Resources & Tools

At every New England Regional learning event, we offer tools and resources to bring home and share in your congregation. We have created resources from years of focused study and development on aspects of congregational life, and harvested wisdom, data and practices from our UUA colleagues, and lay and professional leaders from within and beyond UU faith communities. Here we share some of those materials for learning, sharing, and starting important conversations in your congregation. It is through generous gifts from congregations that our work is made possible. Contact us at newengland [at] uua [dot] org, (617) 948-6415 if you need help locating a resource.

• New England Region Presentation Materials
  • Workshop & Webinar materials from the last five years
  • Recent Regional Webinars  are available for viewing and sharing
  • Presentation Archive 2007-present (public Google folder)​
• UU Leadership Institute online multi-session courses for deep learning with your team. Classes are ongoing, register by Nov. 15 for Fall courses.

Communications

• Communications and social media resources from our UUA
• Maintaining a Congregational Website led by Dawn Casstevens (Slides (PDF), UUA WordPress theme for congregations)
• Publications: Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) connect via email, Facebook, Twitter, Medium, Instagram, Blue Boat blog for young adults, Braver/Wiser weekly reflections, inSpirit: UU Book and Gift Shop, UU World Magazine

Congregational Relevance: Resources for Discernment

• Congregational Relevance led by Hilary Allen and Sean Neil-Barron (Webinar Recording (1 hr), Slides (PDF))
  • The Answer to How is Yes: Which questions are being asked in your congregation? By whom? When? Where? What types of questions do you want to be asking? How vs. Yes questions handout (PDF)
  • Three Types of Leadership Conversations: What types of conversations are you having in your congregation? What types of conversations do you want to be having less of? More of? 3 Types of Leadership Conversations handout (PDF)
• Leading -and Feeling- Change led by Hilary Allen (Webinar Recording (1 hr, 25 min), Slides (PDF), Presenter Notes (PDF))
• Cracking the Leadership Crisis led by Karen Bellavance-Grace  (Webinar Recording (1 hr, 30 min), Slides and homework questions (PDF), Language of Spiritual Leadership (PDF), Ancestor Doll Template (PDF), Leadership of First Follower video (3 min), Differentiated Leadership video (7 min))
• UU Faith Primer for Lay Leaders (PDF) by Doug Zelinski
• Congregational Polity and the Myth of Congregational Autonomy with Rev. Sue Phillips at General Assembly 2015 (Script (PDF),  Presentation Video (1 hr, 16 min))
• Books: Doing the Math of Mission by Gil Rendle, The Answer to How Is Yes by Peter Block, Serving with Grace by Rev. Erik Walker Wikstrom
• Membership, Growth and Outreach resources from our UUA

Financial Management for Congregations

• Financial Management for Your Congregation led by Rev. Karen McArthur (Slides (PDF), Congregational Finance LLC (website) for free and paid subscriptions to access excellent resources, including the webinar she led last winter for the New England Region UUA)
• A Church Finance Handbook for Church Treasurers & Finance Committees (PDF) from the United Church of Christ, Massachusetts Conference
• UUA resources on financial management for congregations

Justice Ministries

• Justice Ministry Matters led by Meck Groot and Cora McCold (Webinar Recording (1hr, 23 min), Slides (PDF), Printable Sweet Spot tool (PDF) to help discern your priorities)
• Navigating Whiteness led by the G.R.A.C.E. Team in Weston, MA (Program and Conversations Summary (PDF))
• Regional support for engaging Racial Justice Ministries
• Strengthening Justice Ministries led by Hilary Allen and Meck Groot (Webinar Recording (1 hr, 50 min), Worksheets (PDF), Slides (PDF))
• BeTheLove.net, resources for building Beloved Community
• Pacific Western Region resources on Multicultural Transformation and Intercultural Competency

Lifespan Religious Education & Faith Formation

• RE Start! for Religious Education Teams led by Kimberly Sweeney and Karen Bellavance-Grace (Webinar Recording (2 hrs), Slides (PDF), Full Week Faith (website), Theme-based Ministry resources, Sophia Fahs Sunday, Sunday Schooling Our Kids Out of Church (article), See How Children Experience Church through this 'Pray-Ground' (article), Housekeeping Tool (PDF), Sweet Spot Tool (PDF))
• Regional support for Religious Education and Faith Formation
• Making RE Accessible To All Children: Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorders, led by Melissa Plowman, M.A., LMHC (Slides (PDF))
• Embracing Who We Are: Unlocking the Gifts of the Aging Congregation Webinar led by Karen Bellavance-Grace (Webinar Recording (1 hr, 44 min), Slides (PDF), It's All About The Adults (article), New Future for an Aging Congregation (article))
• New England Region Religious Educators Facebook group
• Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA) professional network

Pastoral Care, Right Relations, Inclusion Ministries 

• Creating & Supporting Lay Pastoral Care Teams led by Rev. Sue Phillips (Slides (PDF), Speaking Notes (PDF))
• Living into Right Relations led by Hilary Allen, Meck Groot and Cora McCold (Handout (PDF), Book Excerpt by Peter Block (PDF), BeTheLove.net website)
• Preemptive Radical Inclusion led by Cindy Beal, Justice & Peace Consulting in Brookline, MA (What is Preemptive Radical Inclusion? Invite Cindy Beal to design and lead a workshop in your congregation .)
• Considering Authority, Responsibility and Leadership through the Lens of Rank led by Meck Groot (Slides (PDF), Navigating Rank in Beloved Community slidecast from BeTheLove.net assess your own Rank Inventory (PDF))
• See also: Mental Health Ministry resources in the section below on Safe Congregations
• See Also: Making RE Accessible To All Children: Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorders in the section above on Lifespan RE & Faith Formation
• See Also: Embracing Who We Are: Unlocking the Gifts of the Aging Congregation in the section above on Lifespan RE & Faith Formation
• Disability & Accessibility resources from our UUA
• Pacific Western Region resources on Multicultural Transformation and Intercultural Competency

Safe Congregations

• Safe Congregations Handbook from our UUA
• Mental Health Ministry led by Rev. Barbara F. Meyers (Slides (PDF), Info packet for Lay Leaders and Religious Professionals (PDF), Info packet for Ministers (PDF))
• Becoming a Sexually Safer Congregation led by Kimberly Sweeney (Sexually Safer UU Congregations video (5 min), Creating Sexually Safer Congregations)

Staffing

• Congregational staffing resources and guidelines from our UUA
• Professional Learning Units for Staff (PLUS) free online program for new staff
• Effective Staff Supervision in Religious Organizations led by Rev. Susan Beaumont in Framingham, MA (Workbook (PDF))
• Building & Sustaining Covenantal Staff Teams led by Karen Bellavance-Grace and Rev. Marta Valentín (Part 1 Slides (PDF), Part 2 Slides (PDF), Introduction to the Cambridge Platform video (7 min))
• Lifting Up Your Spiritual Leadership, a webinar for Congregational Administrators led by Dawn Casstevens and Meck Groot (Slides (PDF), Association of Unitarian Universalist Administrators (AUUA), Navigating Rank slideshare on BeTheLove.net,  Overstepping Our Bounds: Navigating Rank in Administration (article))

Small Congregation Support (under 120 members)

• Resources for small congregations from our UUA
• Books: Serving with Grace by Rev. Erik Walker Wikstrom, Doing the Math of Mission by Gil Rendle, The Answer to How Is Yes by Peter Block
• Full-Time Church with Part-Time Staff led by Karen Bellavance-Grace (Slides (PDF), Who is our Church? guided exercise (PDF), WorshipWeb and Theme-Based Ministry UUA resources, Sophia Fahs Sunday, Imagining Congregational Identity (article))
• Churches at a Turning Point: Choosing Faithful Futures led by Karen Bellavance-Grace (Webinar Recording (1hr, 55 min), Slides (PDF), Three Types of Leadership Conversations (PDF), Chuck Knows Church: The Committee video (14 min): see if you can identify Maintenance, Preferential, and Missional questions)
• This is Our Church: Being/Becoming a Lay Led Congregation events led by Karen Bellavance-Grace (Webinar Recording (1 hr, 27 min), Slides (PDF), Housekeeping Tool (PDF), Sweet Spot Tool (PDF), Chuck Knows Church: The Mission Statement video (2 min))
• New England's Small & Mighty UU Congregations Facebook Group
• Meet Your Neighboring UU Churches by searching within 5, 10, 15, 25 miles of your location

Stewardship & Fundraising

• Stewardship 202 led by Mark Ewert, Stewardship for Us (Slides (PDF), Resources and links (PDF))
• Generosity and Stewardship -- Going to the Heart of It led by Rev. Mary Katherine Morn and Joe Sullivan (Webinar Recording (1 hr, 28 min), Slides (PDF), Worksheet & Resources (PDF), TED Talk: The Generosity Experiment(video) with Sasha Dichter (segment begins at the 3:40 mark and ends at 7:21))
• Stewardship Saturday with Rev. Vail Weller, Barry Finkelstein and Rev. Laura Randall (Presentation Slides: Generosity As a Spiritual Matter (PDF), Practical Approaches for Your Annual Budget Drive (PDF), Our Shared Legacy, Planned Giving(PDF))
• Stewardship for Us consulting services and resources
• UUA congregational stewardship resources
• FAITHIFY crowdfunding platform that has helped fund $1 million in UU ministries and projects. Help fund initiatives that are important to you, and post your own projects for funding!
• Cool Stuff Crowdfunding Can Teach Us About Church by Rev. Sue Phillips at Metro NY Leadership Day, Shelter Rock (Slides (PDF), Script (PDF))

Worship

• Pulpit Supply List for the New England Region; find preachers and officiants
• Real. Good. Embodied. Worship. led by Rev. Marta Valentín, Kim Sweeney and Sarah Dan Jones (Slides (PDF))
• WorshipWeb searchable collection and other worship-related resources
• Faithrocket.org, a subscription service for theme-based ministry created by The Church of the Larger Fellowship and Launchpad
• UUA theme-based ministry resources
• Braver/Wiser weekly reflections 
• Sermon Writing for Lay Preachers led by Rev. Sue Phillips (Slides (PDF), Rev. Victoria Safford's sermon Ways of the Heart (audio file, 23 min) listen to it first, then later read the sermon text (PDF))
• Creating and Leading Dynamic Lay-Led Worship led by Rev. Sue Phillips (Slides (PDF))