Newcomers to First Unitarian Church of Dallas arrive at our doors seeking a path. The Unitarian Universalist tendency to tell people they can believe whatever they want and get involved in whatever they want is both overwhelming and insufficient....

The 1970's heart-throb boy band The Osmonds provided a disservice with their ear-worm hit song "One Bad Apple." They sang, ...

One piece of my job is working with new Unitarian Universalist emerging ministries. There are many ways of becoming a Unitarian Universalist group, including becoming one of the newly formed http://growinguu.blogs.uua.org/files/2015/05/Covenanting-Communities-Fa… Communities. See It is an honor...

Inspired by Full-Week Faith, created by Karen Bellavance Grace through the Fahs Collaborative, First Parish Church of Groton decided to hold a Blessing of the Backpacks. Here are some nuts & bolts, in case you don’t want to reinvent the wheel: Don’t Do It the Night Before School Starts: We...

As Unitarian Universalists, we have a traditionally operated under a model of church that doesn’t acknowledge the kept track of one aspect of involvement in church life, “membership”, which typically means signing a congregation’s membership book and making an annual pledge. But in reality,...

If we’re going to do effective outreach online, we need some insight into the experience of the large and slightly mysterious pool of people we call prospective visitors. Who are they? What do they want? And how do we design our websites for their positive UX?

Belonging to and being a part of a community is an important aspect of congregational life. Many of our members think of their congregations as a second home and think of the other members as part of their extended family. The relationships that we create and nurture by sharing the details of our...

The key to successful outreach amid the changing religious landscape, particularly with the unaffiliated or Spiritual But Not Religious sets, will likely be to speak to why people would want to show up in the first place, not just what can keep them there year after year.

Social media is a great outreach tool for today's congregations, but congregational leaders need to be savvy about how to balance the open-source nature of today's interactive internet with the need to articulate a consistent message in alignment with your congregation's mission and vision...

Sacred Path created a ritual of commitment for the beginning of the "church year."

Let’s get new people immersed in Unitarian Universalism! But how do we know what will delight them? What they’ll find meaningful?

Because our congregations run on money, it's tempting to bring--along with it--assumptions about how money operates in other parts of our lives.  We go to work and we get a paycheck.  We pay the electric bill and the power company keeps our lights on. We pay at the first window...

We have many important entry-points for prospective Unitarian Universalists. Our literal front doors can be as important as our website.

Self-differentiated Leaders know who they are well enough that they also know where they stand, and what they will and will not do; they understand the necessity of boundaries, and work within the congregation to ensure that healthy boundaries are in place and are supported; they can be clear in ...

Ministerial compensation is quite confusing. What do congregations and clergy need to know about clergy taxes?

A guide for fellow white anti-racism activists who are overwhelmed by stories about racist violence.

Recommended articles, videos, and blog posts for people interested in exploring multisite ministry.

An option for neighboring congregations who are struggling to maintain full-time staff, and/or can eliminate duplication of administrative work.

An option for congregations who are excited about entrepreneurial and other emerging forms of ministry but as a supporter or partner, not an innovator.

An option for congregations struggling to keep ministers because they can only offer part-time positions, or they want a team of ministers.

An option for congregations looking to expand their mission, extend their geographical reach, or help other UU communities thrive.

Explore models of sharing resources in service of Unitarian Universalism

As Unitarian Universalists (UUs), we believe that the sacred and the power of grace arises from the interdependent web of which we all are a part....

The phone rings. There is an anxious board president on the phone with a crisis on their hands. Perhaps their minister has fallen seriously ill, or there is a member who is regularly disrupting the Sunday worship service, or a registered sex offender has expressed interest in attending the church.

Professional chefs and bakers adhere to a strict commandment: mise en place. (If you want to sound especially authentic, it’s pronounced “meese on ploss.”) Mise en place, which means “putting in place,” is the ritual of arranging and organizing ingredients before any actual cooking begins:...

Across the country progressive school districts are sinking their money, time and resources into ‘green classrooms’. These outdoor learning spaces are living, breathing learning labs where educational standards are finding new life among butterfly, vegetable and rain gardens. Engagement and...

Tools for developing quality online content: shareable images, blogs, videos, and more

Congregational polity is not fundamentally about autonomy or protecting individuals from spiritual coercion. This understanding repels healthy people, weakens connections among churches, and perpetuates widespread suspicion about leadership....

This workshop guides you in (re)building your website's content and structure with low-cost, high–performance tools from WordPress and the UUA.

Many of our "solid" congregations noticed a drop-off in giving that was not a result of a drop-off of membership during the past two or three years. We don't have much data (the trend is too new) but we do have some anecdotal information that seems to align with greater generational shifts....

Conformance Guidelines The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) aims for the highest level of conformance on UUA.org with the following guidelines: The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) explain how to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities.

As we re-imagine how to do the work of a congregation, we need to take into account that younger folks (and by "younger" I mean people under 50) are wary of making commitments without fully understanding the implications.  These people want to feel like they are making  a contribution that...

We will look at a number of theme-based church models and discuss how we can tweak those models to fit our own settings. Our focus will be practical, not just theoretical.

Let me share a fable of two congregations. ...

Congregations should be good stewards of their members’ time as well as their financial gifts. Learn how to make the most of your in-person time together.

Download chalice fonts for Mac or PC to use in your publications

Understanding power dynamics can help church leaders deal with bullying and other disruptive behavior.

Our websites are where we tell the world who we are, what we do, and why it matters.

Smaller congregations in many denominations are struggling to survive. This doesn't mean they are necessarily "doing church" badly. But it does mean they need to do church differently. Intuiting this need, church leaders often begin gearing up for a strategic planning process....

It usually starts with one person with the beginning of an audacious idea.  It has enough form so that others can visualize the possibilities.  It also has enough open possibilities that others can see where they can bring their creativity and energy to help co-create it.  And woven...

During Magical Mail Month, you might send notes to congregants you haven’t seen in a while just to check in, thank you notes, or invitations to community members to join you in worship or other events.

What does it mean to be a member in a congregation? How much can we ask of members?  I believe that membership should signify a commitment to the congregation and it's mission as expressed by the Rev. Michael Piazza. ...

Why should congregations consider theme-based ministry (TBM)? Depth, Community, Collaboration, and Resilience!

In dealing with adapt… challenges (e.g. changing demographics or attitudes toward religious institutions) congregational leaders can learn some wisdom from the old folktale about the 7 Blind Men and the Elephant. Each of the men could feel a part of the creature, and each came up with his own...

Multigenerational ministry can be practiced in a number of ways, and we have identified best practices to include youth in the work of the Association.

It's the beginning of the year, and Ministerial Search Committees have just received a list of names of ministers who are interested in learning more about their congregation. Savvy Search Committees know that they are looking for a good match, not a perfect candidate, and the best way to find a...

Stories from UU Congregations showing growth, creativity and vitality in the program that ran from 2005-2019.

All congregation sizes based on certified membership at the time the stories were shared.

Shifting from a humanist fellowship to a more spiritual and inclusive community helped them reach the goal of owning their own building.

Making welcoming part of everyone's responsibility, and putting energy into small group ministry helped this congregation achieve sustained growth.