CER News Update - January 2026

By Central East Region of the UUA

Better Together Blog

Tyler Coles, a person of African-American descent who has short facial hair and brown glasses, stands before a blurred cityscape.

A New Tapestry by Rev. Byron Tyler Coles

Dear Ones,

Happy New Year! It has been a gift to come to know and work alongside many of you since I assumed the role of Transitional Lead with the Central East Region last August. Over the course of these last few months, I have connected with a number of leaders as they discerned how to faithfully engage in making their respective missions come alive. It is not easy, but such work, such ministry, is important. What I have also learned is that many of our congregations across the region are earnestly working towards being thriving, vibrant communities in their own unique ways. This is important for us to honor and recognize when the narrative concerning organized religion is far too often bleak, and misses the very powerful ways that religious communities are indeed engaging in the long-haul work of creating the Beloved Community. Let us keep the faith and hold tight to hope, Beloveds.

Read the rest of the post on the Better Together Blog.

Ministers’ Gathering

Reads Ministers' Gathering with Central East Region Staff. February-May, First Wednesdays, 2:30-3:30 pm Eastern Time. QR code for registration.

If you are a minister serving of affiliated with a congregation in the Central East Region, you are invited to join CER staff for monthly gatherings. Register Today.

RE Gatherings

Starting in January, the Central East Region will be hosting monthly gatherings on timely topics related to religious education in our region. On months when these occur, we offer a choice of evening and daytime times to support congregations and people with a range of needs. Choose one: RE Essentials calls for volunteer RE leaders (2nd Wednesday evenings, one hour), or DeepRE Dive calls for Religious Professionals (2nd Tuesday mornings, 90 minutes). Held on months when our region is not participating in a national UUA faith development call. Details on the website.

Blue background. DeepRE Dive Gathering with Central East Region Staff. February-May, Second Tuesdays, 11-12 pm Eastern Time.
Blue background. RE Essentials Gathering with Central East Region Staff. February-May, Second Wednesdays, 7-8 pm Eastern Time.

Building Beloved Community Beyond the Binary

Illustrated hands representing the trans and nonbinary flag holding a chalice with the words Building Beloved Community Beyond the Binary.

Save the date for April 18, 2026! Building Beloved Community Beyond the Binary. An upcoming online event including a keynote presentation given by a transgender/gender nonconforming person, workshops from and for the trans community only, as well as additional workshops for cisgender people who are ready to learn more about how to be an ally. This event creates a space and time where transgender people, allies, advocates, and accomplices can bravely (and with more safety than usual) explore, learn and grow, bear witness, and be witnessed. Attendee registration details coming soon.

Interested in being a host site for this event? Sign up on the interest form for more information. Signing up on this form is neither a commitment to host nor approval to host, but an expression of interest in hosting. We will forward your information to your regional staff, and they will reach out to you with next steps.

Congregational Life Events

March is Small Congregation Month

The UUA’s Congregational Life Small Congregations Team is hosting a month of learning for small congregations. This year’s theme is Small Congregations: We’re Doing the Work. Four webinars over 4 weeks on these topics:

  • Container for Justice
  • Digging Deeper Into Green Sanctuary
  • Redefining Welcome
  • Holding the Sacred, with the Congregational Leaders Conversation.

Webinar dates are March 3rd, 12th, 18th at 8 pm and the 24th at 7:30 pm ET and will last 75-90 minutes. The webinars will be recorded and available to everyone who registers. Registration is on a sliding scale with a maximum cost of $20. Registration will open in late January.

Sermon of the Month Series Available

Designed for small congregations, lay-led congregations, congregations with part-time ministry, and any congregation that is seeking resources for worship, Congregational Life’s Sermon of the Month Series is a monthly subscription service that provides recorded sermons congregations can download and use for worship. Along with a transcript of the sermon, each month’s offering will include suggested readings and hymns. You can access all the recordings from earlier in the year if you register now. Learn more and register for the 2025-26 series at the UUA website.

Multi-Site and Shared Staff Learning Community

This is to gather people who are serving more than one congregation to learn together and make connections. In addition to staff, we welcome lay leaders from congregations who are doing this intentionally as a “yoked” ministry. Please designate one — if you have a “shared ministry” team, for example, select someone from that group. If you are interested in participating, please complete this form and we’ll be in touch with a date.

What Webs Require: Restorative Approaches to Conflict Learning Sessions

2nd and 4th Thursdays in February and March (February 12 + 26, March 12 + 26)

Explore how we can mend the bonds that connect us, experience accountability with compassion, and feel connected in disagreement with one another. In this four-session introduction, we’ll look at what it takes to move from a paradigm of right and wrong to one of responsibility and care for how we impact and are impacted by one another and the world. Together, we will explore how we can trust our relationships in the face of disagreement, rely on them to support us in conflict, unlearn punishment, and experience accountability that feels humanizing. Learn more and register here!

Congregational Leaders Conversation Tuesday, January 27, 7:30-9pm ET: Glitter Blessing What is Sacred

Rev. Sean Neil-Barron and Rev. Jami A. Yandle will explore what is sometimes perceived as the gulf between cisgender/heteronormative and transgender/queer communities. They’ll also lift up the roles of creativity and sacredness as grounded, life-giving responses shaped by queer history and lived experience. Together we’ll engage in a timely conversation about what’s unfolding and what is most needed in this moment. Register today.

Southern Region Primer Leadership Experience

The Primer section is a self-paced experience with recorded lectures, supplemental materials, and one live processing session. The topics covered in the Primer LE are UU Theology, Covenant, and UU History. This section is for newer members who would like a grounding in our shared faith AND for long-time members who would like to deepen their relationship with our shared faith as well as gain a fuller understanding of what it means to be an every-day Unitarian Universalist. Learn more!

Journeys of Deeper Joy

A wooden tabletop holds objects from the Deeper Joy RPG. At the bottom left is a colorful illustrated map labeled “Community Building Map to Deeper Joy,” showing locations like Healing Springs, Stretching River, Forest of Affirmation, and Covenant Lighthouse. Two white six-sided dice lie near the center. On the right, an open book titled “Lorekeeper’s Notes” shows a drawing of a whimsical airship. Golden sparkles float above the scene, adding a magical feel. In the upper left is a character sheet.

Journeys of Deeper Joy, the new roleplaying curriculum, is now available!

The curriculum combines imaginative play, reflection, and a focus on community-building. Participants journey through Covenantia—discovering the Deeper Joy we can create together. No Roleplaying Game experience required to facilitate or participate!

Want to learn more about the curriculum? Join curriculum project lead Ember Oak on February 4th for an introductory training exploring how the curriculum works and how it can support connection in your community. Register for the event here.

News from the UUA

The Media Scares Me!

February 5 at 11 am ET.
Part 2 of the UUA Communications Foundational Webinar Series
Does the idea of talking to reporters fill you with dread? What’s the difference between Instagram and TikTok, anyway? In the midst of social instability and other challenges, are you wondering how you and your congregation’s public presentation matters? The UUA’s Communications Staff Group is presenting a Communications Foundational Webinar Series to help your congregation build your communications skills and capacity, share your stories, and manage crises. This series is designed to help Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations and communities promote UU values, highlight your mission and work to audiences inside and outside of Unitarian Universalism, and cultivate relationships with local media. Register today.

UUA Faith Development Co-Lab’s Winter RE Meet-up

Tuesday, January 20, 12-1:30 pm ET
Kind, Clear and Heartful: Effective Boundaries In Faith Development
In all relationships, boundaries help guide our interactions, understand expectations, define our roles, and build connections that are experienced, by all involved, as respectful, safe, and valued. Boundaries are part of the soil that can nurture our relationships and help our ministry thrive. Our Winter Religious Education Meet-Up will focus on boundaries for religious educators in their communities. We will explore the topic together through a series of presentations, breakout groups, and interactive activities. Religious Education Meet-Ups are open to all professional and lay leaders engaged in the work of faith development in our congregations. Registration is open.

The Spark RE and Music Leadership Professional Development Programs provide Unitarian Universalist Religious Professionals learning communities within which they can easily access applicable skills and tools for religious leadership. Courses are also open to interested lay leaders. Check out the lists of classes, these are great resources!

The UUA has a Disaster Relief Fund for those who want to make a donation to help congregations who have faced losses due to tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires and more. Please donate if you can. Learn more about the work of the Disaster Relief Fund. We are Better Together.

Side with Love Events

Upcoming Gatherings

30 Days of Love 2026

Love At The Center: Reimagining the World As It Could Be 
At a time when fear, violence, and extraction dominate our politics and our planet, we practice another way. We believe love is not fragile; it is fierce. It grounds our organizing, fuels our imagination, and sustains our communities. Over five weeks, we will move through a journey from imagination to action, rooting our freedom dreams in faith and bringing them to life in our world. Each week, we will have a written reflection from Side With Love staff; a conversation with a UU theologian; a multigenerational family activity; reflection questions for journaling; a meditative body practice; and a coloring sheet connected to the weekly theme. Sign up to receive an email and/or text when each week’s content is live.

Camps and Institutes

Winter Institute 2026

Winter institute is back for 2026. Come join us for this relaxing weekend in UU community, February 13-16 at Salt Fork State Park in Cambridge, OH. The event page and registration will open in the first week of November. Early bird registration runs through January 15 and rooms must be booked directly with the Lodge by January 15 to be part of the block. Learn more on the web page.

Summer Institute 2026

The Summer Institute Planning Committee is pleased to announce that the 2026 Theme speaker will be Rev. Susan Ritchie, speaking on Co-Creating Hope: The Art and Beauty of Resilience. Join us at Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH, July 5-11, 2026. Like the theme? You can submit a t-shirt design for 2026. Learn more at the CERSI website.

Visit the websites of the camps in our region to learn more about their programs:

Calendar Items and News

For events, webinars and congregation news and events visit the following pages: