pm ET, online. Registration closes September 1.
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| Save the Date: Upcoming Fall Events!
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Fall events are being planned now, so start marking your calendars! National Safety Training, October 20, 2023, sponsored by the UUA Safety Team. Details and registration available in early fall. New York State Convention of Universalists Annual Meeting, October 20 and 21, 2023, at the UU
Congregation of Binghamton, NY. Keynote Speaker is Rev. Verdis LeVar Robinson, speaking on "The Audacity of Universalism". Details available beginning August 2023 at their website
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| Better Together Blog: The Spiritual Practice of Untangling Perfectionism, Urgency, and Individualism
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by Rev. Evin Carvill-Ziemer
This is a story of two moments online and how some of the ways we white UU’s show up can cause harm. I want to tell this story now because in two moments there’s something in the pattern of how we show up together. Next week’s General Assembly (online and in person) is both a chance for these patterns to pop up and a chance for us to practice how we show up. (It’s also a chance for BIPOC UU’s to gather in numerous ways, look for a summary at the end of this blog.)
Would you like to receive this weekly blog in your inbox? You can! Sign up!
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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 registration, you must write the name and date of the event in the memo line. Otherwise we may not get it properly credited.
If you are looking for Renaissance Modules for Religious Educators or Our Whole Lives Trainings,
check the full calendar on the UUA website.- CER Summer Institute ~ July 9-15, 2023 ~ California, PA. Registration for Virtual Attendance and the Young Adult weekend remains open.
- Helpful Board Habits Retreat ~ Saturday, August 5, 2023, online, for Board Basics training for new and returning board members.
- Our Whole Lives Training of Facilitators for Elementary Levels (K-1 & 4-6) ~ August 11-13, 2023, York, PA
- Our Whole Lives Training of Facilitators for All Adult Levels ~ August 11-13, 2023, York, PA.
- UUA Board Meeting ~ August 15, 2023, 7 pm ET online. Register for the meeting.
- UUA Board Open House ~ August 15, 2023, 7 pm ET online. Register for the meeting.
- Dimensions of Faith Renaissance Module ~ Tuesdays, August 15, 22, 29, Sept 5, 2023, 12-2, pm ET, online
- Leading Large: Board Training for Large Congregations ~ Saturday, August 26, 2023, 12-4 pm ET online.
- Systems Theory Renaissance Module ~ Fridays, Sept 8, 15, 22, 29, 2023, 12-2 pm ET, online.
- UU Networkpalooza - Chesapeake Area ~ Saturday, Sept 23, 2023, 1-4 pm ET.
If your congregation or cluster has an exciting project that could use funding from our Chalice Lighter Program, our next Intent to Apply deadline is August 1 for grants to be awarded in November, 2023.
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The Three C's of Staff Relations Training
Good staff relations are a vital element in supporting healthy and vibrant congregations. Whether you are in a new transitional ministry position or serving a congregation where you are settled, connecting to and building collaborative relationships are of primary importance. The Guild of Interim Religious Educators invites you to explore “The Three C’s of Staff Relations – Covenants, Conflict, and Communities.” , September 28, 2023; 11:00 – 2:00 ET. Congregational professional staff are invited to attend as a team or as an individual.
Flower Communion Resources in honor of the 100th anniversary of flower communion can be found on the UUA website. They include music, readings, and an in-depth conversation with Rev. Dr. Petr Samjosky, who serves as minister of the Prague
Unitarian Congregation.
The UUA has a Disaster Relief Fund for those who want to make a donation to help congregations who have faced losses due to tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires and more. Please donate if you can. To learn more about the work of the Disaster Relief Fund visit their webpage. If your congregation needs assistance, you can apply for a grant on that webpage. We are Better Together.
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| Congregation, Cluster and Affiliate Groups News and Events
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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.
If your congregation or cluster has news or events to share, please send it to us at bcasebolt@uua.org.
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This work is made possible by the generosity of member congregations and individual donors.
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Sent to: trevawb@gmail.com
Central East Region of the UUA, 100 W 10th Street Suite 1008, Wilmington, DE 19801, United States
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