Opportunities for Connection-CERUUA Update April 2019

Does your congregation need to fill a religious professional position (contract ministry, religious educator, membership staff, music director, or administrator)? Does your partner organization want to expand its staffing search to include UU professionals? Need to advertise a position? The process is easy: Simply fill out this form and it will send your announcement automatically to our staff who will post it to the board and notify you when that has been done.

Know someone who is looking for a position? UUA Jobs Board is the place to go to find listings of all types of congregational positions. The board can be sorted and filtered to types of positions (minister, religious education, music, administration, membership professional); location (such as state or region) ; size of congregation and more.

Do note that it is best if your congregation has a posting on your own website about your available position that we can link to, the descriptions on the job board are limited to 150 characters, including any web links.

Questions about this new resource? Check with your primary contact.

The Central East Region’s final remaining District began to close in March when the Joseph Priestley District voted officially to dissolve. You can see their goodbye letter [here.] We on the Central East and UUA staff want to honor the decades of service that the JPD has brought to Unitarian Universalism as well as the work that the Boards of recent years have put into the process of regionalization. Their evident care for congregations has made Unitarian Universalism better. Thanks to all of you!

Read the full announcement

Safety Conference, April 13, 2019, Pittsburgh, PA

This conference will cover a wide array of topics around safety, security, trauma response, and resilience in congregational life. To live is to be at risk. While we can never be 100% safe from harm, we can prepare for the challenges that our communities potentially face. From natural disaster to relational misconduct to cybercrime to pure violence, there are healthy practices that help our congregations remain resilient and strong to do the important work they do in the world. Please join us for this important event.

Keynote presenter is Rev. Aaron Payson speaking on Post Traumatic Growth & Community Resiliency – Learning to Thrive Beyond Crisis. Workshops will be presented on a variety of topics by CER staff.

Learn more and register at the CER website.

We invite you to join us for this year's Seaway Gathering ~ Drawing the Circle Wide: Pre-emptive Radical Inclusion, May 3-4, 2019 in Ithaca, NY.

Friday night Gould Discourse: Kids These Days: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Hope Again with Rev. Frances Manly

Saturday Morning Keynote Speaker: Pre-Emptive Radical Inclusion with CB Beal
Preemptive Radical Inclusion is a framework for liberation and justice to use when we are in positions of leadership, when we are given–or have taken–responsibility within a group or organization. Whether it is the formal and constant leadership of organizational leaders, or if the leadership is temporary for a particular event, our responsibility is to plan for, include, and involve everyone–broadly speaking–in our event.

Morning workshops cover a wide range of topics, co-hort conversations will take place during lunch and we'll bridge the graduating Upstate New York youth as part of our closing ceremonies.

Learn more and register at the CER website.

CER Summer Institute Hosts Dr. Ysaye Barnwell
Don't know about you but we've been dreaming of CERSI (formerly SI) during these dreary days of winter. Sunshine, old and new friends, engaging programming, worship, music. Ahh! This 40th year of magic promises to be especially memorable with our theme speaker Dr. Ysaye Barnwell, a power speaker and musician. Join us July 7-13, 2019 at Oberlin College, OH. Registration is open. More info at www.cersiuu.org.

UUMAC: one-week, residential family camp for UUs, including YOU!
Loved by kids of all ages, this is a peak life experience for those who have been in attendance. Not kidding! Located on an idyllic college campus in Central PA, someone else cooks AND cleans: vegan, vegetarian, omnivore, and with MANY and VARIED allergy requests. The children go to programming in the morning. You can have some free time or do a fun workshp with others. This year's theme talks are on Non-Violent Communication let by the Rev. Lora Kim Joyner. Check the YouTube video on the UUMAC website homepage for more information. Contact Ann Andrex, andrexes@comcast.net for detailed help or encouragement.

Murray Grove Retreat Center in NJ hosts Camping in the Grove August 4-8, 2019 for 4-7th graders.
Five days of fun-filled summer adventure for rising 4th through 7th graders at Murray Grove Retreat and Renewal Center. Camp is filling up fast! Don't miss out!

by Rev. Evin Carvill-Ziemer
If you are trans UU it’s possible the week has been pretty hard for you. So, I lift up this beautiful blessing by Rev. Theresa Inés Soto. Please soak it in, revel in it, and remember that while some may be hoping for education from you, the most important thing for you, and for us, is whatever you need to heal and get free. You do not need to educate anyone.

Since opening the March issue of the UU World, I’ve been thinking about Susan Davis. I met her when I joined the UU Church of Akron, Ohio. Susan was the kind of church lady involved in everything. She ran the local humanist group, was the treasurer of the Akron Interfaith Council, chaired multiple church committees, and was a white UU who showed up for every social justice movement. She carried herself with the kind of grace, dignity, and attention to appearance that reminded me of my elderly aunts.

Read the rest of the article

Did you know that UUCSJ and UUSC host visiting youth groups at our Cambridge office on Fridays in March, April and May? If your youth group is coming to Boston this spring and would be interested in learning more about the work and programs of CSJ and UUSC, please email us at info@uucsj.org or call us at 617-301-4347 to schedule a time.
If you are interested in having UUCSJ help you plan an extended youth visit that includes elements of our Activate youth justice programs, contact Angela Kelly at akelly@uucsj.org.

Because of the current situation at the border, UUSC and UUCSJ have been getting a lot of requests for support and solidarity and a lot of requests for volunteer opportunities. The landscape there is changing quite rapidly, so the UUCSJ/UUSC team has put together a google doc with a list of all opportunities to support asylum seekers at the border. It will be updated regularly. Please feel free to share or to point people here if they are asking for opportunities. bit.ly/BorderSolidarity.

New publications from the UUA - New from Skinner House books is The Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide, Sixth Edition, The Interfaith Family Journal by Suzan Katz Miller. The April Goodreads Book Club pick is As Long as the Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice from Colonization to Standing Rock by Dina Gilio-Whitaker (Beacon Press). Check the Publications Page additional reviews and book details. The page also lists suggestions for April's Poetry month and resources for Earth Day.

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

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 pay for your event to us, you must write the name and date of the event in the memo line. Otherwise we may not get it properly credited.

We are currently scheduling our summer Our Whole Lives Trainings and RE Week events. Check the RE Trainings page for up-to-date information.

OM Spring Youth Conference ~ Kirtland, OH ~ April 5-7, 219
Restorative Practices for Faith Communities ~ Oneonta, NY ~ April 6, 2019
Small and Mighty ~ Jamestown, NY ~ April 6, 2019
UU-UNO Intergenerational Seminar ~ New York, NY ~ April 10-13, 2019
Building Resilient and Secure Communities Safety Conference ~ Pittsburgh, PA ~ April 13, 2019
High School Our Whole Lives Cluster Weekend ~ Columbia, MD ~ April 26-28, 2019
Seaway Gathering ~ May 3-4, 2019
UNY Youth Adult Committee Meeting ~ May 17-18, 2019
Commissioned Lay Ministry Retreat East ~ New Harford, NY ~ May 24-26, 2019
Joint Board Training ~ DC Area ~ June 8, 2019
General Assembly ~ Spokane, WA ~ 19-23, 2019

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 and to see which congregations are hiring, please visit our News Blog for listings.

The latest Chalice Lighter Call is open, benefiting congregations in Titusville, PA, Wilmington, DE and Washington DC.
Ordination of Leonisa Ardizzone ~ April 7, 2019
To Being the World Over Again Movie Screening ~ Collegeville, PA ~ April 12, 2019
Singers Workshop ~ Media, PA ~ April 13, 2019
Annual Long Island Area Council Dinner and Workshop ~ Manhassett, NY ~ April 13, 2019
UU Buddhist Fellowship Annual Convocation, Garrison, NY ~ April 25-28, 2019. Registration is now open.
UUPLAN Annual Meeting ~ April 26-27, 2019. Registration is now open.
Seaway UUMA/LREDA Joint Retreat ~ May 1-3, 2019
Universalist Convocation 2019 ~ Murray Grove Retreat Center, Lanoka Harbor, NJ ~ May 17-19, 2019
New Hope Celebrates Pride Parade ~ May 18, 2019
Camping in the Grove at Murray Grove Retreat Center, Lanoka Harbor, NJ ~ August 4-8, 2019. Registration is now open.
Ordination of Rachael Hayes and Shari Halliday-Quan ~ June 9, 2019

If your congregation or cluster has news or events to share, please send it to us at bcasebolt@uua.org

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