When you’re a member of a vibrant congregation, you hope for a deep and radical welcome there. You want to be able to bring your whole self, and feel called to be your best self, accountable to the vision of beloved community the community shares. In these congregations, when actions, words, or...

Covenant as Landscape (6:36) Many people talk about “breaking a covenant” when conflict arises. But is it the covenant that’s broken or is it that relationships are bruised? Rev. Erica Baron invites us to think about the words as the map to the covenant, and the covenant is the landscape. The...

“Have you been to the bathroom yet?” It’s not the typical pre-workshop conversation my colleagues and I share as we set up projectors, easels, and workbooks for participants. My answer was no, so my colleague proceeded to describe what she found there. There was a beautiful painting in an...

Each Sunday I step into the pulpit and call to worship the congregation sitting in the sanctuary of our 1842 New England Meetinghouse. The sanctuary is simple and elegant. Tall windows line each side, reaching up two stories to the high ceiling, with four chandeliers. The clear panes bring...

Being in community can be challenging. But being in a faith community can give us the opportunity to explore our edges and test our assumptions.

The mental model of the "Social Discipline Window" can be helpful in understanding different patterns of how we might respond when someone is causing harm in our communities.

Right Relations Teams are lay leaders entrusted to help the congregation practice faithful communication and creative conflict based on values of mutuality and consent.

The following (from the Northlake UU Church in Kirkland, WA) is an example of a chater (or charge) for a Right Relationship Team (aka Healthy Congregation Team): Purposes: To facilitate the well-being of the _________ Community by fostering harmonious relations and mediating conflicts within the...

Support and accountability for different aspects of right relationship lie within different parts of the congregation. 

Our covenants articulate our intention, but how do we live into the practice? Right Relations Teams are lay leaders entrusted to help the congregation practice faithful communication and creative conflict based on values of mutuality and consent. 

What is a covenant? For most of my time as a leader in Unitarian Universalism, I have understood covenant to be the words we use to describe the agreements we make to each other. What I have learned over time is that the words are more like a map. They help us understand the covenant....

Resources to give you frameworks, starting points, tips and tools to help your congregation serve its mission in today's environment of virtual and in-person connection. 

Trying to figure out how to talk about wearing masks in church? Here are some examples!

This video is a portion of the Conversations with Leaders: Dual Platform Future for All Ages webinar that was offered in April. In this video, Nancy Combs-Morgan, Mid-America Congregational Life Staff talks about inclusive congregations and how that needs to be the focus as we plan for the future.

This video is a portion of the Conversations with Leaders: Dual Platform Future for All Ages webinar that was offered in April. In this video, Annie Scott, Pacific Western Staff talks about the role of religious educators in planning for moving forward....

This video is a portion of the Conversations with Leaders: Dual Platform Future for All Ages webinar that was offered in April. In this video, Wren Bellavance-Grace, New England Congregational Life Staff, talks about trauma and how it impacts our congregations and returning to religious education...

This video is a portion of the Conversations with Leaders: Dual Platform Future for All Ages webinar that was offered in April. In this video, Patricia Infante, CER Staff in Lifespan Faith Development talks about conflict and how change and conflict are connected in our congregations. As our...

In covenantal communities, we are called to relationships of mutuality. Sometimes this requires taking time to listen deeply to one another’s concerns and fears before making important, impactful decisions.

Hear insights from Congregational Life Staff and read insights from leaders about the challenges and possibilities of moving toward in person ministry that is inclusive for our whole community including children and youth.

Key principles for congregation planning for multi-platform operations based on the needs and risks in your community.