Join Central East Region staff for an online board retreat this summer with the theme “Leadership that’s Grounded, Resourced, & Resilient!”

An annual board retreat is a time to renew relationship, to touch base with your mission, vision and goals, and to think about your strategic vision for the next year or two.

You have many options for regional support in planning and holding your annual Board retreat. (Board Resources)

This year, these include joining Central East Region staff in a joint online Board retreat focused on helping your board prepare for the year to come:

• Renew your relationships with fellow Board members and ground in your sense of purpose as leaders;
• Assess your congregation’s current energies and needs; &
• Set realistic and faithful goals for your next year.

Register for ONE of two options:

1) Full session Saturday, July 26 (10AM-1PM): A three-hour online session with CER staff. Come together for content facilitated by CER staff, then break into congregational Zoom rooms with just your fellow Board members to work on your goals. We encourage you to plan to eat lunch together (or go on Zoom break), then continue to meet on your own during the afternoon to continue the work of assessment and goal-setting begun during this session.

2) Kick-off session followed by self-facilitated activities on your own: Friday evening, August 22 (6:30-8PM). For teams who wish to work at their own pace but would like outside support in framing your retreats, we offer a live kick-off session. Gather for a potluck dinner (or online only), then Zoom with CER staff for framing and grounding. We will offer you materials and videos to use later on in your self-facilitated retreat (e.g. later that weekend).

In order to participate, we ask that you:

1) Commit to attending together as a whole Board. You’ll sign up with one registration per Board, not as individuals.The retreat will work best if everyone can be present (you may have someone who just can’t make it, but the goal is 100% participation).

2) Do some of your own planning for when and where your Board will spend your retreat. Do you enjoy getting together in person? You may wish to gather in a home or congregation, and use one device with good speakers and camera to Zoom in your whole group. Does sharing a meal help you build relationships? Plan to gather ahead of our Zoom time for breakfast (Saturday option) or a potluck dinner (Friday evening option). Need to include everyone by going fully-online? You are welcome to attend on multiple individual devices.

Note that the full Saturday three-hour session will allow you to get through several important elements of your retreat, but most teams will want to build in at least two hours more to continue your conversations.

You get the idea — our UUA-facilitated content is an important piece of your overall time together. We’ll take care of the content and structure — you’ll take care of shaping the rest.

3) We’ll ask you to prepare by sending out a few reflection questions two weeks prior.

4) We invite you to come as you are! We recognize that a lot is asked of you as leaders in these times, and our aim is to help you connect, ground, and get ready — not to exhaust you.

Please Register for the Board Retreat: July 22, 2025 by 12 noon, ET for the July 26 date, please register by August 19 for the August 22 date.

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