Unitarian Universalists in the BCD will have an opportunity to look into the future and explore what changing culture and demographics may mean to our churches and fellowships at the Spring Conference, April 24, First Unitarian Church, Providence, RI.

Changes in how people are approaching spiritual exploration, what people are looking for in churches, family structures, ways of learning, and the country's ethnic composition necessitate how we understand ourselves and how we "do church" if we are to remain relevant.

Through presentations and discussion-centered workshops participants can think about issues such as worship, multiculturalism, intentional development of multigenerational congregations, faith information, outreach and growth in demographics.  Participants will also have an opportunity to meet with the Committee on Appraisal to discuss what the CoA should study regarding ministry in our Association.  The registration fee for this exciting conference is $22 for adults and $7 for youth.

A new service is being launched with this conference - on-line registration with credit cards.  Go to http://bcdfaithforward.eventbrite.com/.  Standard registration and payment with paper form and check can also be used.   Conference information and mail-in registration forms have been sent to congregation offices, congregation lay leaders, staff and ministers, and posted on the BCD website, www.bcduua.org.  They can also be downloaded from the on-line registration site http://bcdfaithforward.eventbrite.com/ 

The District Annual Meeting will convene at 1:15 following the Conference.  Annual Meeting materials will be sent to congregation offices in early April.

First Unitarian Church is in an urban setting with primarily street parking. Conference hosts encourage individuals to car pool or consider taking the morning MBTA commuter train to the Providence station, which is just a short taxi ride away.

Recently UUA President Peter Morales announced in an open letter to the Association several organizational and staffing changes he has initiated to meet his objectives of supporting growth, advocating for compassion and justice, and supporting our religious professionals in their ministries in and beyond our congregations. These changes will take effect over the next several months and expect to be completed by July.

First, a new staff group, tentatively named "Multicultural Growth and Advocacy, will have responsibility for leading our growth into a multicultural future and advancing our work in advocacy. This new staff group integrates the work of two previous staff groups: Identity-Based Ministries and Advocacy and Witness.

A second new staff group, tentatively named "Professional Ministry," will bring together the work of the Ministry & Professional Leadership (MPL) and Lifespan Faith Development (LFD) staff groups to support our congregations and religious professionals (including ordained ministers serving congregations and in community ministry, religious educators, musicians, and administrators) in a more integrated way.

As a result of these organizational changes and the continuing reductions in income some staff positions will be reassigned and others will be eliminated. 

Have a short video you've posted on your congregation's website or YouTube?  Have a short DVD that is sent out to visitors or used to educate/inspire members about UUism, anti-racism and anti-oppression or social justice, religious education, lay leadership development or stewardship?  The GA Video Project Team invites congregations to submit their videos to be considered to be played during Plenary sessions at GA 2010.  Videos should be under two minutes, not violate copyright law in regard to music and images, be of high visual and audio quality. Submissions must include appropriate release forms for featured people and locations, and transcripts for captioning.  The GA Video Team is available to help.  Contact Tandi Koerger at Tkoerger@uua.org   Submit videos to https://www.formdesk.com/uuforms/GAVideos no later than May 14, 2010 

Each district is encouraged by the UU United Nations Office (UU-UNO)

http://uu-uno.org to have an Envoy to serve as a liaison between the district and the office. District Envoy responsibilities include: participating in monthly District Envoy conference calls; aiding with outreach to Ballou Channing congregations; planning and coordinating UU-UNO participation in district events and keeping the district informed about UU-UNO work.  If you are interested in learning more about this position please contact District Executive, Bill Zelazny   wzelazny@uua.org / 401-353-5334 or Holly Sarkissian at

Registration Open

Conference Registration and Housing Reservations are open for the 2010 General Assembly to be held June 23 - 27 in Minneapolis.  Go to

www.uua.org/GA for links to the forms and to get more information about GA and Minneapolis.

Delegate Packets

The UUAGeneral Assembly office has mailed delegate credentials to all certified congregations. Look for the bright pink envelope.  Please check to make sure that there is a credential card for each of your congregation's eligible delegates, and contact the appropriate parties the GA office www.uua.org/GA no later than June 4^th if any cards are missing.

The UU Service Committee, respecting the stated preference of the Chilean government to have aid sent through large international agencies or internal Chilean organizations, is not conducting a separate relief appeal.  The UUSC suggests donations be made through other agencies.  One recommendation is Un Techo para Chile (http://www.untechoparachile.cl/?page_id=999), a group doing work with families in slum communities.   

·         Universalist Convocation 2010

The Universalist Convocations, an Independent Affiliate of the Unitarian Universalist Association, will hold its annual convocation  May 14-16, 2010 at the  First Universalist Society of Rochester, NY. The keynote presenter will be the Rev. Mark Morrison-Reed, whose talk is titled "Dragged Kicking and Screaming to Heaven"  For more information go to www.nmuc.org/Convo.

·         Southeast Unitarian Universalist Summer Institute (SWUUSI)

SUUSI is an intergenerational "summer camp" of approximately 1,000 people who gather for a one-week experience of workshops, spiritual talks, worship and nature trips. The 2010 Institute, with the theme "Beyond Tomorrow", will be held at Radford University, Radford, Virginia, July 18 to 24.  Go to 

http://www.suusi.org for information and registration.

·         Ferry Beach

A variety of workshops and conference at historic Ferry Beach, a Unitarian Universalist Camps and Conference Center, are held between June 20 and September 6.  For a schedule of programs and registration go to

http://www.ferrybeach.org/ 

·         Star Island

A variety of religious and educational retreats and workshops are conducted on Star Island.  Programming begins June 12.  For conference listings go to

http://starisland.org/