30 Days of Love, Embracing Clean Energy, Article II updates and more
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Dear Friend,
It is time now. It is time now that we thrive.
Those lyrics from “We Shall Be Known” by MaMuse have been ringing in my ear ever since we rang in the new year.
2024.
The song goes on: In this great turning, we shall learn to lead in love.
This is our time, a precious and precarious moment that will call on us to bring the best of who we are to the table. It is time to serve and give, to listen and lead, so that society moves toward liberation, equity and peace.
Once again this year, we will UU the Vote. There are so many ways to participate as a volunteer or a donor. Please show up, however you are called. Your contributions of all sizes and shapes will make our expansive organizing possible. Our society, our people and our UU congregations depend on us to be present, aware, and active.
Each of us matters in the faithful work of reconstituting our democracy and working toward a more peaceful, just, and healthy planet. You matter.
For all that we have been given in our time, and all that we have been given to do, I am grateful. As ever, I am grateful for you.
Let’s go, dear ones. It is time.
Rev. Lauren Smith
Director of Stewardship and Development
Recent news from the UUA
On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, revisit his calls to action for economic justice (UU World, January 11)
- Green Sanctuary 2030 Celebration and More Upcoming Climate Justice Events (Side With Love, January 8)
- January Programming from Side With Love (January 5)
- UUA Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Executive Search Open (Koya Partners/DSG, December 1)
Legacy Webinar for Congregations on Saturday, February 10
The UUA’s Legacy Gifts Office offers a number of services, including an online workshop to assist congregations and other UU organizations in creating planned giving programs. The webinar on Saturday, February 10, 2024 from 1 pm to 3 pm ET covers the basics of legacy giving and aims to equip legacy giving committees with the knowledge they need to start or refresh their program.
To register for the webinar or to reach out with a question about legacy giving, email us at legacy@uua.org or call (617) 948-6509.
30 Days of Love Begins Monday, January 15
Offered each year by the UUA’s Side With Love justice campaign, 30 Days of Love is a month-long period of spiritual nourishment, political grounding, and shared practices of faith and justice. It is an important ritual of beginning together for all the individuals, families, religious professionals, partners, and communities that embody our values and work for justice and liberation year-round.
This year’s theme is “Imagining an Interdependent Future” and includes weekly offerings organized around a spiritual theme and an intersectional justice priority:
- Week 1, January 15-21: Spiritual theme is Safety with a focus on Decriminalization
- Week 2, January 22-28: Spiritual theme is Re-Imagining with a focus on Climate Justice
- Week 3, January 29 - February 4: Spiritual theme is Possibility with a focus on Bodily Autonomy (which includes LGBTQIA+, reproductive, gender, and disability justice)
- Week 4, February 5-11: Spiritual theme is Resilience with a focus on Democracy and Electoral Justice
Plus bonus days, February 12-14, with a Spiritual theme of Interdependence and a focus on Liberatory Intersections. Each week on Monday at 12pm EST a message, an intergenerational resource, and additional spiritual materials will be made available online.
Clean Energy as a Human Right | Final Webinar January 25
For the last in our webinar series on Clean Energy as a Human Right, explore the power of Energy Democracy and the ways congregations can reimagine energy for our communities. Energy Democracy helps frontline communities build power and liberation by reimagining how we organize our lives toward new systems that support the health and wellbeing of our communities and ecosystems.
Join the Energy Democracy Project, Cleveland Owns (OH), People Power Solar (CA), and POWER Interfaith (PA) for Reimagining with Energy Democracy on January 25, 2024 at 7pm ET / 4 pm PT.
Reminder: Article II Amendments Due February 1, 2024
The final proposed revision to Article II of the UUA bylaws was completed by the Article II Study Commission in October 2023. As the Committee notes in their letter (PDF) to UU congregations, this is not the final version, "as there is the opportunity to amend it at General Assembly 2024, as outlined in the UUA bylaws."
The next step in the Article II process is for congregations to submit amendments to the proposal, which are due by February 1, 2024, as the Board of Trustees communicated in their own letter to UUA member congregations.
Find the full details of this process on the Article II proposed amendment submission form, the UU bylaws, and on UUA.org. UU World has recently published an article on the Article II Study Commission, "As Unitarian Universalists Reassess Core Beliefs, Article II Study Commission Reflects on Progress Made."
Applications Due February 9 for UU Cultivators Collaborative, a Cohort of Spiritual Innovators
In the past three years, The UUA has been diligent in its commitment to the recommendations of the Widening the Circle of Concern report. As we continue the journey, we are launching a new initiative called the Unitarian Universalist Cultivators Collaborative, designed to support innovators and teams who are ready to realize their wider vision for Unitarian Universalism with tailored support at critical junctures along the way.
Understanding the changing religious landscape and urgencies before us, we are eager to support the spiritual innovators working in congregations, affiliated communities and new start-ups who are rising to the challenge of transforming Unitarian Universalism into a faith that more closely embodies the Beloved Community we envision.
Our goal is to create thriving faith communities, grounded in models of shared leadership and mutual accountability, that are designed to nourish spiritual growth, liberation, and healing for all.
The Unitarian Universalist Association is partnering with Beloved to host a cohort of spiritual innovators (both religious professionals and lay leaders) beginning March 2024 for a one-year intensive followed by a co-created alumni experience. Check out the cohort application. The application deadline is February 9, 2024.
UUA Building Loan Fund: Help with Costs to Repair, Renovate, Build Your Congregation
One UUA program your congregation may find helpful is the Building Loan Program. Its purpose is to facilitate the continued growth of member congregations. The program provides affordable financing for three types of building projects:
- Building or buying a new spiritual home;
- Repairing or renovating existing facilities where substantial construction is not required;
- Expanding current facilities where substantial construction is required, especially to make facilities more accessible
Because the program is not intended to replace local financing options, congregations are encouraged to meet with local bankers and seek the most competitive financing for their project. The UUA makes commitments for market rate loans from $50,000 to $900,000. The interest rate is set at the time of closing and will be the five-year Treasury rate plus 3.00 percent. All loans will have a five-year term.
Congregations are required to be Annual Program Fund (APF) Honor Congregations at the time of application. They must also retain Honor Congregation status throughout the life of the loan.
Religious Education Professional Quarterly Meetups
Religious education professionals from across the continent are invited to virtually join members of the UUA’s Faith Development Co-Lab for a time of connection with other religious educators, around a theme, on the first Tuesdays of February, and May. The goal is not to "fill you up" with information, but, more so, to have time for you as attendees to share your thoughts with each other.
After a short intro and presentation on the theme, there will be peer breakouts, allowing you to choose what aspects of the theme you’d like to connect around (or to talk about something else altogether). There will be some processing time after the breakouts, and then a closing. Our next connection theme will be announced at the end of each meet-up. Upcoming dates are Tuesday, February 6 and Tuesday, May 7, both from 12 pm to 1:30 pm ET / 9 am to 10:30 am PT.
Share Your Stories with Congregational Interconnections
LeaderLab is introducing a new series for you and by you! Congregational Interconnections includes stories, resources, ideas, and practices shared by congregations in the spirit of creative interchange, group learning, and emerging practices. Does your congregation have something that is working well? Please let us know so we can share it! Email leaderlab@uua.org.
Recently, we've added "A Flexible Pathway to Membership" from East Shore Unitarian Church in Bellevue, WA, and the video series "Trans Etiquette Training" from the UU Church of Akron, Fairlawn, OH.
General Assembly 2024: Early Bird Registration Available through February 29
In a world that is filled with division and challenges, the theme for this year's General Assembly is a reminder of the principles that unite all of us as UUs. "Love Unites, Stories Ignite" celebrates the impact of love as a binding force that transcends boundaries and fosters connections within our faith community and beyond.
Our faith is rooted in storytelling, and this year we'll explore how our stories ignite change, inspire compassion, and help us build a more just and equitable world. It is through stories that we can find common ground, deepening our understanding of one another and of the world around us.
The 63rd General Assembly will take place virtually Thursday, June 20 through Sunday, June 23, 2024. Adult registration is $280, and includes access to General Assembly 2024 in the Whova event app, as well as on-demand programming, featured speakers, and major worships. Register through February 29 with a down payment of $50 by selecting the Early Bird Payment Plan at checkout. Voting delegates who wish to participate only in General Sessions may also register with the business-only option; this option is no-cost, but a donation is suggested. Registration rates increase March 1, 2024.
Upcoming Events
Green Sanctuary 2030 Celebration
Wednesday, January 17 | 7 pm - 8 pm ET / 4 pm - 5 pm PT
Are you ready to share the good work you’re doing? The annual Celebration is a time for Active Green Sanctuary 2030 Teams to come together to share something you’re excited about, something you need help with, or what you’re thinking about doing. Sign up today.
Teams will have a short two or three minute slot to share. We’ll handle all of the tech, advancing slides, and whatever else you need to feel comfortable sharing. Come and share what you’re up to with other UUs who are working to transform our congregations through climate justice.
Looking for basic info about the Green Sanctuary 2030 program? Attend one of the monthly orientations. The next one is Wednesday, February 7 at 7 pm ET / 4 pm PT.
UUA Board of Trustees Upcoming Meeting
Thursday, January 18-Saturday, January 20 | Schedule TBD
We invite you to join the Board as it meets to discuss and make decisions about all facets of Unitarian Universalism. Please consult the board packet of the meeting (when it's available) for more information. Register to attend here.
Side with Love January Skill Up: Community Safety & Security
Sunday, January 21, 2024 | 4 pm - 5:30 pm ET / 1 pm - 2:30 pm PT; optional Q& A from 5:30 pm - 6 pm ET / 2:30 pm - 3 pm PT
Unitarian Universalists are called to grapple with the question of what is safety? Black liberation organizers say “We Keep Us Safe" as a way to proclaim that true safety comes from relationship, community and structures of care and mutuality outside of state structures of violence and control. How do we build our political and theological commitment to keeping each other safe in the face of state and interpersonal violence?
In this skill up, Nora Rasman and India Harris will define safety and security grounded in abolitionist practice, discuss our spiritual mandate towards building sanctuary and concretely outline what we can honestly offer to ourselves and each other. Agenda includes embodied grounding and interactive training, followed by an optional Q&A Conversation from 5:30-6 ET. Register here to attend.
UPLIFT Trans and Non-Binary Drop-in Monthly Gathering
Tuesday, January 23 | 8 pm - 9:30 pm ET / 5 pm - 6:30 pm PT
Join the UPLIFT monthly gatherings for trans, nonbinary, and other not-entirely-or-at-all-cis UUs and friends of UUism. Join us to connect with other trans/nonbinary+ UUs and co-create support and community across our faith. All you need to bring is yourself (and other trans/nonbinary friends, if you’d like)! Non-UUs are welcome if they are OK with being in a UU-focused community that won't proselytize. If you are interested in this space, and you aren’t (entirely or at all) cisgender, it’s a space for you. To sign up, please fill out this form.
NOTE: This space is intentionally multi-generational. It is open to and welcoming of trans/nonbinary elders as well as children, youth, and young adults. Standard UUA online safety measures apply to ensure all people under 18 are able to attend. We're glad to have you here! For information on registering someone under 18, please follow instructions on this page.
Taproot: A National BIPOC Space
Thursday, February 8 | 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT
The work of the spiritual community is complicated in the 21st century. From busy schedules to the ever pressing tension brought on by systemic injustice, the need for faithful leadership that is grounded and resilient is imperative. This is all the more true for leaders within our communities and congregations who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPoC). All too aware of this need, Congregational Life is excited to explore and co-create a network with congregational leaders that support them in this time in emergent ways through Taproot: A National BIPOC Space. The organizing pillars of this collective is are Rest & Renewal, Analysis Building, and Leadership Development. BIPoC Leaders rooted in the Unitarian Universalist congregations are invited to take part in this monthly, virtual gathering as we explore these pillars in creating a means by which to ground ourselves in resilient communities of care. Upcoming spring 2024 dates are February 8, March 14, May 9, and June 13. There will be no April meeting. Register here to attend.
Seasons of Giving is the monthly e-newsletter from the UUA's Stewardship and Development Office. Questions can be directed to Suzanne Murray at development@uua.org or (617) 948-4392.
Check UUA.org and UUWorld.org, as well as UUA regional websites, for the latest updates.
