Congratulations to the UU Church of Akron on receiving the Bennett Award at General Assembly in June. Read more about this award.
UUs are joining national faith leaders and immigrant rights advocates in Washington DC July 31 and August 1 to protest current immigration policy and deportations. For details and registration information please check our event page. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you are interested in working together for transportation such as carpools or rented vans.
Sometimes a challenge can offer an opportunity to try something new.
In the Ohio Meadville and St. Lawrence Districts of the Unitarian Universalist Association, the sudden illness and extended medical leave of St. Lawrence Congregational Life Consultant, the Rev. Chris Neilson, resulted in an all-hands-on-deck response from the district boards and from district, regional and national UUA staff.
The governing boards of the four districts that make up the Central East Regional Group have been in discussion about moving to a "Primary Contact" model where each congregation has a "go-to" person. The Primary Contact partners with the congregations’ leaders to connect them to helpful resources within the UUA (and beyond) and to strengthen relationships within clusters. The model provides an improved Primary Contact staff-to-congregation ratio in OMD and SLD (1 to 25-30 congregations). Staff will also continue to offer depth with their own portfolio "specialties" for the four districts in the region and connect congregations to specialists as needed.
The Rev. Joan VanBecelaere (lead of the Central East Regional Group) and the Rev. Scott Tayler (director of Congregational Life for the UUA) saw the challenge of the medical leave as an opportunity to pilot this primary contact program. They devised a plan to redeploy existing staff from the districts and region for the duration of the medical leave.
Read more...It's time to start updating your congregational information for both the UUA and the OMD. For instructions on how to update your officer, committee chair and staff information please check the OMD Directory page. Deadline for the September issue is August 1.
