CER News Update - May 2026

By Central East Region of the UUA

Returning to the Eildon Tree: What I’ve Learned on This Arm of the Spiral

headshot Lyn Cox

by Rev. Lyn Cox, CER Regional Staff

Spring has returned in earnest where I live. The wave of blossoms from snowdrops to hellebores to daffodils rolls onward to azaleas and rhododendrons, somehow the same and different each year. Some years I do a little bit of cold weather vegetable gardening in March and April, some years I don’t, but in either case there is a flurry of activity to switch over to peak growing season in May. The garden looks a little different every year, even if there are familiar themes from one growing season to the next. Looking back over my gardening journals, I feel aligned with the idea of time as a spiral, turning in familiar shapes through seasons and cycles and rhythms of history, yet with a different perspective at every turn. Time does not seem to me to move in straight lines during the growing season.

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

State of the Association Address

This 39-minute video (YouTube) from President Sofía Betancourt offers an unprecedented view into programs and planning happening at the UUA, with an invitation into deeper partnership. The message is a reflection on this moment in the faith, the challenges and possibilities that lay ahead, and what it means to hold the heart of Unitarian Universalism today.

Leading Spiritual Lives: A Summer Session at CERSI

Leading Spiritual Lives Square Graphic

July 6-10, 2026

“Leadership is people leading spiritual lives,” says Hilary Allen, a member of Congregational Life Staff in the New England Region. As practicing Unitarian Universalists, we have historically proclaimed that all have a role to play in creating the Beloved Community. But in times of stress and constant motion, how do we engage the depths of Love as a grounding force?

In Leading Spiritual Lives, a summer session jointly sponsored by the Central East and MidAmerica Regions, participants will come to a deeper understanding that trustworthy, inspired leadership is aligned with deep spiritual work that guides our choices, priorities, and actions with our professed values. Not only will we learn about the essential history and theology of our tradition, but we will also explore the ways that it is present for us today.

To attend you must register for CERSI and for this event. Learn more at the event page.

CER BIPOC UU Gathering

Final Session this year

Join us for our final Central East Region BIPOC UU Gathering of the congregational year on Wednesday, May 13th at 6:30pm ET (on Zoom). This monthly space centers connection, reflection, and spiritual grounding for BIPOC Unitarian Universalists, welcoming lay folks, leaders, and religious professionals. We hope you’ll join us as we close out the year together in community.

Congregational Life Events

Child and Youth Safety Training

Are you a volunteer RE coordinator, interested Board member, or a dedicated classroom guide or youth advisor? Open to religious professionals and ministers too! This gathering will review UUA suggestions for policies and practices to create a safer congregation for all ages. Select between two meeting time options:

Congregationally Affirmed Minister’s Gathering (Formerly the Non-Fellowshipped Minister’s Group)

This monthly gathering is for ministers who are serving Unitarian Universalist congregations that do not currently hold Fellowship from the UUA, and is open to congregational ministers form all five UUA Regions. Hosted by Rev. David Pyle, the Regional Lead for the MidAmerica Region of the UUA, the gathering seeks to create both a community of accountability and care among ministers who often do not have access to other forms of ministerial community. We also share resources and news from the UUA as well as share resources and experience among one another. If you are a minister serving a UU congregation, but do not currently hold ministerial fellowship with the UUA, this group may be for you. Learn more.

Congregational Leaders Conversation

Tuesday, May 26, 7:30-9pm ET: Music in the Key of Liberation

In our final conversation of the year, we welcome music directors Jen Hayman and Paolo Debuque to share their reflections on the role of music in congregations and communities. Singing together can soothe and connect us, ground us in our bodies and our values, inspire and transform us. Music can foster liberation in our hearts, our families, our neighborhoods and the larger world. Join the conversation as we share stories of what’s possible when we join our voices in song, in and beyond our congregations.

Jen Hayman is an Thai-American choral conductor, educator, singer, and pianist who believes in the power of music to change lives and culture. She has served multiple is currently the President of the Association for UU Music Ministries (AUUMM). Paolo Debuque (he/him) is a Filipino- and Chinese-American conductor dedicated to music as a liberation practice. He also serves as Director of Music at First Universalist Church of Minneapolis. Register today.

News from the UUA

UUAMP Professional Days: Telling Our Stories; Sharing the Unique Heart of our Congregations

May 6, 2026, Cleveland, OH
Join us for a time of learning, networking, and programming that helps us meet this moment as we do the work of welcoming and belonging in our congregations. This year’s guest speakers are Nancy McDonald Ladd and Natalie Briscoe. Plan to attend in-person or virtually online. Registration fees vary depending on the accommodations required. Find out more at their website.

Celebration of Firsts A Multigen Worship Resource

The Celebration of Firsts multigenerational worship is polished and is absolutely profound.
Big ups to DRE Sol Cornell along with NEAT who put this thing together: “I wrote this ritual with the intention of providing congregations with a practice that, while applicable to all ages, acknowledges and honors one of the most defining features of the young adult. Firsts are a lifelong experience, a daily one even, but many of us have some of our most foundational and transformative firsts in that turbulent period of early adulthood.” Here’s a video (YouTube) of First UU Austin doing the service. Once more from Sol, “Your firsts are holy, and you are holy for living them.”

UU Mental Health Network Online Worship Service

May 31, 2026, 6 pm ET.

Our Faith Calls Us to Embrace Mental Health. Featuring Speakers: UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofia Betancourt and UUA Director of Congregational Life Natalie Aguila Briscoe. Register online.

Side with Love Events

Black inkbrush heart with words "Side with Love"

Upcoming Gatherings

UUTV Trainings

Resources and Announcements

  • Side With Love is hiring a fully remote, part-time Climate Justice Fellow to support congregational climate justice organizing. See job description & application requirements at the UUA website.
  • UU the Vote 2026: Download the Guide and Watch the Launch.
  • Creating Hubs of Resilience — Resources from April Gathering

Camps and Institutes

Co-creating Hope: The Art and Beauty of Resilience. image of flower growing up through a crack in a sidewalk with a can and bag nearby.

Summer Institute 2026

Join us at Summer Institute for an unforgettable week of community and music. Registration is open! Everything you need to know about registering.

Many jobs are required to make the magic happen. We still need a Workshift coordinator, Bookstore coordinator, tech support, Health team worker (at least first aid/CPR certified), tie dye, water play, and child care provider for late afternoons and vespers. Some jobs (camperships) are perfectly suited to a first-timer while others can be involved and take time to learn. Some jobs are awarded for a single year, others for 3 years at a time. See a brief description of the available camperships, the amount you will offset your registration fee, and a link to the application at the CERSI website.

Join us at Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH, July 5-11, 2026 with 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 with Rev. Susan Ritchie, speaking on Co-Creating Hope: The Art and Beauty of Resilience.

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: