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January 2012 * Volume 5, No. 6 |
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Two Events to Learn about Immigration Justice:
This year our General Assembly is being organized and presented in a new way. General Assembly will focus on justice-making, activism and immigration issues. The BCD 2012 Justice GA Task Force is hosting two events to help UUs in our congregations get more knowledge about how immigration impacts our communities and what we can do to support our immigrant neighbors.
- Immigration is a New England Issue Too
March 10, 2012 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Duxbury UU Church 842 Tremont St, Duxbury, MA
UU Mass Action Network will present a seminar to help people learn more about immigration issues. Although parts of the seminar will focus on Massachusetts issues, there will be information and strategy discussion that pertains to the region. The program will feature:
- Screening of "Lost in Detention": Her ground breaking Frontline documentary "Lost in Detention" explores the reality of the Obama administration detention policy and how effects communities across the country, not just the border states. Maria Hinojosa, the journalist who prepared the documentary, this year's Ware Lecturer at General Assembly.
- Policy Briefing on Immigration in Massachusetts: UU Mass Action coalition partners will talk about how Immigration is an important issue in Massachusetts and what Unitarian Universalist can do to take action.
- General Assembly Preview: We will take a look at the GA program
- Strategy Session: A discussion about what UUs can do in their local communities around immigration
This will be a great opportunity for neighboring congregations to talk with each other about how they can work together.
· New Neighbors Next Door - Now Is The Time To Know Our Immigrants
March 31, 2012 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Universalist Unitarian Church of Brockton, 325 West Elm St
(corner of West Elm and Belmont Ave)
Come to a conversation with immigrants from Haiti, East Africa and other places who will tell their stories about how they are affected in their daily lives by US immigration policies and INS actions. Participants are also invited to join with the presenters in a sampling of the worship services of these immigrant's churches. A light lunch will be served. $10 registration fee, payable at the door. This program has been organized by the Rev. Robert Thayer, minister of the UU Church of Brockton. |
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2012 BCD Spring Conference Keynote Presenter Selected
The Rev. Ron Robinson, minister of A Third Place in Turley, Oklahoma, will deliver the keynote address and a workshop at the 2012 BCD Spring Conference. A Third Place is a unique, mission-driven congregation working in a severely economically depressed Oklahoma town. The congregation' focus is on service to the community rather than just traditional worship and programs. Rev Robinson will talk about being a missional church. His work and A Third Place was featured in a UU World article http://www.uuworld.org/news/articles/172162.shtml.
The conference, on May 5 at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Fairhaven, will also include worship, workshops on various aspects of being a mission-focused congregation and a BBQ lunch. The 2012 Annual Meeting will be held in conjunction with the conference. Details about the conference will be forthcoming in February and March. |
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Congregation Annual Certification Deadline: February 1, 2012
This is the final two weeks for your congregation to log in to an online system to certify your congregation's membership number, submit statistical data, and cast a vote in the Congregational Poll. The deadline is Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Central Time.
To submit information online, log into your congregation's Data Services account at http://dyn.uua.org/congregation. Your congregation's 4-digit ID number is the "congregation ID" needed to log in. If you do not know the case-sensitive password for this account, please select the "Forgot your password?" link to reset.
Remember, the congregational membership number you certify every year is the basis for determining the number of voting delegates for your congregation at General Assembly 2012, and for calculating the congregation's Annual Program Fund Fair Share (FY 2013) contribution to the UUA. Also, while certifying, you will be able to verify and update the UUA's contact information for your congregation.
Please review the comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions page if you have questions at: www.uua.org/directory/data/faq.
If your congregation prefers to certify by sending paper forms via postal mail, contact Nick Rafeal , 617-948-4654, nrafeal@uua.org. However, the same February 1 deadline applies for mailed forms. |
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Still Time to Register for Developing Effective Stewardship Workshop
Laurel Amabile, UUA Department of Stewardship, and the Rev. Bob Thayer, BCD Annual Program Fund Committee and minister of the UU Church in Brockton, will present a stewardship workshop for teams of parish leaders to explore the many facets of developing a good stewardship program in a congregation. The workshop will include looking at Maimonides' "Ladder of generosity" as a foundation for thinking about stewardship, one-on-one discussions about personal views on giving and presentations and group discussions about congregation mission as a foundation for giving, canvass/campaign strategies. There is still time to register.
Conference information:
- January 28, 2012 -- 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM
- Murray Unitarian Universalist Church, 505 North Main St, Attleboro, MA.
- $10 per participant - pay at the door
- Register by January 24 at: www.eventbrite.com or call the BCD office 508-559-6650
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2012 General Assembly Countdown Begins
It is not too early to start to plan to attend the historic and unique 2012 General Assembly to be held in Phoenix, AZ June 20 - 24. The GA planning committee is working hard to finish developing the program; the UUA's immigrant organization partners in Arizona are working hard to prepare for our arrival and support; the BCD Justice GA Task Force is working hard to get information out about GA so that we can be prepared to fully participate in this significant event. Early registration opens March 1.
A new, bi-weekly, GA-focused bulleting - Justice GA Bulletin - will make its debut the week of January 16, which will provide information about immigration and other justice issues that will be looked at during General Assembly and GA logistics.
The GA Task Force hopes many UUs in the district are starting to make plans to come to Phoenix and participate in this very special General Assembly. Follow GA developments at http://www.uua.org/ga |
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Annual BCD Music Conference in March
The annual BCD/New England Musician's Network annual music conference is being planned. The Conference will be held March 3, 2011 at Murray Unitarian Universalist Church, Attleboro. Conference information and registration material is being sent to church offices, music directors and other individuals. |
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What is your Congregation Proud About?
The congregations in the BCD are doing many wonderful and creative things both internally and externally. The BCD staff would like to help you brag about what you are doing. We invite you to send to the BCD in Brief editor a two or three sentence description about the one thing your congregation is most proud from the past 12 months. We will publish your pride statements in upcoming newsletters. Send the email, with "Congregation Pride" in the subject line to BCDoffice@verizon.net.
Also, Program Associate Julianna Dunn will be contacting congregation presidents over the next two months to find out more about what your congregation has been doing this past year to assemble into a report for the 2012 BCD Annual Report. |
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Ask the Right Question*
Leaders do not need to have all the answers.
Leaders need to be able to ask the right questions
At the first council meeting of the year, the minister and council president in a Midwest church asked the council to discuss, first in small teams then as a whole this question:
What advice to you have or our church leaders, minister and
the membership to make this a better year for the congregation?
*from Lewis Center, "Leading Ideas" |
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Announcing "Leap of Faith New England"
by Peter Bowden, BCD Growth Consultant
A new collaboration has been organized among the New England districts that will bring our Association's Leap of Faith program to New England. The national Leap of Faith pilot project paired congregations in mentoring relationships. Paired congregations visited each other, participated in retreats, engaged in online trainings, and exchanged information via online communication tools. Following on the success of the program over the past two years, it is now being brought to the regional level.
I will be working with the Rev. Bill Zelazny, Ballou Channing District Executive, and staff from the Clara Barton, Mass Bay and Northern New England districts using the model established by the UUA pilot project for the structure and content of the program. In the next couple of months we will identify threshold and mentoring congregations throughout our region to invite to participate in the program based on an array of criteria. This program marks a significant shift in our Association's approach to growth from one relying on experts to teach about growth to creating learning communities of congregational leaders.
While this program is new to our district much information may be found about it online.
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News From the Larger UU World
- Eliot & Pickett House is Offering Discount
The Eliot &Pickett house is offering a 30% discount for new reservationsmade with them for a minimum of two nights stay, between January 2nd and April 10th. Reservations booked for more than two nights will get one free night; or, a gift certificate at the same value ofyour previous nightly rate, which is usable at a date of your choosing depending upon availability. If you are a Unitarian Universalist visiting Boston for business or pleasure or, have Unitarian friends or family members planning a trip to Boston check out Eliot & Picket House on scenic and historic Beacon Hill. Call us 617-948-4679 or email to e&p@uua.orgfor rates and availability.
- E-books Available from the UUA Bookstore
Beacon Press has hundreds of Beacon Press books available as e-books for iPad, Kindle, Nook, or other reading devices. Available at www.beacon.org.
- Films on Immigration Available
The Multicultural Growth and Witness Staff Group invites members of UU congregations or congregational groups such as youth groups or small group ministry gatherings or congregation pot luck dinners to holding a movie and discussion night about immigration justice. The staff group has prepared a film list that can be found at http://immigrationjustice.blogs.uua.org/education/films-on-immigration/ .
- Allies for Racial Equity Annual Conference
With the theme, "Colonization Privilege and Resistance: Preparing for Justice GA 2012" Allies for Racial Equity will hold their annual conference February 17-19, 2012, at the First Jefferson UU Church, Ft. Worth, TX. The annual conference will offer UnitarianUniversalists who identify as white the opportunity to develop their anti-racist andanti-oppressive analysis and practice. Featuring keynote speakers and workshops byRobert Jensen, University of Texas JournalismProfessor and author of The Heart of Whiteness:Confronting Race, Racism and White Privilegeand Megan Dowdell Starr King School for theMinistry adjunct professor and UU ministerialcandidate. There are also a variety of workshopsavailable and a pre-conference Training: "Race, Privilege and Accountability" presentation by JanTaddeo and Ken Wagner.
Conference information athttp://sites.google.com/site/uualliesre/news-and-events/2012-annual-conference |
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Calendar
Jan 21 Healthy Congregations -- Part 2 9:00 a - 4:00 p
First Parish, Bridgewater, MA
Jan 28 Healthy Congregations - Part 2 (snow date)
Jan 28 Developing Effective Stewardship Workshop 9:00 a - 3:00 p
Murray Unitarian Universalist Church, Attleboro, MA
Feb 25 Leadership Discussion Forum TBA
Location: TBA
Mar 3 New England/BCD Music Conference 9:00 a - 3:00 p
Murray Unitarian Universalist Church, Attleboro, MA
Mar 5 BCD Board Meeting* 6:00 - 9:00 p
First Parish Church in Taunton, MA
(originally scheduled Feb 27)
Mar 7 BCD UUMA Chapter gathering 9:00a - 12:00n
First Universalist Society in Franklin, MA
Mar 10 Immigration Seminar - Immigration is a
New England Issue Too* 10:00a - 1:00p
First Parish Duxbury, Duxbury, MA
Mar 31 Immigration Seminar -- New Neighbors Next Door :
Now Is The Time To Know Our Immigrants 10:00 a - 2:00 p
Universalist Unitarian Church, Brockton,MA
Apr 9 BCD Board Meeting* 6:00 - 9:00 p
First Unitarian Church, Providence, RI
(Originally scheduled Mar 26)
Apr 21 Young adult conference TBA
(Tentative) Location TBA
May 5 Spring Conference and Annual Meeting 9:00 a - 3:00 p
Unitarian Universalist Society of Fairhaven, MA
May 7-9 BCD UUMA Chapter Retreat
Glastonbury Abbey, Hingham, MA
May 19 Youth advisor / youth leader training TBA
Location TBA
May 21 BCD Board Meeting 6:00 - 9:00 p
First Congregational Parish in Kingston, MA
Jun 10 Westminster Unitarian Church Building Dedication* TBA
Westminster Unitarian Church, East Greenwich, RI
Jun 20-24 General Assembly
Phoenix, AZ
* New since last issue |
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A Bit of Church Humor
That's three yes's, two no's and one, "when pigs fly!"*
*Leadership Journal, Spring 2011 |
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