UUA Events
Mynmar Relief Fund
The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee and the Unitarian Universalist Association have joined to launch a humanitarian relief fund to help survivors of the recent Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) cyclone (Cyclone Nargis). Both organizations strive to coordinate strategic response to natural or man-made humanitarian crises, especially when rights are threatened or when those in need are overlooked or neglected by traditional relief approaches. Aid, coordinated through the UUSC, will be channeled to humanitarian relief work in an effort to help survivors – especially those left out of traditional relief strategies — regain their lives and livelihoods.
The White Bear Unitarian Universalist Church of Mahtomedi, Minnesota is one of those sponsoring a refugee family from Myanmar as they start a new life in the United States. The congregation’s Minister, Rev. Victoria Safford, wrote: “This past fall, our congregation welcomed five Karen (Burmese Christian) children and their parents to our community. After years in camps in Thailand, they told us of the incredible challenges facing refugees from Myanmar. Now, with tens of thousands dead, injured, and left homeless in the cyclone, that struggle is magnified unspeakably. Our generous gifts are needed now - and urgently. I know, for we have seen it here already, that our compassion will be met with gratitude, and will strengthen the spirits of brave people fighting to survive.”
Please support this relief effort. To donate online go to http://www.uusc.org/info/support_cyclonenargis.html.
For donations by mail, please direct contributions to:
UUSC-UUA Cyclone Nargis Relief Fund
P.O. Box 845259
Boston, MA 02284-5259
General Assembly
The Annual Meeting of Congregations, General Assembly will be held in Fort Lauderdale, FL on June 25-29, 2008. Registration and housing registration open on March 1. Volunteer applications can be requested as of March 1 as well. To learn more about this year's advent and to register online or download registration forms, visit www.uua.org/events/generalassembly
Those attending General Assembly may want to attend a special workshop titled, "Unitarian Universalism: Making a Meaningful, Relevant Difference" on Thursday, June 26th. This workshop is basedon the Appreciative Inquiry model and is focused on inspriation on deep connections. The worshop starts with partners interviewing each oether about a time wen they saw Unitarian Universalism make a difference that mattered. This could be a different Untiarian Universalism made personally to you or your family, locally to your community or globally to your state, your nation or the world. Then, two pairs join together to find the values connecting these experiences and to explore the inspiring possibilities that their experiences and wishes open up for our future together. It's these possibilities, along with other input such asa the Open Space conversations from the 2007 GA, which the UUA Board will take and refine into "ends" statements to guide our future direction.
UU University
Ministry in the Borderlands addresses the struggles, challenges, rewards and satisfaction of working across religious identities within our congregations and our wider communities. Keynote speaker, The Rev. Nick Carter is actively engaged in interfaith and inter-religious cooperation for action. His keynote addresses begin with the Unitarian Universalist experience and focuses on the ways we can bring Unitarian Universalist gifts to healing religious strife in the world.
Nick Carter may be known to UUs as former Executive Director of the nuclear non-proliferation organization SANE/FREEZE. He is currently president of Andover Newton Theological School. The centerpiece of Nick Carter’s work at Andover Newton has been a new cooperation with a neighboring Jewish seminary that has been much reported in the New York Times and elsewhere (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A00E4D9103EF93BA25751C0A9609C8B63). In February there was an interview with him in Christian Century further elaborating his vision that religious leaders need a firm groundings in their own religious identifies and also the agility to move with grace between borders (http://www.christiancentury.org/article_print.lasso?id=4465).
For those who would be interested in seeing a sample of Nick Carter speaking, thanks to the UU Church of the Younger Fellowship, you can view a UU-United Church of Christ dialogue featuring Carter on the UCC side and John Buerhens on the UU side (http://www.scribemedia.org/2006/11/09/ucc-uua/).
If your congregation is working with other religious traditions or considering how to get involved, Nick’s stories, ideas and activities will help you develop a good plan of engagement. If you are looking for models to engage the religious and theological diversity within your congregation the lessons will apply. Registration and more information on the UUA website: www.uua.org
UUA Launches Second Round in New Advertising Campaign
We’re pleased to announce the continuation of the UUA’s well received national marketing campaign. The second phase of the campaign will include 2 more ads in TIME Magazine, the most widely read news magazine in the United States, with over 3 million subscribers and 21 million readers.
The first ad will run in the April 14 issue - on newsstands April 4. This will be a new full-page ad, with the thought provoking headline, "When in Doubt, Pray. When in Prayer, Doubt" This ad includes an offer for a free copy of our popular DVD “Voices of a Liberal Faith”. The May 12 issue of TIME (available on newsstands May 2) – the highly popular “TIME 100” issue — will carry the UUA ad with the headline, "My God is Better Than Your God," (a version of this ad ran in the Time December 31stPerson of the Year issue). This full page ad will also include the free DVD offer. The TIME 100 issue features 100 people whose power, talent or moral example help to transform our world. It is one of the most heavily read issues of the year; it’s a perfect issue for our ad.
The UUA's national advertising campaign is supported through the generosity of Unitarian Universalist congregations who contributed to Association Sunday, held last fall. Funds earmarked for marketing are being used for the TIME print ad campaign, as well as an internet campaign that includes Google Adwords program. A test Google Adwords campaign in Fall 2007 attracted thousands of new visitors to UUA.org and the “Find a Congregation” page.
The UUA’s national marketing campaign has energized congregations and individual UUsFor further details, visit the UUA website's Leaders Library and search National Marketing Campaign. All updated information, sample graphics, generic ads for congregational use, and hospitality and welcoming tools for congregations are available there. For assistance with these resources please contact Susanna Whitman at swhitman at uua.org.
