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| | Florida District Connections
December 8, 2010 |
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PLEASE SHARE THIS EMAIL
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 | Notes & Comments From Our District Executive
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Perhaps you've heard of the dueling billboards in New York City.
A group of atheists has posted one which says, You KNOW it's a Myth. This Season, Celebrate REASON!, overlaid on a typical image of the Magi and the Manger scene. This prompted the Catholic League to post its own message, You Know it's Real. This Season Celebrate Jesus, alongside an adoring Joseph and Mary.
In this instance, the atheists equate myth with "not so," or perhaps even "false," in contrast to its larger meaning of a story that gives meaning to an event. Religious scholars are quick to agree with the atheists here: it is unlikely that there was a real event as described in Matthew and Luke. However, that does not make the story un-reasonable. They would also say that myths evoke a different level of human knowing. The traditional birth story celebrating Jesus reminds us of the preciousness of every child, any one of which, truly, can be the hope of the world.
It is a peculiar form of linguistic fundamentalism to want poems and stories to be merely factual. Yes, there is danger in confounding story with fact (such as the Genesis story of creation). Still, we humans need stories to stir our hearts. To me, the important question of any religious symbol or story: Does it give life to our living?
It is the Unitarian Universalist practice of faith to resist fundamentalisms of any sort, seeking ever more the rich meanings of life found in all human expression. When a story gives life, we will rejoice, singing, "Joy to the World."
Blessings on you and yours this Season of Reason, Fantasy and Hope.
Rev Kenn |
 | Notes From Our Lifespan Program Consultant |
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ACTING LIFESPAN PROGRAM CONSULTANT
Back with Part II of unpacking this long title for my position.
LIFESPAN?
What does that mean?
Back in the 1980's, the Unitarian Universalist Association realized that its field staff was mainly composed of District-based professionals who focused on adult issues of governance, management, and conflict resolution, while increasingly the calls for service from congregations asked for support for the people and programs that dealt with our children and youth.
In response to those expressed needs, Districts were encouraged to expand their professional staffs to include someone with credentials and experience in Religious Education. That expansion was based, in part, on the very successful model on Long Island, New York, where the Area Council of thirteen congregations supported a full-time Religious Education Consultant (I held that position from 1980-1995); that program I established was translated, for financial and governance reasons, into District positions.
What Districts soon discovered was what I had known on Long Island: provision of support and services to children and youth does not happen in a vacuum. All of our congregations are complex systems. While we often see how the dysfunction in one area of congregational life can infect the whole congregation, the opposite is also true. The exciting development of programs and staff support for children and youth resulted in requests for similar programmatic support for adults.
But, which adults? Young Adults? Mid-career adults? Parenting Adults? Middle-agers? Retirees? Fourth-agers? End-of-life adults? There is no one category we can adequately label "adult."
At the same time, the emerging understandings about faith development and especially faith development in the adult life cycle reminded us that even in specific age or role categories there can be many variations of needs, understandings, and experiences.
But you already knew that in your heart of hearts. The questions from your past may not be the questions of your present. What awed you when you were new to Unitarian Universalism may not be the same as what awes you in your third decade of membership. Your cutting edges and horizon issues have changed over time and circumstance.
So, the concept of "Lifespan" was born, connoting as it does inclusion of not only all ages but also all the various stages of our lives and especially our faith and belief patterns.
Now my most common response is "yes!" People ask if I work with children? Youth? Adults? Seniors? Boards? Teachers? Task Forces? Mentors?
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Randy Becker, Your Acting Lifespan Program Consultant
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Trustee News | | |
 UUA TRUSTEE TIDBITS
Joan Lund, December 2010
Happy holidays to each one of you. This month I offer a huge thanks to the majority of our Florida District congregations for scheduling and holding the annual Association Sunday. I had the privilege of visiting and speaking to two of our congregations celebrating this event. Proceeds from the special collections at Association Sunday services will be used to ensure that Unitarian Universalism thrives for generations to come through initiatives like Leap of Faith, a pilot project establishing mentoring relationships between selected congregations.
Leap of Faith which is in the pilot program stage, grew from conversations between UUA President Rev. Peter Morales and ministers of congregations experiencing admirable growth in numbers. These conversations spawned the creation of the project and selection of twelve "aspiring congregations" who desire support in taking big steps in growing Unitarian Universalism. In other words, this will be a learning community of mentoring relationships between congregations with demonstrated growth success and those who are "poised" to grow. These congregations are being paired with "mentoring congregations" who have had experience with particular issues and challenges that the "aspiring congregations" face. The aspiring congregations are ones that are already doing well, but need a "boost" and might experience new perspectives from being in relationship with other congregations. A professional consultant/monitor will help Leap of Faith in achieving effectiveness during the early stages, in hopes of expanding the program in the future. Evaluators will monitor the program and assist UUA staff determine its effectiveness. A final report will be presented to the 2011 General Assembly, followed by a decision about continuance of the program with other congregations.
Core aspects of Leap of Faith include: creating congregation-to-congregation learning communities to share knowledge that resides in UUA congregations (mutual mentoring and experiential learning); aspiring congregations determining the areas of learning and experience that will help them forward in sustained numerical growth; a gathering of "first wave" congregation teams for a launching conference that will allow aspiring congregations to develop their particular narratives and begin to build learning communities with their mentor congregations; and a commitment from aspiring congregations to share what they learn with other congregations through websites, social media, blogging, webinars, and workshops. Our UUA looks forward to sharing more information and ideas following the launch conference.
May I take this opportunity to wish your congregation a joyous holiday season full of shared love. I look forward to hearing from you at jlund@uua.org. |
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District President News |
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 I am honored to serve with the presidents of all the Districts within our Unitarian Universalist Association. This is a group of nineteen people incredibly committed to our faith and to our congregations. The District Presidents Association met in Boston in early November and worked on a number of challenges facing our Association. I am pleased to share with you a statement we developed about our work:
Imagine an Association of Congregations that delivers our liberal and liberating faith tradition to a world in need. Imagine a governance structure that enables this to become a reality. Imagine a democratic process where all voices are heard and we honor our covenantal heritage.
The District Presidents Association, in collaboration with our UUA Board of Trustees, recognizes the work that has gone before and that is moving our association forward. There is no hidden agenda or done deal, but we are looking seriously at organizational structures and practices that have been in place for many years, such as
· The size and selection process for our UUA Board
· Co-employment of staff
· Redundancy and duplication of policies
· A static, inorganic decision-making structure
· Inequitable funding formulas
We recognize that change brings anxiety, but we also recognize a duty to address long-standing constraints and issues in our current system. That duty calls us to take action to make those feared changes, because we believe they will
· Release the energy of our human capital to do the important work of connecting our congregations to our larger Association
· Free more of our leaders to do the work of changing the world
· Actively engage more congregations in creating and fulfilling the vision of all of our imaginings
Rachel Christensen |
| Tipping the Balance Toward Better Practices |
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Church Management Software
 Many of our congregations struggle to manage their data. Often, they rely on Intuit's QuickBooks or data management software geared to mainline denominations. It can be frustrating to find something appropriate for us. The good news: If you are looking for new church management systems, benefit from the work of the Unitarian Universalist Community Church in Chapel Hill, NC. They've done a comprehensive study and created a wiki page, IT Tools to Enhance Collaboration, that gives you an overview of their project.
Click here to view this wiki page.
They also have created a side by side comparison of 11 programs. Click here to review the comparison.
This may be helpful to you as you try to keep track of membership, bookkeeping, and stewardship data. |
| Save the Date |
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 Our UUA Florida District Annual Assembly:
April 8 - 10, 2011 at First Unitarian Church in Orlando
Our UUA Annual General Assembly:
June 22 - 26, 2011
Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Southland UUA Regional Meeting |
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 The Florida District UUA Board of Trustees joined the district boards of our three closest districts in an amazing meeting on December 3 & 4 in Orlando. The Florida District board joined the boards of Thomas Jefferson District, Mid-South District & the Southwest Unitarian Universalist Conference to explore how we can best serve Unitarian Universalism, our congregations and Unitarian Universalists, both present and future. 48 people gathered from across the southeast for deep discussions about our faith.
Rev. Harlan Limpert, Vice President of Ministries and Congregational Support, Rev. Dr. Terasa Cooley, Director of Congregational Life, and Gini Courter, UUA Moderator, joined us in this discussion. Also participating were our district staff and the UUA Trustees from our districts.
Our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is considering changes in the way our Trustees are elected and ways to better connect to our congregations. We met to explore these issues and to vision how Unitarian Universalism can be a part of making significant change in this world and in our future.
This was a rare opportunity for us to meet as boards, and we used this time together for deep discussion around our faith and the work we can do to save lives. We were able to form connections with our counterparts across the southeast, and create relationships that will serve us as we move ahead. I am deeply appreciative of the commitment of time from so many people to do this work. I look forward to additional discussions with our peers in other districts and also with your congregations as we consider opportunities for building our faith.
Rachel Christensen, President
Florida District Board of Trustees |
| Sample Covenant of Right Relations |
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Our congregation in Tallahassee has worked to create an engaging and engaged Covenant of Right Relations. Each month, the Committee on the Ministry lifts up one section for review. In November they reminded the congregation of the section regarding how members relate to lay leadership. We pass it on as an example of healthy congregational life:
We the members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tallahassee, do covenant to make every good faith effort to abide by the following covenant.
Member to Lay Leadership
I will treat lay leaders with respect, remembering that they are congregants as I am.
I will honor the fact that lay leaders act for the good of all members; therefore I will support the decisions they make.
I will be willing to serve as a lay leader of the congregation as I am able.
I will honor the unique responsibilities and authority of the Board as the governing body of the congregation.
I will learn and follow the policies and procedures for communicating with the Board on official matters of Board action.
I will strive to be an informed member of the congregation recognizing the democratic principles of its organization.
Click here to read the entire covenant. |
| Holiday Shopping Ideas |
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UUA Bookstore
 Now is a great time to shop for holiday gifts, pre-order books that are coming out soon, or save money by ordering church resources you know your congregation will need.
Enjoy free shipping on all standard, U.S. orders in the UUA Bookstore through December 10.
 UU Service Committee
Gifts for Good. Shop in our online store where you'll find ethically sourced jewelry, apparel, holiday cards, books, DVDs, gifts, gear, and more. Every purchase helps us advance human rights!
 Church of the Larger Fellowship
Need a gift? Take a look in the CLF Shop for classic chalice jewelry and more.
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| December District Packet & UUA Congregational Bulletin |
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 The Florida District (FLD) Monthly Packet contains flyers for district, cluster and congregation events. Information on non-FLD events of widespread interest are also included.
The December 2010 district monthly packet has been posted to the district website and may be viewed at the following link:
http://www.floridadistrict.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/FLD-UUA-December-2010-Packet.pdf (1.48MB, 17 pages)
Please share the information contained in the monthly packet with individuals in your congregation. This edition of the district packet contains the following items:
· District Calendar, page 1
· Legislative Ministry update, page 2
· Total Presence Retreat flyer, page 3
· SWIM flyer, page 4
· Creating Connections, NE Cluster Women's Retreat flyer, page 5-6
· The Art of Sage-ing Workshop flyer, page 7
· Choral Festival flyer, page 8-10
· District Award Nominations flyer, page 11-12
· Birding and Shelling Tour brochure, page 13-14
· We Are Gonna CrUUise flyer, page 15
· Florida Humanities Series flyer, The Emerson Center/UUFVB, page 16
· UUA Bookstore Book Fair flyer, page 17
Looking for a single event flyer? District event flyers are linked to the "Events Calendar" page on the District website (see http://www.floridadistrict.org/?page_id=1419). Simply click the event listed on the calendar and the flyer will open. UUA, Congregation, Cluster, and Affiliated Organization event listings are linked to those entities websites whenever possible.
The complete packet is also linked to the website events calendar (go to the calendar link at www.floridadistrict.org and click the "entire monthly packet" notation above the calendar). Please note this is a large document/multi-page download and may take a few minutes to open if you are working with a dial-up connection and/or older computer.
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 The UUA Monthly Bulletin for Congregations is a collection of announcements and updates from the staff groups and committees of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) of Congregations, and from the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF).
Click here to view the December 2010 UUA Congregational Bulletin |
| Around the Florida District - News and Events to Note |
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Upcoming Florida District Events - Save these Dates
January 21 & 22 - Florida District Board Meeting - Parrish
Cluster, Congregation & Affiliated Organization Events
February 20 - Installation of Reverend Pam Allen-Thompson - UU Fellowship of Charlotte County
February 26 & 27 - 5th Annual Florida District Choral Festival - UU Fellowship of Gainesville
 Florida District Award Nominations
The Florida District Awards Committee is now accepting nominations to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to their congregations and communities. Learn more
Other News & Invitations
UU Church of Ft. Myers Birding & Shelling Tour
December 9-12, Learn more
First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palm Beaches Eastern Caribbean CrUUise
January 29 - February 5, 2011. Learn more
The Emerson Center/UU Fellowship of Vero Beach Presents The Florida Humanities Series 2010-2011
Multiple dates through April 2011, Learn more |
| Things to Know in Our Extended Unitarian Universalist World |
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Recent UUA Video Releases
 "A Religion for Our Time" highlights inspiring work in Unitarian Universalist congregations, including innovative projects relating to worship, social justice, membership, and fellowship.
· Episode Eleven, "Connect, Respect, Protect," features the outdoor education program for 9-12-year-olds at Jefferson Unitarian Church (JUC) in Golden, Colorado.
· Episode Twelve, "Worship That Rocks!" explains how First Unitarian in Albuquerque, New Mexico, attracts a diverse group of worshippers through a contemporary service on Sunday afternoons.
To learn more and find links to all "A Religion for Our Time" videos, click here .
UUSC and UUA Launch First Jointly Organized JustJourney
 The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) and the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) have launched their first jointly organized JustJourney, with a trip to Uganda that began on November 4, 2010. For twelve days, Unitarian Universalists and others committed to social justice are taking part in Witness to a Return Home: A Trip to Uganda, an experiential learning journey to an area of the world struggling to recover from war and political unrest. To visit the journey blog, click here .
Immigration as a Moral Issue
A new study guide, curriculum, and worship resources are now available for the Congregational Study/Action Issue (CSAI): Immigration as a Moral Issue.
The guide provides a broad range of resource materials for congregational and individual study. In addition, there is a curriculum on immigration for a six-week adult education course as well as a worship resource supplement. Topics include: understanding the causes of migration, the history of immigration in the U.S., the economics of immigration, security and enforcement, and building a theology of migrant justice, available at this link .
Additional resources, including congregational stories, news and updates, and interfaith and community partners can be found here .
UUA President on Huffington Post
 Poverty and Thanksgiving: A Call to Righteous Love, Reverend Peter Morales, November 21, 2010
Poverty and Thanksgiving: A Call to Righteous Love
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. It calls forth the essential spiritual value of gratitude. I have precious memories of feasts shared with family and with good friends at congregational dinners. I eagerly anticipate this year's gathering.
Imagine inviting family and friends over for Thanksgiving dinner and feeding some of them a lavish feast and some of them scraps and leftovers. While some are served an overabundance of delicious food, others receive tiny portions of unappetizing leavings. Horrible thought!
Continue reading
Our Youth Lead the Way to Justice
A message from the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the Unitarian Universalist Association in support of LGBTQ youth and young adults. See their new video We Are Committed to Helping Make it Better Now, click here .
Martin Luther King Weekend at The Mountain January 14-16, 2011. With author Dr. Dan Carter (The Politics of Rage), Tami Moss of the Center for Participatory Change and Rev. Carole Ann Cole of the UUA Social Justice Empowerment Program as leaders. Learn more |
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