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| | Florida District Connections
October 17, 2011 |
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WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF YOUR CONGREGATION! |
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 | Notes & Comments From Our District Executive
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"How can we live in a world partly prosperous and mostly miserable?"
-- Wm. Sloane Coffin
 Most people are not facile when it comes to discussing economics. I am among them. However, most grasp readily the idea of economic justice.
You don't need a PhD nor espouse socialism to know there is something basically, morally wrong with the increasing concentration of wealth and income to ever fewer people in the last generation. The emerging "Occupy" movement taps into that sense of unfairness, especially that those who were most directly responsible for the Great Recession have prospered by the various bail-outs given (at taxpayer expense!) to Wall Street. Curiously, it is the same resentment felt by supporters of the Tea Party.
Is this a religious issue? Yes, given that one's religious life attempts to address the large questions of how we are together in the human family. Our faith, Unitarian Universalism, long has been concerned that many suffer miserably while a few prosper. Social justice always gets around to economic justice. How can anyone defend a few having far too much and many having far too little? This is anathema to the social implications of Universalism, where every person matters ultimately. (Quick theologic aside: you can defend the status quo only if you are a Calvinist, believing that your "having" is a sign of your being right with God, being chosen, and those "not having" are deserving of their fate.)
Our UUA has not had an opportunity to discuss how our faith might address the "Occupy" movement. No doubt, it will be among our conversations at "Justice GA" in Phoenix next June. Meanwhile, I call your attention to a recent letter from our UUA President, Peter Morales, (see: http://www.uua.org/news/pressroom/pressreleases/188405.shtml) in which he notes:
"Unitarian Universalism embodies a long tradition of working for economic justice and workers' rights. Today is another opportunity for us to live our faith, and the Occupy protests are a first step on the road to repairing our country.
"I reach out to Unitarian Universalists everywhere to consider how you might be of service to any among us who are struggling to provide for their families, those who have been cheated and abused by financial institutions, and all those whose backs ache under a burden of debt, unemployment, and fading hope. Let the world see the power of our faith in action."
To pursue this conversation further in your congregation, take a look at the resources available at uua.org as well as Unitarian Universalists for Economic Justice (http://www.uujec.org/). I welcome hearing from you of the ways your congregation is engaged in economic justice work. Please send me a note; I'll be glad to share your information with others who may be eager to partner with you.
All Blessings, for you, your congregation, our faith and our communities.
Rev. Kenn
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| Southeast Unitarian Universalist Leadership Experience |
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Nominations open October 15th
Southern Unitarian Universalist Leadership Experience
February 19 - 24, 2012
Nominations Open October 15th
Holiday Inn Resort Orlando -The Castle Hotel
Orlando, Florida
www.thecastleorlando.com
To learn more about SUULE please visit our website at
http://uusouthland.org/leadershipexperiences/suule.html
You will be able to nominate those you wish to send to Southern Unitarian Universalist Leadership Experience ("SUULE") beginning October 15th. Nominations will close December 15th. The nominating process will be similar to last year. Participants must come in congregational teams of two or more leaders (including ministers, DREs, etc.). Sorry but no solo participants will be accepted. The cost per participant is $695 the same as last year (covers room & board, all meals, and materials except for the two books for required pre-work).
SUULE is an intense and deeply spiritual experience for lay and clergy alike. It will focus on the presence and functioning of the individual leaders and will help to form them into a team who serve Unitarian Universalism as servant leaders to their congregations and elders of the faith. Through small group experiences, case studies, lectures, worship, and theological dialogue, participants will gain practical understanding of healthy congregation concepts and tools, the value of intentional leadership process, and the vital connections between religious leadership, faith development, and the realization of beloved community.
Our goal is to translate the SUULE experience into tangible congregational health and vitality. Factors that appear to make a difference in how SUULE affects congregational health include participants who come well grounded in Unitarian Universalism, participants who serve significant leadership roles in their congregation, participants who come in teams of two or more from a congregation, congregations who send teams of leaders to SUULE for several years in a row, and congregations that have an intentional process for selecting their SUULE registrants and integrating knowledge and skills from the experience into the life of the congregation.
We urge you to begin considering which leaders would help your congregation benefit most from this experience.
Sincerely,
Peter Kandis
SUULE Dean
803-422-3116, PKandis@gmail.com
Nominations open October 15th
To submit nominations please fill out the form found here:
http://fd8.formdesk.com/swuuc1/SUULE12nominate
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| Around the Florida District - News and Events to Note |
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Save the Date for these Florida District Events
 February 4
The Spirituality & Practice of Stewardship
The Reverend Susan Smith, District Executive, UUA Southwest Conference
Tampa Bay area
February 19-24
Southern Unitarian Universalist Leadership Experience
Orlando; See: http://www.uusouthland.org/
March 23-25
"Crossing Borders," Annual District Assembly
Jacksonville
Cluster, Congregation and Affiliated Organization Events
Pastoral Care Seminar - October 22 - UU Church of Brevard
Pastoral Care in a World Hurtling Toward Self-destruction.
Maybe this may seem too dramatic for some; nevertheless, the stress on our economic systems and environment does have an impact on our spiritual life, sense of self, family life, church life and simply how we are in this world. Given these conditions, how can a church respond with a pastoral care program that considers the well-being of the whole person? And is now the time for the Pastoral Care practice to let go of anthropocentric focus and consider pastoral care for the earth which includes humans?
Florida Humanities Series - Multiple Dates - The Emerson Center, UU Fellowship of Vero Beach. Offered this month, October 27 - Paul Dosal, Ph.D., Florida's Hispanic Heritage
Seventh Annual West Central Cluster Picnic - October 29 - Odessa
Earth Justice Seminar - November 12 - UU Church of Brevard
The Seventh Principle Earth, Spirit, and Justice
On November 12th the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brevard hosts Patricia Siemen, Director of the Center for Earth Jurisprudence, Barry University School of Law. Join this conversation that moves toward action. In the context of Unitarian Universalist history, our seven principles and our present cultural situation the idea of "respect" calls us to action. Our present legal system and regulatory efforts support an economic system that marches toward self destruction. A call to action must alter the center of this power structure. "Earth Jurisprudence is an emerging theory of law, which proposes that we rethink our legal and political systems to make sure they support, rather than undermine, the integrity and health of the earth." Unitarians Universalists from the North East Cluster and the Florida District learning and acting together.
Move To Amend Training - December 4 - UU Church of Brevard
Florida UU Women's Retreat - April 27 to 29, 2012 - Ellenton
FLD Speaker's Bureau: Help For Sunday Services
Did you know we have a number of fellow Unitarian Universalists willing to come to your congregation to present a sermon or talk on a variety of topics as they relate to Unitarian Universalism? Well, we do. Each of our 28 member Speaker's Bureau has been approved by our District Executive. If you would like to invite one of them to your congregation, contact them directly by first visiting our website: http://www.floridadistrict.org/?page_id=331 . There you will find a brief summary of each speaker, some of their preferred topics, and how to get in touch with them. |
| Things to Know in Our Extended Unitarian Universalist World |
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Mountain Retreat and Learning Center - Upcoming Events
 October 28 to 30 - Women's Retreat: A Weekend of Rejuvenation, Featuring Rev. Amy Carol Webb
November 23 to 27 - Thanksgiving: A Family Celebration
Registration forms for both events are available on the Mountain website .
UUA Seeks OWL Field Testers
 The Resource Development Office is seeking congregations to field test new and updated components of the revised Our Whole Lives: Sexuality Education program for grades 7-9 during the 2011-12 year. The call for OWL 7-9 field testers, posted online, provides contact information for applications. If you have content or process questions about this OWL revision, please contact Melanie Davis, OWL program associate, at mdavis@uua.org.
UU Ministry Videos
These are a few selections from a new series of videos on UU Ministry:
- What do you love about ministry? 2:06 minutes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ObE7fGl60E
Unitarian Universalist ministers respond to the question, "What do you love about ministry"? Very moving.
- The ministry of religious education3:14 minutes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A4rvXr7VY4
Six religious education professionals talk about their ministries, the challenges, the joys, what they love and why.
- The ministry of music 2:27 minutes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4Ijm1oAgXw
Five UU music professionals talk about their music ministries.
New Accessibility Guidelines for Congregations
 The new Accessibility Guidelines for Unitarian Universalist Congregations: Creating Welcoming Congregations for People of all Abilities was developed by The Policy Committee of Equual Access, a volunteer-run Unitarian Universalist organization that promotes equality and access for Unitarian Universalists with disabilities.
This policy is intended to raise awareness and offer guidance to congregations in their efforts to be as inclusive as possible with respect to people with varying abilities.
UUA Named One of Five Top Organizations for Green Meetings
 In this month's Meetings and Conventions magazine, the Unitarian Universalist Association is named one of five "eco-conscious" groups integrating environmental awareness into their meeting practices.
Jan Sneegas, Director of General Assembly and Conference Services for the UUA, was interviewed by Meetings and Conventions along with representatives from Intel, Oracle, Sprint, and the Environmental Defense Fund.
Read the entire story online at http://tinyurl.com/5rtfb9n.
Stewardship Resource
Check out the Congregational Stewardship blog (http://congregationalstewardship.blogs.uua.org/).
Wayne Clark, Director of Congregational Stewardship Services, writes a brief review of an article published in Quantum Jump, "The Law of Enrollment Meets the Ask" on the CSS blog this week.
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