The district creates a district directory with contact information for all congregational leaders (board members, officers, staff and committee chairs) that is distributed as a pdf file to all congregations in September each year. Each congregation is asked to update their information as their officers and committee chairs change.

Congregational and district leaders can request a copy of the directory by contacting the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The directory is not posted to the website due to our privacy policies.

You can provide this information in several ways:

• You can complete the online directory survey - once you leave this survey you will need to start a new one, you cannot resume the entry you were working on.
• You can send the information that needs updated via snail mail or email to the district office.

This document (pdf) (word) lists the information we are looking for, so you can gather it together before logging onto the online survey or sending your update to the office.

Deadline for updates for the September 1 issue of the Directory is August 1st. After that date, we cannot guarantee that updates you submit will make the September 1 issue, although we'll do our best. We will issue additional updates in November and February.

You need only update what has changed. Please check your congregation's page for the 2011-12 directory to see what needs updated. Copies are available at each congregation or you can contact the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to request a pdf copy.

Please note that while you may have already provided this information to the UUA, we need it too and not all the information we ask for is the same. Please update your directory information as soon as your leadership for the year is set. This includes committee chairs.

Have all your staff and elected leadership but not your committee chairs yet? Submit what you have now and then update the committee chairs later. Updates to the directory are sent out 2-3 times during the year.

Here are common questions we are asked about the directory survey:

How do I update my information?
You can submit your updates in one of four ways: email, postal mail, fax or online submission. The online form will ask you to fill in all information, however, there is a check box on the front page to check off that states that anything not entered is the same as last year, so you can skip the areas you do not need to update. Questions? Call the office at 740-297-6966.

What information do you want?
We need the contact information for all your officers and committee chairs and staff. We also need some basic information about your congregation. The Directory Info Sheet (pdf) (word)  has a list of all the information we need to assist you in gathering it together. Check this year's directory to see what you submitted for this year. Anything that hasn't changed and doesn't need updated, just tell us it's the same. But do check that email addresses haven't changed. This is the most common thing that we have to change each year.

I just sent all this information to some one, why do I need to do it again?
Ah, the most common question. The UUA asks very similar statistical questions about your congregation as part of their certification questionnaire you completed in January. And they also ask you to send in a updated list of all your officers and committee chairs after your annual meeting for their database or update this information on myUUA.org. Unfortunately at this time, not all of that information is available to the district office. We need you to submit the same information to us as well. There is talk that in the future this will change, but for now, we have to ask you directly.

Just what do you do with all this information?
First, everyone we receive an email address for is automatically subscribed to OMD Now and OMD Up Close. The beginning of each month they will receive an OMD Now with links to our website pages for events and activities in the district and the region. And We find that more folks who get this information, the more who know about our events. Around the middle of each month they will receive OMD Up Close, our e-zine that features congregational programs on a particular topic. Presidents, VPs, Treasurers, Ministers and so forth are added to the leaders update that comes out each week from Joan Van Becelaere, District Executive.

Second, we have specific email lists for certain positions. All congregational presidents are subscribed to an email discussion list just for them to get district news and announcements as well as talk amongst themselves on issues of congregational leadership. Treasurers and finance chairs are subscribed to an email discussion list just for them to talk about congregational financial issues. Newsletter editors are put on a list to receive monthly emails with one or two short stories about district events and activities for their newsletter. RE Leaders are on another list and we so are Social Justice Chairs and Green Sanctuary Chairs.

And, all this information is printed in the district directory which is emailed to every congregation and given to all the district committee chairs to allow direct communication these groups.

Please note that per district policy personal contact information is never posted on the district website.

What if something changes after the deadline?
Just send a note to the district office and we'll make that change in our database. In addition, we'll pass the change along to others who need the information.

The Ohio-Meadville District is a member of the Central East Regional Group, a cooperative of four UUA districts - Joseph Priestley, Metro NY, St. Lawrence and Ohio-Meadville.

CERG provides consultants in several speciality areas to work with district committees and congregational clusters to plan events and provide resources.

This video explains what CERG is and our purpose.

To learn more about CERG visit www.cerguua.org

The Ohio-Meadville District serves 44 congregations in Ohio, western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and southwest New York. See the map below for locations of our congregations. Read more...

The OMD has a number of publications designed to assist our congregations in keeping up with what is going on in the district.

All the staff of the Ohio-Meadville District work from home offices. The district does not rent or own any office space.

The Ohio-Meadville District accepts donations for several different funds:

Unitarians and Universalists migrated into what is now the Ohio-Meadville District from the northeastern United States. Today there are 44 Unitarian Universalist congregations affiliated with the UUA and five congregations in formation in the Ohio-Meadville District.

Read more...