“He said, she said, they said, and now we have a conflict!” “I don’t remember what we fought about, but I do remember how I felt when you yelled at me.” “When I hid the ‘send’ key, I didn’t expect this reaction!” “Now that we are in the parking lot, let me tell you what I...

An accessible, attractive and efficient office space makes staff, volunteers and visitors happy and productive!

There are times when leaders need to take time and space to struggle with deeper questions. Generative conversations can create that kind of space

S-H-I-F-T is a way to remember the basics of emotional systems (Self-Differientation, Homeostasis, Identified patient, emotional Familiy field, and Triagulation) and how they operatin in congregations.

Learning how to be in community with people who have different opinions or experiences is essential in UU congregations.

As religious educators wrestle with the shifting trend towards “family ministry,” many congregations are seeking resources and concrete examples of what’s working. We’ll look at two congregations that have committed to a version of the “Family Ministry” model and some of the specific...

A Canvass Conversation with Reverend Christina Leone-Tracy, Senior Minister at Fox Valley UU Fellowship in Appleton, Wisconsin. Last year, the congregation put a new emphasis on giving as a spiritual practice and had a "reverse offering" with excellent results. ...

Question our assumptions, include everyone, and choose how we decide.

To welcome newcomers, we must increase the relational capacity of our ministry.

What are typical job descriptions for the officers on a congregational board? Here is summary of typical roles and responsibilities....

The UUA has a Safe Congregations Team that spends hours developing and curating resources: General Safety Topic Responding to Threats and Incidents Promoting Appropriate Behavior Keeping Children Safe in Congregations Becoming a Safer Congregation (Handbook) A UU Guide to Effective Safety Policie...

What a congregation can, and should do, to prepare themselves for disasters.

Explore how you can improve the function of your Committee on Ministry. IDEA 1: C.O.M. is an AGENT OF THE ENTIRE CONGREGATION

Have you ever wondered how to create a covenant for a group, committee, or between two people?

"Green burial" is becoming more and more popular in America as people who have lived a life of environmental awareness and activism

Learn how to avoid some common mistakes so you can make the most of your covenant.

Draw from wisdom of non-faith-based organizing and activism, and examine how these tools can be powerfully and relevantly translated into the congregational context

How do our UU congregations move from charity approach to social justice to solidarity approach? What does that mean, anyway?

From a young age, our children and youth are learning what being a Unitarian Universalist means—not just in theory, but in practice. In this webinar, we will talk with experts in the field of religious education and faith development about how justice-making can be a primary pedagogical tool and...

This is the 6th in a series of webinars on social justice created in partnership between Minnesota UU Social Justice Advocacy and the MidAmerica Region. Learn how to help your congregation be both resilient and grounded in your social justice work.

How can Religious Educators help parents be the primary religious educators for their children? This webinar presented practices and tools that parents can use to reinforce meaningful participate in a faith community.

Experiential Education theory is a powerful tool for youth ministry: for debriefing, planning activities, and pastoral care.

Guidance for balancing youth and adult leadership in UU youth programs with the goal of youth-adult partnership.

A youth group doesn’t magically transform into a welcoming, inclusive and accessible space as soon as you hang a poster of the Seven Principles on the door.

Is your congregation an employer? In other words do you pay folks to do work? Be it a minister, religious educator, custodian, musician, administrator or some other position? Are any of those folx participants in any of the UUA plans? Retirement, health insurance, etc?

A supportive board is essential for a successful stewardship campaign. This overview helps congregational boards understand what is needed.

This recorded workshop explores evolving alternatives and additions to the traditional pledge drive stewardship model, designed to reduce anxiety, energize volunteers, and engage those who are not typical pledgers. Case studies will be used to spark new ideas.

A workshop to explore ideas and approaches for strengthening stewardship in congregations experiencing ministerial transition. Presented by Rev. Roberta Finkelstein, Andrea Lerner and Barry Finkelstein.

Opening our doors to people of all abilities is the less talked about test of inclusion in our congregations. This webinar discusses “disability etiquette” and explores the many ways in which our congregations can be more accessible and more welcoming to people with a variety of disabilities.

Congregational Life Staff are often asked who performs executive functions in UU Congregations under policy governance. Here are some considerations.

This video walks you through the basics of reading Congregational financial documents.

For congregations using Carver Policy Governance, it's important to have congregational involvement and engagement with "Ends Statements." Using a "World ​Café" process like this one is a recommended method.

Boards have the fiduciary responsibility to make sure the overall finances of the congregation are in order and the budget is on track. But the line-item spreadsheets given to board often have too much detail and don't give related information that helps the board make sense of the information.

A sea-change is happening in American religion, and spiritual needs have only grown more intense. Take home tools to attract new people, successfully integrate them into community, and nourish their faith for the long haul.

Presented during General Assembly 2019 as one of the poster sessions. Crowdfunding Programs available in Unitarian Universalism....

The power of money in our own lives often goes unexamined. This plays out in our congregations in all sorts of ways. What would it mean to your congregation to be able to talk about money in ways that are life-giving and healing?

Find guiding questions, ideas and best practices for emerging-adult-friendly congregations (ages 18-24).

Congregations become "smarter" as systems as they develop feedback loops that enable the system to learn from its past successes and challenges. Here is a tool that you can use to improve your ministry as well as the experience of your volunteers.

Our living tradition calls us to be lifelong learners, and this is especially true for our leaders. There are many skills and sensibilities that today's leaders need to help our congregations be ready for the 21st century. The UUA has many training resources to assist you!

Anxiety about lack of volunteers and leaders can often lead to treating them as human capital. Ironically, this anxiety-fueled approach tend to produce disappointing results. Instead, creating a program based on a relationship of mutuality, generosity and gratitude can create a culture where people desire to serve.

Your Leadership Development Team should have several practices and strategies that enable them to identify potential leaders, especially from groups that may be at the margins (young adults, people of color). Places to Look For Potential Leaders Attend newcomer classes....

A humorous take on what qualities make a good leader by showing their polar opposites.

Learn the kinds of leadership best practices that you want to instill in the rest of the congregation. Learn about the difference between Leadership and Management (we need both), how Leadership Development is an important part of Faith Formation, and how thinking in terms of teams and not just individuals can make all the difference!

Healthy, wise leadership is essential to the growth and vitality of our congregations, yet leadership development can easily become an afterthought. Here is a brief overview of where we come from and where we are going....

Leaders understand that processes, tasks and outcomes will not necessarily be the same next week as they were, and they remain agile in approaching situations and answers to questions and issues that arise in their work with congregations; they know that they have to be continually learning and asking “is this the best way to get what we want to achieve at this time?”

Leaders are not only financially generous (although they are that indeed!) but they have and encourage a generous spirit and appreciation of the world; they are quick to inspire others, to give of themselves as well as their time, talent and treasure, and are working to find ways to be a “permission giving” organization that empowers others to move forward with ideas that help fulfill the congregation’s mission.

Leaders understand that it’s not just about skills, but it’s about being able to learn (often together) what’s necessary in congregational life; they understand the difference between technical and adaptive challenges, and find themselves at ease in the discomfort of adaptive work, understanding that no one knows the answers, but that together a way can be found.

Leaders know that so much of congregational life is about being present to and with one another; they don’t have all the answers, but they know how to be with others through the journey of their lives, and the journey of shared congregational life.

Leaders know how to work and play well with others; they understand it’s not about who is right, but how people can work together to ensure the best possible outcome in both task completion and relationship building/sustaining.