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 | A Holiday Wish |
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A Holiday Wish
The Board of Directors and staff of the Ballou Channing District send our greetings and best wishes for tranquility, happiness and good cheer. Looking back we see that in 2010 congregations in the district experienced both challenges and good fortune. And we can be pretty sure that 2011 will have times when we will be tested and times when we will know success. May we then be able to live in the moment, find the strength to restrain our anxieties and fears, and joyfully celebrate successes. And may our faith keep us moving forward in all that we do.
For the Board and Staff,
Rev. William Zelazny,
District Executive |
| Staff Changes in the District |
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There are some changes in the district staff beginning this month. The position of Religious Education and Youth Ministry Consultant has been eliminated and in its place two new positions have been created.
Peter Bowden, who has been serving as the BCD Growth Consultant has an expanded role in the district. He has been named the Congregation and Faith Development Consultant. In this new position Peter will be responsible for developing programs and engaging in consulting to assist lay leaders, ministers and staff develop healthy and well-functioning congregations. He will plan, arrange for, facilitate, and/or present workshops and provide resource information on church organization development, life span religious education and faith formation, growth strategies and ministry to youth. He will also serve as advisor to the District about website and new media operations.
Diane Elliott, a professional religious educator with over 20 years experience serving congregations and a graduate of Andover Newton Theological School, has been engaged as the District's Religious Professional Development Coach. In this new position Diane will be available work to support and strengthen lifespan religious education ministry through one-on-one coaching and developing networking opportunities for religious educators. Her portfolio also includes providing resource information to religious educators and assisting the Congregation and Faith Development Consultant develop training programs at the district level or in cluster settings for individuals involved in faith formation.
Additional information about these new positions will be sent to congregation leaders and staff in January.
Jack McGilvray, District Administrator and Julianna Dunn, Program Associate will be continuing in their current positions. |
| January and February Workshops and Events |
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· Developing Congregations of Generosity. A Stewardship Workshop designed to help congregation leaders develop strategies for stewardship and generosity in their congregations. Laurel Amibile and Rev Bob Thayer are the workshop presenters. Information fliers will be sent to congregation offices
January 29, 2011 9:30 a.m. -- 3:30 p.m. at (Check-in and refreshments at 9:00 a.m.)
Second Parish in Hingham.
Fee: $10 per person including lunch and materials payable at the door.
Register on line at http://bcduua2011generosity.eventbrite.com/ using credit card, or by mail with check to the BCD Office, 325 West Elm St, Brockton, MA 02301 by Tuesday, January 25, 2011. Include name, address, phone number and email address.
· Cranberry Cluster winter gathering. A social event that includes dinner followed by a program for members of congregations in the traditional Cranberry Cluster. The program will be a speaker from the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.
February 3, 2011 6:30 p.m.
First Congregational Parish UU in Kingston.
Reservations required -- call the Kingston church office:781-585-3051.
· Creating the Beloved Community for all Children. A workshop for religious educators, ministers, youth advisors, teachers, religious education committees, congregation leaders and all congregation members who want their church to be welcoming to all children, regardless of their ways of learning, being, communicating and moving. The workshop will focus on addressing the education and pastoral needs of children with special needs and their families. Information fliers will be sent by early January.
February 12 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Location to be determined
Fee: No fee, but advanced registration required. Register on line at http://bcduua2011sallypatton.eventbrite.com/, or by calling the BCD Office at 508-559-6650 by Wednesday, February 9, 2011 and giving name phone numbers and email address.
In the event a BCD workshops needs to be cancelled due to snow registered participants will be contacted by e-mail the Friday before the workshop.
BCDers are also welcome to attend MBD/CBD workshops offered in the Mass Bay and Clara Barton Districts.
· Creating and Revitalizing Lay Pastoral Care Teams Training. A workshop to help congregations create, update, or re-energize their lay parish and pastoral caregivers programs. The workshop will explore the differences between parish care (cards, casseroles, rides) and pastoral care (visiting and longer-term support), examine the minister's role in pastoral care, the ministry of lay people to each other, and provide information about organizing or revitalizing a pastoral care program. Rev Sue Phillips, MBD/CBD District Executive, will be the presenter.
January 29 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel, Springfield, MA
Registration: $75 pp; $300 for congregation team of 4-6
Information and registration at http://cbd-mbd-uua.org/content/creating-and-revitalizing-lay-pastoral-care-teams-training-cbd
· Renaissance Module: Multicultural Religious Education. This workshop, one of the series of religious education training workshops, focuses on preparing religious educator, ministers, seminary students, religious education committee members and others to address the issues of, and work in, a diverse world
February 25-26
Walker Center, Auburndale, MA
Fee: $275
Information and registration at: http://cbd-mbd-uua.org/content/renaissance-module-multicultural-religious-education |
| New Congregation Linkage Initiative by the UUA Board of Trustees |
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The Unitarian Universalist Association Board of Trustees voted at their last meeting to initiate a two-year project to engage congregations and other stakeholders in developing a shared vision for the UUA. The project will use the Appreciative Inquiry organization development process.
The goals of this project are to deepen the UUA's understading of
congregations' values and aspirations and to use those values to develop a vision
for the denomination's future which will subsequently shape and direct future
strategic and operational decisions.
According to the proposed timeline, planning and training for the project will take place between now and the summer of 2011, with a denomination-wide introduction to Appreciative Inquiry around the time of the General Assembly in June 2011. Clusters of congregations are anticipated to meet with Appreciative Inquiry facilitators in early 2012, with the UUA board and staff developing a shared vision statement using reports from the congregation clusters during the board's April 2012 meeting.
The board is using the Appreciative Inquiry process as the means to achieve "linkage" in Policy Governance terms. In Policy Governance, "linkage" refers to supporting relationships between the board and its "sources of authority and accountability. |
| A Letter from the BCD APF Chair to Congregations |
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Dear Officers, Ministers and lay leaders and all members of our congregations:
First, we want to thank those congregations which have either begun to contribute to the 2011 Annual Program Fund, or sent a pledge indicating the amount of one's contribution - or both. If your society has not sent in its pledge, please look to doing it as soon as possible. This is an urgent matter, for the Association banks on getting a broad picture of our finances from each of our societies' pledge estimates.
The pleasing result from 2010 (last year) consists in the astounding fact that our BCD congregations grew their collective APF contribution over the prior year by approximately $1,700. And the number of non-paying congregations dropped to five from seven. This means progress is happening. And pointing to the UUA's APF total for last year, the amount came in at nearly the exact same amount as the prior year - 2009. We cannot but be glad that our congregations have kept their eyes on the prize, so to speak, of making sure that this recession does not undercut our mission and goals. This year the trend of our APF giving based on the same $56 per member as last year, is moving along at about the same rate both for our BCD and for the UUA.
Yet the fact is that no two congregations are identical, nor deal with the same comeuppances. This means that there is no one answer as to what helps any one congregation deal with local funding. For example, poor morale becomes a mine-field which can trip up the members' stewardship. An answer consists in going into one's vision and mission statements and re-affirming, openly re-affirming what one is here to do. This lifts morale. It answers the question, "What in the world are we here for? What are the points of our mission?" It gets at the point and lifts morale.
But the other help comes from joining a stewardship workshop at which we can put our heads together and get rejuvenated. A workshop is planned for January 29, 2011 at Second Parish in Hingham, MA from 9:30 to 3:00. Why not sign up, register early, either on-line at http://bcduua2011generosity.eventbrite.com/ or by mail sending in the registration fee along with your name, street address, phone number and email address, and plan to get a leg up on one's local stewardship challenge? Our leaders are Laurel Amabile, of the UUA's Department of Stewardship, who is nothing but the best stewardship facilitator, and yours truly, Rev. Bob Thayer, whose motivation comes from Emerson: "Money is like a flower. When we talk about it as the work love, it is nothing short of pure beauty."
Sincerely,
Rev. Bob Thayer, Chair,
Ballou Channing District Committee |
| Congregation 2011 Membership Certification |
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The UUA data services office is reminding congregations that the deadline to complete the annual membership certification process is Tuesday, February , 2011 at 5:00 pm PST. Congregations can do this easily by using the UUA's online system, my.UUA.org.
The certified membership number is the basis for determining the number of voting delegates for congregations for General Assembly 2011, and for the BCD Annual Meeting and for calculating the congregation's Annual Program Fund Fair Share for FY 2012. The reported adult membership, religious education enrollment and Sunday attendance is used by the Association to determine the Association's official membership and progress on growth initiatives.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Certification process can be found at: www.uua.org/leaders/dataservices/faq.
Each congregation should have at least one individual authorized as a UUA Data Services Updater who can use the my.UUA.org online system to certify their membership numbers. Authorized users with confirmed accounts can log in at First-time users of my.UUA.org can register at my.uua.org/accounts. Congregations using the my.UUA.org system can be assured that their congregation's membership number will be recorded by the February 1 deadline. The deadline is firm and membership numbers cannot be changed except for special circumstances until after July 1.
An alternative method available only until the end of 2011 is to use the shared congregation account system. A congregation can go to the Data Services Login for Congregations at: dyn.uua.org/congregation and use their congregation ID 4-digit ID number to log into complete their report.
For questions not addressed on the FAQ page, or to get information about certifying by paper forms via postal mail, contact Nick Rafeal at or 617-948-4654.
my.uua.org/contactinfo. |
| Job Opportunities |
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· Music Director / Pianist / Organist - All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church of Braintree is recruiting for a part-time director able to provide wide range of music in different styles and conduct an 11 members choir. Salary range: $6000 - $6500 / year. Open until filled. Information about the church at
at www.allsoulsbraintree.org
Position posting at http://allsoulsbraintree.blogspot.com/p/job-openings.html
· Director of Religious Education - First Parish Church in Plymouth, Massachusetts is seeking a half-time Director of Religious Education. Salary is commensurate with experience and education and is consistent with UUA fair compensation guidelines. Start date is early 2011, exact date to be negotiated. A complete position description is available at http://www.plymouthuu.org/documents/DRE_Posting.pdf
· Holdeen India Program Director - Unitarian Universalist Association, Boston (preferred) or Washington, DC. The director oversees the Unitarian Universalist Holdeen India Program (UUHIP), whose mission is to work with organizations of people in India who are marginalized or oppressed to support and strengthen these organizations' efforts to promote economic and social justice, human rights and long-term changes in power relationships Position description at http://www.uua.org/documents/hr/jobdescriptions/ir_holdeen_director.pdf
· Director of Congregational Development - Clara Barton and Massachusetts Bay Districts (CBD/MBD), Location open. The director works to build the capacity of UU congregations in the Clara Barton and Mass Bay Districts to be healthy, covenantal and purposeful in fulfilling their spiritual mission through consulting with the congregation and developing programs. Position description at http://www.uua.org/documents/hr/jobdescriptions/ds_dir_cong_devel_cbmb.pdf |
| Allies for Racial Equality 2011 Annual Conference |
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ARE's 2011 annual conference has the theme"Commitment in Action." The Conference, Friday and Saturday, March 25 and 26, 2011, will offer Unitarian Universalists who identify as white the opportunity to develop and further their anti-racist and anti-oppressive analysis and practice. The Unitarian Universalist Church of Fort Myers in Fort Myers, FL is hosting the conference. A block of rooms have been reserved for participants at a nearby La Quinta Inn and Suites. A special rate of $99 for a room with 2 queen sized beds will be available for anyone who books their room by February 25, 2011. Free shuttle transportation to and from the airport, breakfast and wifi are included in the room rate. To reserve a room, please call La Quinta at 1-239-466-0012 and ask for the rate for the ARE conference.
A complete brochure introducing the conference leaders, describing the workshops and outlining the schedule will be available on the ARE website,
on January 15, 2011. The cost for the conference is $125 or $75 for students and an additional $25 for the pre-conference training day. |
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UUA Ministry and Faith Development
Seeking Congregations to Test New Cirriculum |
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The Resource Development office of the Ministry and Faith Development Staff Group is looking for congregations diverse in size, location, and culture to field test the newly prepared Tapestry of Faith Junior High Program, Heeding the Call: Qualities of a Justicemaker by Nicole Bowmer and Jodi Tharan. In this curriculum youth are encouraged to view themselves as agents of change in the world as they develop qualities crucial to justice work. View Heeding the Call on the Tapestry of Faith website, http://www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith/index.shtml Contact Alicia LeBlanc at the UUA,
to apply to be a field test congregation. |
| Grant Opportunities |
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The U.U. Funding Program may be a source of funding that strengthen Unitarian Universalist institutional community life and nurture and celebrate our liberal religious heritage or to support or increase the direct involvement of Unitarian Universalists in service, advocacy and community organizing. Grants range from $1,000 to $20,000. Go to
for more information about eligible programs and projects and the application process |
| William Schulz Named New UUSC President |
| | The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, an independent human rights organization, recently announced that it had chosen the Rev. Dr. William F Schulz as its new president and chief executive officer. Schulz, a former president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, had been serving as the UUSC's interim president and CEO since March, 2010. For more information about UUSC, its programs and advocasy activities, go to
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| Calendar |
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2010
Dec 22-Jan3 BCD Office Closed - Christmas
2011
Jan 4 BCD office opens
Jan 7-8 Regional Meeting of New England District Boards
First Church of Nashua, NH
Jan 28-29 BCD Board Mid-year Retreat
First Parish, Brewster, MA
Jan 29 Stewardship Workshop 9:30-3:00
Second Parish, Hingham
Jan 29 Creating and Revitalizing Lay Pastoral Care Teams Training*
(Mass Bay/Clara Barton Districts workshop) 9:00-2:00
Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel, Springfield, MA
Feb 3 Cranberry Cluster Social Gathering 6:30
First Congregational Parish UU Kingston, MA
Feb 7-11 UUMA CENTER Institute for Excellence in Ministry
Pacific Grove, CA
Feb 12 Creating the Beloved Community
for all Children* 9:30 - 12:30
Location: TBA
Feb 21 BCD Board meeting 6:30 - 9:00
First Parish Bridgewater
Feb 25-26 Renaissance Module: Multicultural Religious Education*
(Mass Bay/Clara Barton Districts sponsored event) Walker
Center, Auburndale, Ma
Mar 5 UUMN Music Conference
Murray Unitarian Universalist Church, Attleboro, MA
Mar 6* Ordination: Katie Lawson
Foxborough Universalist Church, Foxboro, MA
Mar 17-20 8th National Large Congregations Conference
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, Minneapolis, MN
Mar 17 BCD Board - BCD UUMA Chapter Roundtable 9 -11:00
Location: TBA
Mar 20 Installation - Rev Jay Libby* 3:30
First Parish in Plymouth. Plymouth, MA
Mar 21 BCD Board meeting 6:30 - 9:00
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Falmouth
Apr 3 Installation: Revs Mary Ganz & JD Benson
First Parish Brewster, Brewster, MA
Apr 16 Cape & Islands Water Justice Conference*
Unitarian Church of Barnstable
Apr 18 BCD Board meeting
Channing Memorial Church, Newport
Apr 30 BCD 2011 Spring Conference & Annual Meeting
Unitarian Church of Sharon
May 16 BCD Board meeting
Second Parish Hingham
May 29 Installation - Rev. Jill Cowie
UU Society of Martha's Vineyard,Vineyard Haven, MA
Jun 22-26 General Assembly (GA),
Charlotte, North Carolina
*New since last month's calendar |
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District Office:
325 West Elm Street, Brockton, MA 02301 - 508-559-6650
President: Rev. Paul Sprecher, psprecher@uua.org Office Administrator and BCD In-Brief Editor:
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