SL4CC Resources
Find all the resources and materials for the Spiritual Leadership for Culture Change gatherings below.
Gathering 9 (final) - September 2023
Theme: Returning Again to Practice
We resumed the Community of Practice by focusing explicitly on practice and how to engage its cyclical nature to return again to what we have committed to. Adrienne Maree Brown teaches that “Practice is how we become what we long to be.” Participants shared stories, questions, and insights about our framing questions for the session: what do yousay you are practicing?; what are youactually practicing; what do youwant to be practicing?
- Pre-work: Preparation for Gathering (Google Doc)
- Post-gathering materials:
- Chat - this lets you see who attended both sessions, their congregations, their roles, what sparked them and what step(s) they are considering to take next.
Gathering 8 - May 2023
Theme: Tending Our Tradition Through Reparations
While reparations is not the only way to tend our tradition, it was our focus for this gathering. The group heard from Hilary Allen about the learning community she co-led with Woullard Lett in which four NER congregational teams engaged in an action-reflection cycle to move reparations work they were already doing in their congregation to its next stages.
Processes of repair, healing and restoration begin with knowing how our own congregations have participated in historic harms such as African chattel slavery and the theft of Indigenous lands. Participants shared stories, questions, and insights about the actions their congregations are taking or are considering to acknowledge the many relationships throughout Unitarian/Universalist history that have been broken — be those interpersonal, internal, cultural, institutional, or covenantal.
- Pre-work: Preparation for Gathering (Google Doc)
- Post-gathering materials:
- Chat - this lets you see who attended both sessions, their congregations, their roles, what sparked them and what step(s) they are considering to take next.
- Supplemental Resources for Reparations Webinar
Gathering 7 - March 2023
Theme: Discernment for Faithful Risking
In March, we considered our calling to make faithful risks in the service of love and mission, and recognized that the democratic process cannot be the only way we find our way together. When no options seem clear or stakes feel high and every choice involves risk, group discernment is a way we can sort out which risks might be the faithful ones to take. Group discernment invites asking broader questions, listening heart-to-heart, setting aside personal agendas. It assumes that through spacious collective exploration of our mission, vision and values, we can discover what risks we are being called to faithfully make in the face of uncertainty. We named where we see group discernment already practiced in our congregations; identified how Unitarian Universalist culture supports and/or resists a practice of group discernment; and explored possible ways to introduce discernment practices into congregational spaces.
- Pre-work: Preparation for Gathering (Google Doc.)
- Post-gathering materials:
- Chat - this lets you see who attended both sessions, their congregations, their roles, what sparked them and what step(s) they are considering to take next.
- New England Region courses on UU Institute which you may want to take with a team of folks in your congregation:
- Liberating Governance Community of Practice - is where you can learn more and join the community . Once you join, you'll receive invitations to gatherings.
Gathering 6 - January 2023
Theme: Reimagining Core Values and Identity
At the January gatherings, we explored what we can learn from the mandated practice of regular review and reimagining of our core values and elements of our identity. What Spiritual Leadership practices does such reimagining invite? How does the charge to the Article II Study Commission inspire us to consider a similar reimagining at the congregational level and what would that take?
- Pre-work: Preparation for Gathering (Google Doc.)
- Post-gathering materials:
- Chat - this lets you see who attended both sessions, their congregations, their roles, what sparked them and what step(s) they are considering to take next.
- Article II Study Commission Report to the UUA Board (PDF)
- UUA Board of Trustees meeting with the Article II Study Commission (YouTube).
Gathering 5 - November 2022
Theme: Transforming Culture by Centering in Gifts
In our November gatherings we imagined together the cultural shifts that might take hold when we center in gifts and considered what might get in the way of this practice. We also looked at early efforts in congregations to introduce practices for Centering in Gifts and what shifts in culture they hope to inspire.
- Pre-work: Preparation for Gathering (Google Doc.)
- Post-gathering materials:
- Chat - this lets you see who attended both sessions, their congregations, their roles, what sparked them and what step(s) they are considering to take next.
Gathering 4 - September 2022
Theme: Being in Right Relationship With Change
The September gatherings allowed participants to learn from the folks from Groton and from each other; we shared concerns, stories and questions as well as explored opportunities for collaboration.
- Pre-work: Preparation for Gathering (Google Doc.)
- Post-gathering materials:
- Chat - this lets you see who attended both sessions, their congregations, their roles, what sparked them and what step(s) they are considering to take next.
Gathering 3 - May 2022
Theme: Reactivity to Resilience: Inner Work in Congregations
Participants explored how the inner work of shifting our orientation from reactivity to activation could initiate or support culture change in congregations.
- Pre-work: Preparation for Gathering 3 (Google Doc.)
- Post-gathering materials:
- Chat and notes - this lets you see who attended both sessions, their congregations, their roles, what sparked them and what step(s) they are considering to take next.
- 3-minute YouTube video on from “reactivity” to activation:
- From Reactivity to Resilience: Doing Our Inner Work in Congregations led by Julica Hermann de la Fuente, Rev. Erica Baron, and Meck Groot. March 5 Part I webinar (YouTube, 2hr video), Part II March 26 webinar (YouTube, 1hr 54min), workbook (PDF, 9 pages)
- Community Resiliency Model Workshops from the Trauma Resource Institute.
Gathering 2 - March 2022
Theme: Responding to Racism through the Practices of Spiritual Leadership
Participants learned of the Follen Responds to Racism team's experience of engaging the practices of Spiritual Leadership in their anti-racism work. We considered how the practices interrupt racism/white supremacy culture and how they can help shift culture within or beyond our congregations.
- Pre-work: Preparation for Gathering 2
- Post-gathering materials: (No post event materials available for this gathering)
Gathering 1 - January 2022
Theme: Why culture change? Why practices of Spiritual Leadership? Why a community of practice?
In this inaugural gathering we explored our call to culture change as UUs and how we see practices of Spiritual Leadership enabling such change. We established our initial expectations for the community of practice and shared visions for desired culture changes toward which you want to apply the practices of Spiritual Leadership.
- Pre-work: Preparation for Gathering 1
- Post-gathering materials: January 2022 gathering slide (PDF, 14 pages)
New to the Community of Practice? Need an overview of Practices of Spiritual Leadership? Find links at the bottom of the Spiritual Leadership For Culture Change page to learn more.