A Training for Congregational Staff

Are you interested in creating a staff team that’s really ready to join in collective nurturing and accountability for emergent shared ministry? Consider this year-long, multi-modal training for your staff, supported by the collaboration of the UUA, UUMA, LREDA, AUUA, UUAMP, and AUUMM!

Together, we will explore ways to embody new leadership models grounded in covenant, guided by Spirit, and rooted in our shared values. Through play, interactive activities and group work with entire staff teams, we will explore how shared ministry can decolonize leadership and transform our congregations and faith. This course will provide a solid framework for establishing a collective philosophy of shared ministry for staff teams; cultivate trust and learn restorative practices; identify where power resides in our professional settings and how to share it equitably for enhanced impact.

This training is for…

• staff teams who are committed to each other and their collaborative work
• healthy staff teams that want to deepen their work together
• religious professionals interested in decolonizing our congregational systems and advancing the work of liberation and transformation in Unitarian Universalism

This training is NOT for staff teams with active conflict, or for religious professionals looking to be convinced of the value of shared ministry.

What You’ll Do

• Establish a collective philosophy of shared ministry within staff teams
• Cultivate trust
• Name and acknowledge potential pitfalls to shared ministry
• Solidify a shared vision for your ministry

Schedule

This program will begin with an in-person experience at the UUMA Institute for the Learning Ministry (January 26-30, 2026), followed by asynchronous learning and virtual meetings in the spring and summer of 2026. The dates for the virtual meetings will be scheduled to accommodate the staff teams that sign up for this program by November 15, 2025.

Discounts Available!

This program has an additional and separate cost to the registration fee for the UUMA Institute, where the training begins. Cost for two registrants is $750; for 3 registrants $900; for 4 registrants $1000, with any additional registrants at 5 or beyond being $50/person.

The first four teams to register for the Shared Ministry learning track at the UUMA Institute will receive a $500 credit towards the total cost of this training.

How to register: The UUMA member on your team should begin by registering for the Institute and selecting the Shared Ministry learning track. Following this initial registration, the UUMA member will receive instructions on how to complete the registration process for the rest of the staff team.

Facilitators

Your facilitators are the fabulous Revs. Rev. Phoenix Bell-Shelton and Doug McCusker and religious educator, Mandolin Restivo.

Rev. Phoenix Bell-Shelton (they/them) serves as the contract-to-call minister of the Unitarian Universalists of the Cumberland Valley in Carlisle, PA. A queer, BIPOC, nonbinary minister and public theologian, Rev. Phoenix leads with a theology of radical love, sanctuary, and collective liberation. Their ministry is grounded in covenant, spiritual depth, and the practice of shared leadership rooted in equity, care, and transformation.

Rev. Phoenix brings deep experience in Unitarian Universalist ministry, including congregational leadership, pastoral care, youth ministry, and denominational engagement. They previously served as an intern minister at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fredericksburg, VA, and on the youth staff of the Southeast UU Summer Institute (SUUSI). They currently serve on the board of TRUUsT (Transgender Religious Professionals Together) and the UUMA’s Widening the Circle Committee. Rev. Phoenix believes that shared ministry is a sacred invitation to co-create communities where every voice matters, every gift is honored, and every person is held in the fullness of their humanity.

Rev. Douglas McCusker (he/him) is a retired Unitarian Universalist minister with extensive experience in parish ministry, religious education, curriculum development, and social justice ministry. He served two congregations as a parish minister: UU Congregation of Rockville, MD and the UU Fellowship of Fredericksburg, VA. He also led a Unitarian Universalist group at the Coffeewood state prison in Virginia. His curriculum work includes an online middle school program on cyberbullying, and adult religious education curricula such as Sacred Texts and 5 Habits for UUs. He is on the Nature staff and Healthy Relations team of the Southeast UU Summer Institute. He currently serves as a Good Officer on the UU Minister Association Care Team. Doug identifies as a BIPOC, second-generation Colombian-American. He is a certified Mindfulness Outdoor Guide who has led many groups in Shin-rin Yoku (Forest Bathing). Doug and his spouse Marie, live in North Adams, MA.

Mandolin Restivo (she/they) is a Unitarian Universalist religious educator, nonprofit executive, and lay leader with deep experience in curriculum development and facilitation, and faith-based social responsibility. They currently serve as Executive Director of Postpartum Support Virginia, where she leads statewide efforts to educate maternal health prescribers on screening and treatment for perinatal mental illness. Previously, she served as Director of Lifespan Religious Education at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fredericksburg, VA. Mandolin’s spiritual leadership includes facilitating Soul Matters small groups, developing multigenerational worship, and guiding trauma-informed ministry rooted in embodied compassion. She is a trained parenting coach, former Women’s Studies professor, and Our Whole lives educator. Mandolin identifies as a queer Italian-American woman. She lives in Fredericksburg, VA, where she parents a middle schooler, grows tomatoes, and writes poetry.

Copy the iCalendar (ICS) link address to subscribe to this event (or download the file to import it) in a program which supports the iCal format.