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Breakthrough Leadership Experiencepicture of Breakthrough Leadership Experience banner
March 12, April 9, and May 14

This NEW leadership development option offered by the Southern Region is meant to help your congregation breakthrough its old patterns and habits and fully incarnate Unitarian Universalism in your Beloved Community.

The Breakthrough LE series is a three-session experience with lectures and supplemental materials and activities between the three sessions. This section spans from February through May, with three live sessions in March, April, and May.

The topics for the three sessions are Incarnational UU Theology, Covenant Beyond Walls, and Justice is what Love Looks Like in Public.

The cost is $75 per person. Spaces are limited for this series and there are prerequisites required.
Learn more and register here. If you have questions about the required prerequisites, please send an email to kcharles@uua.org or sr@uua.org.

Primer Leadership ExperienceLeadership Experience banner
June 1, September 14, or February 8

Back by popular demand – we heard your requests and are bringing back the Primer Leadership Experience for Spring 2022!

Participants will emerge from this experience equipped with the foundational knowledge needed for congregational leadership. This series focuses on Unitarian Universalist History, Polity, and Theology. This event includes both self-paced video learning and a live, online, group processing session (you choose the live date that works best for you). The cost is $35 per person.

Watch an introductory video here. Register today!

picture of toolboxToolbox Webinar Series 2021-2022

Toolbox Webinars are compact and efficient one-time training sessions that support congregations and congregational leadership. Toolbox Webinars are offered live, monthly, on the second Tuesday beginning in August (with occasional fourth Tuesday sessions), and last up to 90 minutes. Learn more and register here.

  • May 10: Governance – With Southern Region Staff Members Lillian Drab-Braddick, Cameron Young, and Lead Natalie Briscoe. We will explore the basics of governance models, when each might be effective, and general approaches to governance in the congregation. Roles for staff, boards, committees on shared ministry, and committees will also be discussed. Please note, our May Toolbox is being offered as a pre-recorded webinar and we will not meet live on Zoom. Please register at the link above to receive the recording.

Widening the Circle of Concern Study/Action Guide Now Availableimage-cover art widening the circle of concern report

We’re excited to announce the release of a Study/Action Guide to the Widening the Circle of Concern report! Many of you are looking for ways to bring the hard work and findings of the Commission on Institutional Change into the life of your congregation or UU community. This new guide provides 11 session outlines for a group or taskforce in your congregation to break down the various components and recommendations of the original report.

More than a discussion guide, this Study/Action provides framing and helpful hints on how your community can actively participate in transformative liberation. Widening the Circle is joyful change work that is deeply rooted in our shared UU theology. We hope that engaging this guide offers your community an opportunity for meaningful connection during this time of isolation. The UUA offers many thanks to the commissioners and professional group leaders who came together quickly to develop this additional resource.

Learn more and sign up to receive your copy of the Study/Action Guide here

Picture of COVID-19Shift in COVID-19 Prevention Strategies from the UUA

The UUA recognizes that, even after the Omicron surge subsides, dealing with the COVID-19 virus will be an ongoing challenge for congregations. We are making some shifts in our COVID-19 guidance for congregations away from specific guidance based on metrics and instead offering strategiesfor risk reduction. Many congregations have set metrics about when it is safe to gather in person, or online-only, based on infection rate in the community. This Omicron surge, the availability of at-home tests, and the advent of vaccinations for ages five and up have made such metrics less relevant than before. The best decision-making regarding in-person gathering will need to be made by each congregation’s leaders in their local contexts.  While the UUA will continue to suggest data you might track locally, our strategies are geared towards general best “risk reduction” practices as we move toward an endemic situation. For more details about the reasons for the UUA’s change in approach, visit our January update to COVID guidance.

Introducing Leader Lab

Relentlessly Useful Resources for Leadership Development

As Susan Frederick-Gray mentioned during her president’s report at General Assembly in June, LeaderLab is a tremendous resource for congregational leaders. Check it out at: https://www.uua.org/leadership.

You can go there for extensive training by taking one of the full length leadership courses from the Unitarian Universalist Leadership Institute that are designed to help leaders with the basics of leadership and to help them understand the unique complexities of leading in the context of our UU congregations. Enrollment for these online courses is typically in the fall, winter and summer. Registration for the fall courses is open now; classes begin September 6. For a complete list of the courses offered, both elective and on demand, go to: https://www.uuinstitute.org/course-list/. Courses are $30 each. If you are a member of the congregation and need assistance with registration for any of the courses, please talk with Bob Whitaker at denomconn@uucolumbia.org.

 

Southern Region Staff Blog and UUA Communications

When to Call
By Natalie Briscoe

March 31, 2022

Just as an individual joins a congregation to amplify their values, so does a congregation join the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). The UUA is the congregations’ association which has a mission to support congregations, equip leaders, and live out our UU Values in the world. However, individual congregations are their own ultimate authority, govern themselves, choose their own ministers, and elect their own leadership. Congregations are the institutional incarnation of Unitarian Universalism in any given area, and the UUA is the manifestation of the covenant between congregations. Your Regional Staff are employees of this UUA, and we are your partners in co-creating Unitarian Universalism. We coach, companion, connect, and challenge congregations – to live into the fullest expression of Unitarian Universalism that they want to and to create Beloved Community in the cities and states in which they practice.

To this end, your staff hears frequently, “We don’t know what the UUA is or why we would call them.” Well, here is a list of when you might call your Regional Staff, and when you might call someone else!