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Metro NY
Minute -- March 2008 |
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News
From the District
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 Registration
is now open for the 2008
District Annual Meeting, May 2-3 at the Marriott
Hotel in Stamford CT. The Rev. Dr. Tracey Robinson-Harris,
UUA Director for Congregational Services, will deliver the
keynote address. On Friday night,
Geoff
Kaufman, well-known singer and guitarist, will entertain
and inspire. Come experience outstanding workshops, the
Metro NY District Choir, the UU Network Mall, worship,
fellowship, and fun!
This
spring, all congregations in the District will be asked to
participate in a survey conducted by the UUA Office of
Church Staff Finances. Data from the survey will be used to
develop the 2009 salary recommendations. The survey will be
electronically distributed and should take about 30 minutes
to complete. If a particular individual in your congregation
should receive the survey, or if you have other questions
concerning the survey, contact Doug Ford, District
Compensation Consultant, at
dougbar@aol.com or at 973-543-6415.
Ministers and lay UUs with electrical, plumbing, and
other construction skills needed to form TUUL-Belt
Ministry, a new UU ministry supported by the District
and designed to respond rapidly to disasters, provide
spiritual care to relief workers and victims, and coordinate
long-term reconstruction relief. Contact the Rev. Scott
Sammler-Michael at
emichael@uuma.org or 443-807-2899.
News From the UUA
 UU World magazine now publishes "Congregational Announcements," a new section that helps congregations recognize the accomplishments, transitions, and milestones of the congregation and its members. Congregations may place a brief announcement in any issue of the magazine. A "congregations only" fee of $75 is charged for up to 50 words, a savings of $100 off the price of a standard 50-word classified ad. The deadline for the summer issue is March 14, 2008. Future deadlines are June 15 for the fall issue, August 29 for the winter issue, and December 15 for the spring 2009 issue. Click here for more information or call 617-948-6502.
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Worth Repeating
Plan
now to attend UULTI 2008 - The UU Leadership Team
Institute. Last year's acclaimed program
returns for 2008. UULTI is a week-long training
opportunity sponsored by the Metro NY, Joseph
Priestly, Ohio-Meadville, and St. Lawrence
districts, July 28-August 3, Juniata College,
Huntingdon PA. Designed for congregations of all
sizes, UULTI is currently the only training
opportunity that invites smaller congregations to
team together and larger congregations to bring
teams that include lay and professional leadership.
The goal? To embrace growth and “Turn Outward in
Faith”. Save the dates and include UULTI training in
upcoming budgets. Read
first-person accounts of 2007 UULTI
 .
The Spring
2008 Chalice Lighters Call will be for the
First
Unitarian Society of Rockland County (Pomona
NY), helping the Society employ a part-time Director
of Religious Education, a critical component of
efforts to increase membership.
Read more
.
Youth, young adults,
and adult advisors are invited to participate in
Building the Bridge, March 28-29, at the UU
Congregation at Shelter Rock (Manhasset NY).
Building the Bridge is a gathering to plan the
Bridging Ceremony for the 2008 District Annual
Meeting, which marks the transition from youth to
young adulthood and welcomes bridging youth into the
young adult community.
Click here
for a flyer. Youth and young adults,
click here to register. Adult advisors,
click here to register. The deadline to
register is March 18.
More Good Stuff to Check Out!
Worship Service Providers available to
District congregations
RE-Sources
for religious education leaders
Job
opportunities around the District
SmallTalk
for
small congregations
InterConnections for lay leaders
Action Campaigns of the UUA
UUA Monthly Mailing to all congregations
UUWorld.org, UUA's online magazine |
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Funding is available through the General Assembly Planning Committee Matching Grant Program to help congregations support a member who wants to attend General Assembly in Fort Lauderdale this coming June. For an application, click here
. Deadline for application is March 31.
Changes in the structure of the continental Young Religious UUs (YRUU) are likely to take place, pending the decision of the UUA Board. In a letter February 15, UUA President Bill Sinkford said "there is a broad consensus that the current structure for continental youth ministry is not serving our faith well. It is the task of the Youth Ministry Working Group to recommend that new structure.” Read more.
The UUA Bookstore and Skinner House Books announce the following new titles. Our Whole Lives: Sexuality Education for Young Adults, Ages 18-35, with topics ranging from body image to birth control, love to latex barriers, sexual fantasizing to family life. Sexuality and Our Faith: A Companion to Our Whole Lives for Young Adults, a guide for applying UU religious values to sexuality-related decisions. Come Into the Circle: Worshiping with Children by Michelle Richards, a guide for leading children in worship, including chalice lightings, stories, sermons, songs, closing words, and more. Wrestling with Adulthood: Unitarian Universalist Men Talk About Growing Up, edited by Ken Beldon, stories from eleven men exploring the challenges they faced and the choices they made along their journeys to adulthood.
The UUA's Congregational Poll closed as on February 1. Its purpose was to decide whether to post both, either, or neither of the two proposed Congregational Study/Action Issues (CSAIs) on the General Assembly 2008 agenda. Under new social witness bylaws, a 25% quorum of certified congregations must participate in this poll for the process to move forward. This quorum was surpassed, and congregations voted to move both proposed CSAIs onto the GA 2008 agenda. CSAI-1 is Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice; CSI-2 is Nuclear Disarmament. Click here for more information about the social witness process of the UUA.
Bridge Connections
, gift packets for youth graduating from high school or turning 18, are available for purchase from the UUA Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry. Intended to help keep youth connected to Unitarian Universalism, each gift packet includes a book of meditations published by Skinner House, one-year subscriptions to UU World magazine, Quest, and Young Adult News, and information about the online directory of young adult and campus groups. Order by March 15 for timely delivery; orders are not accepted after May 1.
News From Congregations
Children, parents, and
teachers from the UU Society in Stamford (CT) delivered
valentines on February 10 to elder members of the
congregation that can no longer leave their homes and to
residents of a local nursing home. The children were
thrilled that their creations were delivered to and enjoyed
by appreciative recipients.
Click here for more pictures.
The UU Congregation at Rock Tavern (NY) on March 2
unanimously approved floor plans for rebuilding the
facilities destroyed in a devastating fire in September
2006. The Congregation is committed to "building green." The
public phase of a capital campaign begins in April and
includes offering items for sale at the
2008 District Annual Meeting.
Read more
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The UU Congregation at
Montclair (NJ) was among nearly 800 congregations
worldwide participating in Evolution Weekend,
February 8-10. In his sermon on February 10, the Rev.
Charlie Ortman said “The goal of Evolution Weekend is to
demonstrate that those outspoken fundamentalists who assert
that people have to choose between religion and science are
not speaking for the majority of religious leaders and
religious persons.”
Read more.
The Fourth Universalist Society (Manhattan) is
sponsoring an illustrated slide lecture on March 16 titled
"From Sheridan
Square to the Harlem Renaissance: Gays and Lesbians in New
York's Visual Arts" by James Saslow, one of the founders
of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at City University
of New York. Proceeds for the event will benefit
Interweave, a membership organization guided by UU
principles and committed to outreach, recognition, and
nurturance of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender
members.
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Milestones and Transitions
The Rev. Alison
Cornish will be installed as Minister at the
UU Congregation of the South Fork (Bridgehampton
NY) on April 6 at 4:00 p.m. A former member of the
Congregation, the Rev. Cornish also was ordained by
the Congregation and is their first settled
minister.
Amy Strano will
be ordained by the Unitarian Church of All Souls
(Manhattan) and by the Fourth Universalist
Society (Manhattan) at the Unitarian Church of
All Souls on April 13 at 5:00 p.m. (Note the change
in time from previous announcements.)
Ian Maher will
be ordained by the UU Congregation of Queens
(Flushing NY) on April 27 at 5:00 p.m.
The Rev. Bob Janis Dillon will be installed
as Minister at the First UU Fellowship of
Hunterdon County (Baptistown NJ) on May 18 at
3:00 p.m.
Wendy Pantoja
will be ordained by the First Unitarian Society
of Plainfield (NJ) on June 1 at 4:00 p.m. The
service will take place at the UU Congregation at
Montclair.
Elizabeth Anne
Putnam will be ordained by the Fourth
Universalist Society (Manhattan) on June 8 at
4:00 p.m.
Rosemarie Newberry
will be ordained by the UU Congregation of
Monmouth County (Lincroft NJ) on October 26 at
5:00 p.m.
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The Community Church of New York UU women's group
presented on March 2 a service titled "Revolution by
Resolution," covering the history and accomplishments of the
UUA's Women and Religion Committee, created in 1977. The
service was written by the Rev. Dorothy Emerson and first
presented last June at General Assembly in Portland OR.
The Unitarian Church in Westport (CT) continues its
Bridges to Belief Series with a
lecture on April 6
by Dr. Sharon Welch, Provost and Professor of Religion,
Society at Meadville Lombard Theological School, and a
lecture on
May 4 by the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, President of the
Interfaith Alliance. Free to the public, a reception follows
each speaker.
Other Noteworthy Items
 The Unitarian Universalists for Jewish Awareness ( UUJA) is seeking entries for the first annual Jerry Davidoff Sermon Award. A prize of $500 will be awarded for a sermon preached between January 2007 and December 2007 that best illustrates or exemplifies the contributions of Jewish theology, thought, or culture to Unitarian Universalism. The award is named in honor of Jerry Davidoff, an early member of UUJA and a member of the Unitarian Church in Westport (CT), who has been instrumental in helping lift up the often overlooked Jewish presence in our religious movement. Entries should be submitted in Word, RTF, or PDF document format to UUJA vice-president Arthur Thexton at athexton@alum.beloit.edu. The deadline is March 15, 2008. Questions can be addressed to UUJA president the Rev. Marti Keller at mkeller@uuca.org.
Universalist Convocations, an Independent Affiliate Organization of the UUA, will hold Universalist Convocation 2008 on May 2-8 at the Barton Center in North Oxford MA. The theme of the event is "Being of Service: Path to Fulfillment."
The UU Small Group Ministry Network invites individuals and congregations to join this grassroots organization dedicated to creating healthy UU congregations by supporting small group ministry and related shared ministry models. Membership in the Network includes receiving the SGM Quarterly Journal. The Network facilitates the exchange of resources and information through its web site and Covenant Group News, develops new resources, and organizes regional small group ministry conferences.
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Upcoming Workshops and Meetings
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| Visit the District's Calendar
and Events
page for these and other events: |
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Building the Bridge
(Bridging Ceremony Planning): March 28-29, UU Congregation
at Shelter Rock, Manhasset NY. For a flyer,
click here
.
To register as a youth or young adult,
click here. To register as an adult advisor,
click here. For more information, contact
Beth Dana.
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Caring Congregation
Training: March 28-30:
Mount Manresa, Staten Island NY. Sponsored by
the Metro NY District. For a flyer,
click here
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For more information, contact
Andrea Lerner.
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Long Island Leadership
Institute: April 12, location to be announced. For more
information, contact
Reba Siniscalchi. |
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Junior Youth Con: April
12-13, UU Congregation of Monmouth County (Lincroft NJ). For a
flyer, click here
. To
register,
click here. For more information, contact
Peter Green.
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UU Ministers Association
District Chapter Annual Meeting: May 1-2, Marriott
Hotel, Stamford CT. For more information, contact the Rev. Anthony (Tony) Johnson.
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Anti-Racism and Diversity
Conclave: May 31, Community Church of New York UU,
Manhattan. Sponsored by the Metro NY District. The Rev. Bill
Sinkford, UUA President, will be the keynote speaker. For more
information, contact Carl Heath
or the Rev. Hope Johnson.
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YRUU Con: June 6-8, UU
Congregation at Shelter Rock, Manhasset NY. For more
information, contact
Corinne Hallander. |
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