Here in New England, we have a higher density of UU congregations than in any other region in the country. This blessing of geography gives us so many opportunities to live into radical interconnection. I can't tell you how much I enjoy discovering stories of our churches coming together! Stories like these: - Six Massachusetts congregations - none with enough youth for their own youth group - came together to hire a single youth program director. Together, UUnited Youth Ministry has served more than 20 youth in its first year.
- Four churches in Maine have shared youth ministry service trips to both New Orleans and Guatemala.
- Vermont's Upper Valley churches held their 2nd annual joint service in August, reviving a tradition begun by Rev. Hosea Ballou in 19th century Vermont.
- The Five Points Cluster had a 5-congregation potluck last month where they discussed a pulpit exchange Sunday, visiting each other's worship, sharing newsletters, and youth events.
- Members of three Connecticut congregations are regularly showing up for racial justice and Moral Monday events.
A big part of my work in New England is supporting congregations exploring intentional collaborations along a continuum, which might run the gamut from having simple neighborly relations, to joining forces on a local justice ministry, to becoming so closely connected that two ( or more!) congregations become One Church in Two Locations ( like this one). This last is an example of Multisite Ministry. I represent the New England Region on a national Multisite Ministry Team, along with my NER colleague, Joe Sullivan. Together we develop and share strategies for congregations exploring a multisite model of church. In August we attended a Multisite Ministry Team retreat - on a houseboat. Why meet on a houseboat, you may ask? Pragmatically, because it was cheaper to rent a houseboat for three days than to put us all up in a hotel. However, something magical happened. Being outside our usual surroundings really opened us up to thinking in new directions and finding new connections. That was a great lesson - sometimes we make a choice to try something new for purely practical reasons, but it pulls us unexpectedly to deeper relations and revelations. Some of the collaborations described above began as a way to address simple pragmatic problems, like not having a critical mass of youth for an effective youth group. "If we band together and share the costs, maybe we could support a youth group together!" From this pragmatic beginning, new relationships are growing across congregational boundaries; deep questions of purpose, mission, faith, and trust are bringing both lay volunteers and religious professionals in these churches into deeper relationships and unexpectedly profound revelations. What greater ministry might you accomplish in concert with neighbors? How might your own faith grow, deepen, or evolve through exposure to colleagues in other churches? What wisdom is missing from your table that might be readily available in the next town over? You'll find resources in this newsletter to help you think more about congregational collaborations and multisite ministry. If you want to bring this conversation home to your church, please be in touch with me or my colleague Joe Sullivan. We are so excited to share what we are learning and to explore with you how you and your neighbors might be better together, magnifying the power and the reach of Unitarian Universalism here in New England.
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Our work is made possible by district dues contributions from congregations, associational grants and individual gifts. We offer workshops, trainings and learning opportunities throughout the New England Region for congregational members, lay leaders and religious professionals.