Archives of Central East Region News and Blog

I don’t know if you’re like me, but I have trouble asking for help. First, it takes me forever to figure out I need help. Then I feel strange and awkward about asking - I don’t want to bother anyone.

Want to join the CER Team? Job Opening for Field Staff

Featured Resource Pages—Smaller Congregations

Find out what's happening in the Central East Region! This month - UU the Vote, Stewardship Resources, Money Mythbusters, GA 2020, CER is Hiring!, Summer Institute is looking for volunteers.

From all of us at the Central East Region, we wish you Happy Holidays and a joyous New Year and extend a deep appreciation for our congregational leaders who do so much for our faith.

UUMAC, or the Unitarian Universalist Mid-Atlantic Community, gathers together for one week each year to build community and deepen our Unitarian Universalist faith through fun, friendship, music, dancing, learning and worship.

We live in a perfectionistic society. If you can’t do it perfectly, don’t do it at all. That attitude stifles creativity, thinking outside the box, trying something new. Why? Because we may fail and if we fail it may get plastered all over social media so everyone will know.

First Unitarian Universalist Society of Syracuse is once again hosting its annual Building Beloved Community Beyond the Binary conference on February 8, 2020 8:30 am – 4:30 pm.

Find out what's happening in the Central East Region! This month - Conversations for Liberation, Leadership Development Resources, Winter Programs, GA 2020 Registration is open, The Season of Gratitude and more!

With Thanksgiving past and the holiday season approaching, this marks the beginning of the season of thankfulness and gratitude. And so we want to take this opportunity to say Thank You.

It's time to start thinking about summer and the Central East Region Summer Institute (CERSI - formerly SI)!

As we enter into the season of gratitude, this “savoring” time that leads to the Harvest, I find myself thinking of the nuanced differences between appreciation and gratitude.

No Child Goes Hungry (NCGH) is a nonprofit envisioned and created by UU minister, Rev. Kären Rasmussen. With the dream of eliminating childhood hunger in every neighborhood, NCGH's concept is pretty simple.

Video from the New Day Rising Conference in Manhasset, NY

Find out what's happening in the Central East Region! This month - The UUA Common Read, Small Congregations Resources, Small Congregations Webinar Series, New Ways of Doing Youth Programming and more!

At a time when resources are not always at a level we would like them to be at, we may find that pooling our resources with our neighboring congregations is beneficial. We are literally Better Together in this sense.

Resources for congregations working in this year's upcoming elections.

Featured Resource Pages—Communications and Social Media

This past summer Central East Region piloted a new leadership experience for Youth called River Rising.

Although there will undoubtedly be a few more warm days ahead, Autumn has started weaving brilliantly colored autumnal threads. This season does not work especially well for me because winter is, for me, a harsh and cold season.

Find out what's happening in the Central East Region! This month - Faithify, Communications Resources, Board Training Series, New Day Rising and more!

Allegheny UU Church Children Show Support for Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh as part of a Beautification project.

On September 20, three days before the UN Climate Summit in NYC, young people and adults will strike all across the US and world to demand transformative action be taken to address the climate crisis.

One of the things we don’t get here in Washington DC is the slight nip in the air that tells you that the school year is about to begin (and allows you to wear your new school clothes rather than your old sweaty summer clothes for another month) but nevertheless, it is September...

As Susan Frederick-Gray mentioned during her president’s report at General Assembly in June, LeaderLab is a tremendous resource for congregational leaders.

Find out what's happening in the Central East Region! This month - LeaderLab, New Day Rising, Youth Advisor Training, Small Congregations Program and more!

The UU Congregation of Greater Canton (UUCGC), though fewer in members, has had an important compassion and justice presence in their community. A few years ago they started a project to collect books for incarcerated individuals at the Stark County Jail, which got a lot of...

A Primary Contact is assigned to every congregation in the Central East Region. Do you know who yours is and what they do?

On August 25, 1619, the ship the White Lion arrived in Hampton, Virginia. The ship contained enslaved Africans. This is the first recorded arrival of Africans in America. This year, this anniversary will be commemorated at Fort Monroe as a day of healing and and reconciliation.

Our UU congregational tradition practices freedom of both pulpit and pew. Ministers are given the privilege to share their understandings from the pulpit, and member are free to agree or disagree.

Find out what's happening in the Central East Region! This month - Primary Contacts, New Day Rising, Youth Advisor Training, Small Congregations Program and more!

I was spending the late afternoon before the June 2018 UU Minister’s Association Ministry Days exploring the hotel and riding the escalators with my 3 and 4 year old children while we waited for the Opening Reception (“party” to my children).

We know that small congregations are sharing the Love and Grace of Unitarian Universalism with their people and their communities every day. We also know that small churches can be faced with big challenges. Together we can help small congregations reach toward their greatest...

At UUCA, the storm’s heavy rain resulted in almost 70 percent of the church’s lower level being covered in one to two inches of standing water – causing significant water damage to the affected areas.

California here we come - PA that is. Summer Institute (CERSI) is moving to California University of Pennsylvania just south of Pittsburgh for next year. Next year on July 12-18, 2020 the CERSI community will convene in California, PA.

One of the blessings of getting out of your normal surroundings is that it inspires you to see thing anew when you return

UU Society of Ithaca, NY uses and recommends new way of keep events green by using The Dish Truck.

Find out what's happening in the Central East Region! This month - New Documents from Office of Church Staff Finances, Resources from General Assembly, time to update your leadership and Summer Programming still has openings!

General Assembly ended yesterday, the whirlwind week of workshops, services, business meetings, and the exhibit hall is now over for another year. As I write this many are starting the trip home from Spokane, WA.

In our regional staff team we joke about our “superpowers”. These are fun, amazing skills each of us have that we like to joke about - for example, one of us can tetris 7 people’s luggage and equipment into the back of van in a matter of minutes, and another can knit fruits,...

For 40 years a group of dedicated volunteers, leaders and staff have created Summer Institute, an intentional intergenerational community.

What kind of leaders do[es] our faith and our planet need in a future that is as close as tomorrow? What does sustainable leadership look like when burnout and overwhelm are so prevalent?

Find out what's happening in the Central East Region! This month - GA Prep Webinars, River Rising, RE Week, and CER Staffing Changes

It's time to get prepared for General Assembly 2019!

Summer is bringing some staffing changes to Central East Region.

I’ve been reflecting on the many ways that our churches would do well to describe the ways they aren’t attached to the habits and practices of this world. We UUs are not only called to make this world better. We are often called to do so by subverting the dominant paradigm, by...

The Melanie Pescan Memorial scholarship fund was started in order to bring people with financial hardships to Summer Institute. The scholarship pays for at least part of their attendance fee.

Last March, I began a journey to learn the history of the Movement (the Civil Rights Movement) in Alabama. Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s I had been taught about Rosa Parks in Montgomery; the March from Selma to Montgomery; and the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in...

Find out what's happening in the Central East Region! This month - Cluster Programs Offered by Staff, RE Trainings this Summer and Seaway Gathering

Each one of our congregations have a ministry context – the neighborhood and community where our church is located. If we knew more about our neighbors, we could be intentional about offering programming that meets the real needs of the community.