Opportunities for Connection - October 2025

By Central East Region of the UUA

2025-26 Common Read

The image is the cover of Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection by Deepa Iyer. The background is light yellow, and there is the image of a yellow circle to the right of the cover, and circles of teal, light blue, purple, and orange extending from the yellow circle.

Deepa Iyer’s Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection (Skinner House) is the UU Common Read for 2025-26. In a workbook format, Iyer introduces a Social Change Ecosystem model that congregations, or other groups focused on justice and transformative change, can apply. Iyer guides readers to examine their personal connections with interconnected roles, such as builder, storyteller, disrupter, caregiver, visionary, and more. The Common Read offers two tracks–for multigenerational groups and for adults (adaptable for older youth)–for Whole Church engagement in learning and practice. Learn more and register to explore the Common Read Resource Kit!

No Kings National Mobilization

As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the NO KINGS non-violent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power belongs to the people. The Unitarian Universalist Association is proud to be an organizational sponsor of the October 18 No Kings National Mobilization. Learn more and find a gathering in your area – or sign up to a host a No Kings gathering in your community! Need resources? There is info on LeaderLab including an intro video and other links.

Leadership Learning Opportunities

Leadership

The Congregational Life Staff are offering a number of opportunities for congregational leaders to develop skills and network.

Congregational Leaders Conversation
October 28 (monthly, generally 4th Tuesdays), 7:30-9pm ET.
The Path to Healing: Empowering Congregations Harmed by Misconduct
To support the healing and health of congregations that have experienced clergy and lay leader misconducts, we must acknowledge and address the two elements always present in the aftermath. First, a misconducting minister/leader chose to violate their profession’s ethical standards of practice. And second, congregational leaders are disempowered; they lack the capacity, sometimes chronically, to manage themselves in ways that serve their congregation’s best interests and health and that express their principles and values. With Rev. Dr. Deborah Pope-Lance. Register for the Congregational Leaders Conversation

Southern Region Primer Leadership Training
Wednesday, October 15th, 7:00 PM to 08:00 PM ET
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. The Primer section of the Leadership Experience builds your foundation in and connection to Unitarian Universalism. 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. All ages are welcome for this online offering, and they are a wonderful augmentation to Coming of Age, Youth, Young Adult, and membership development programs in your congregation. Learn more and register.

The Southern Region is also offering Essentials of UU Leadership in 3 sessions in January and February 2026 and Primer Leadership Experience, which is a self-paced experience with one live session on February 18th.

Lead with Love Conference
The Lead with Love conference is an in person event as part of SR’s Leadership Experience. Save the date, February 7, 2026, in Greenville UU Fellowship, Greenville, SC. Registration will be open soon. Details at the UUA website.

Wave Cohorts

The image shows a clear glass prism in the shape of a triangular pyramid resting on a smooth, neutral-colored surface. A beam of white light enters the prism from one side. As it passes through the prism, the light disperses into a vivid spectrum of colors—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet—creating a rainbow effect that projects out the opposite side. The dispersion is sharp and vibrant, casting both light and color onto the surface around the prism.

Meet the Moment is a movement-wide framework helping Unitarian Universalists to collaboratively analyze, discern, and take values-based action in response to today’s religious, cultural, generational, and political realities.

Helping Our Communities Thrive: A Meet the Moment Wave Cohort for UUA Congregational Life Work
The UUA needs your input this fall! Join a one-time wave cohort to envision the most effective interventions that Congregational Life Field Staff can make in the lives of our congregations and communities. Your session will help you imagine what helps a UU community flourish and how that process might be aided by Congregational Life work.
Pick the most appropriate group for you (just one!) from these options*:

  • Lay Leaders/Congregants: Monday, September 29th, 8 pm ET Lay Leader Registration. This event is for lay leaders in congregations.
  • Lay Leaders/Congregants Holding Traditionally Marginalized Identities: Monday, October 8th, 8 pm ET. This event is for lay leaders holding traditionally marginalized identities such as people of color, trans and nonbinary people and those with disabilities. (This space is only for those with traditionally marginalized identities.)
  • Religious Professionals: Monday, October 23rd, 8 pm ET. This event is for religious professionals like ministers, religious educators, musicians, administrators and other paid staff.

Additional cohort opportunities can be found on the UUA website. Find additional learning and networking opportunities in our Better Together Blog from August 25th.

Invitation to Join the Changemakers
During times of great turmoil, it can feel risky to try something new. Yet, perhaps that is exactly the time that something else – a change – is called for. Did you recently implement a big change in the life of your congregation or UU community? Are you working on one now? Interested in spending time with other congregational leaders implementing change, reflecting on the very nature of change itself: its obstacles and opportunities? Apply to join the Changemakers with the Normalizing Change Wave Cohort, meeting this fall, to support each other in bringing intentional, planned change to our UU communities. Find out more here. The deadline for the simple and short applications is October 6th. Contact Jessica York, Director of Congregational Life, at jyork@uua.org, for more information.

Lead a Spring Wave Cohort! — Fall Info Sessions

Tuesday, October 14th, 2025 @ 7:00pm eastern. Registration Link
 Sunday, October 19th, 2025 @ 4:00pm eastern. Registration Link

Join Rev. Kierstin Homblette Allen, UUA Meet the Moment Program Manager for a one hour zoom webinar to learn how to submit Wave Cohorts Proposals for Spring of 2026. With support from Betty Clark and Rev. Ashley Horan.

Leading Change: Stories and Learnings Save the Date

Saturday, November 15, 2025
Join members of the Normalizing Change Wave Cohort and UUA staff in our exploration of the nature of Change. You will hear stories about the obstacles, the opportunities, the beauty, and risk-taking from congregational leaders actively working to bring change to the life of their congregation/UU community. This free, one-day Zoom conference will offer resources and time to reflect on the ever-constant nature of change and how we can bring intentionality and planning to the changes we wish to make to enrich our lives and our faith. Registration information will be available in early November.

Office of Church Staff Finances Office Hour

Office of Church Staff Finances Logo (OCSF)

Hiring Staff
There’s a lot to think about when it comes to recruiting and hiring a new staff member! Are you wondering about best practices for interviewing? How specific to make your job description? Tips for diversifying your staff? Whether it’s okay to hire a member? Join Jan Gartner, Associate Director, UUA Church Staff Finances, on Wednesday, October 15, from 3:00 to 4:15 ET (noon to 1:15 PT) for questions and conversation about recruitment and hiring. Jan will briefly share UUA resources and then take your questions. Register today.

Threshold Conversations: The Theology of Covenant Watch Party

Tuesday, October 14, 2025, 2 hours, 1-3pm Eastern
Delve into topics of Unitarian Universalist theology of covenant. What is a covenant, and is such a thing relevant today? What is the lived value of a covenant? Explore together what it could mean to call or be called back into covenant, and contemplate Rumi’s quote “Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again, come, come.” Whether you are new to Unitarian Universalist thinking on covenant or coming back again, this conversation will have something for you.
This event will be a watch party of a recorded panel conversation, followed by live audience Q&A with the panelists and you. This is part of the Threshold Conversations series which seeks to understand and attend to the emergent needs of our Unitarian Universalist communities and cast a vision for UU faith development into the future. Register today!

Side with Love Events

Black inkbrush heart with words "Side with Love"

The Gathering is a monthly virtual event from Side With Love, designed to offer:

  • Spiritual Grounding – Strengthen your heart and spirit for the work ahead.
  • Political Analysis – Understand the threats to democracy and justice.
  • Collective Action – Organize with others to block anti-democratic forces and build a just and loving world.

Upcoming topics for The Gathering:

  • Monday, October 13th: Land
  • Monday, November 10th: Elections
  • Monday, December 8th: Theology

Upcoming Gatherings

Side with Love News

Better Together Blog: Our Greatest Why

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

by Rev. Bryon “Tyler” Coles

In conversation with friends, I am often asked, “Tyler, why do you go to church?” While my role as a religious professional is frequently overlooked in those conversations, I take the question to heart. Depending on the context, I would say that it all began when I was a teenager looking for a spiritual community that both embodied its faith and provided real solace in a weary world. And at other times, I would share my first experience with the Water Ceremony and the meaning that it has come to hold for me. While I didn’t understand the power and importance of the ritual at first, I followed the instructions given to me. I filled my small glass bottle with a bit of water from the river that I spent countless summer days in and would routinely find myself beside when I needed space to be still. On the appointed Sunday, I witnessed individuals and families alike fill a large bowl with their respective waters. When all was done, the Minister shared how the combined waters were not just a symbol of our interconnectedness, but was, in a very real sense, the substance that sustains our connection – our existence – in a variety of ways.

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News from the UUA

Non-Fellowshipped Ministers Gathering. Ministers who are not fellowshipped with the UUA and are serving UU congregations are invited to gather monthly with the MidAmerica’s Regional Lead. We will share information, experiences, and resources with one another and explore questions concerning the UUA and Unitarian Universalism. Register now. Meets are second Tuesday of the month beginning September 9th. Details at the UUA website.

Don’t forget the Community Resilience Hub!
If your congregation is struggling with how to respond in this moment, please check out the UUA’s Resilience Hub. This is a location where we are gathering resources to help congregations build strong, connected, and resilient communities.

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.

New publications from the UUA - Available order is The Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide, edited by Sofia Betancourt. Available for pre-order is Tend to Your Spirit: Mindful Living with Chronic Illness by Julianne Lepp and Florence Caplow.Check out the UUA bookstore for all Beacon Press and Skinner House books.

The UUA is hiring for several positions including our open CER Staff position. Find job descriptions and application information at their Job Openings webpage.

Calendar Items and News

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