Joan Van Becelaere

Full name: Rev. Joan Van Becelaere

Rev. Joan Van Becelaere

Rev. Joan Van Becelaere is the Executive Director of UU Justice Ohio. She served as a Congregational Life Consultant for the Central East Region from 2007-2018. Previously, Rev. Van Becelaere was Vice President for Student Services at Iliff Theological School in Denver, CO where she also taught Unitarian Universalist polity classes. Rev. Van Becelaere serves as primary contact for congregations in New York state including the northern portion of the state, the Capital Region and the central portion of the state. She is part of the Congregational Life Multisite Support Team and coaches those considering partnerships and collaborations between congregations. She is also regional Program Manager for the Commissioned Lay Ministry program and assists with a number of other program areas, including large church support. Rev. Van Becelaere is a story teller and specializes in presenting Dr. Seuss stories.

From Joan Van Becelaere

Displaying 1 - 10 of 18

“Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season. (W.E.B. DuBois)...

By Joan Van Becelaere | April 9, 2018 | From Better Together
Tagged as: UUA Staff

“People say, what is the sense of our small effort? They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time.” I remember these words of Dorothy Day as I think about the work we must do- all of the small and large steps we must take - to end hatred and bigotry in our...

By Joan Van Becelaere | September 11, 2017 | From Better Together
Tagged as: Religious & Civil Liberties, Social Justice

In Mount Vernon, Knox County, Ohio, interfaith classes confronting White Supremacy were developed in response to the larger community's clear lack of understanding on issues of racism....

By Joan Van Becelaere | August 7, 2017 | From Better Together
Tagged as: Racial Justice

The First Universalist Church (UU) of Lyons, OH is experiencing a revival in northwest Ohio. This small village (pop. 562) is just west of Greater Toledo, and the suburbs are steadily stretching out closer and closer to Lyons. The congregation’s new “G.O.D.” (Growth, Outreach, and Deeds)...

By Joan Van Becelaere | April 24, 2017 | From Better Together
Tagged as: Outreach & Marketing, Membership Growth & Outreach

That’s the title of a recent book written by Joani and Thom Schultz. The title shouldn’t shock many of us anymore. There is a lot of evidence for its assertion.

By Joan Van Becelaere | March 6, 2017 | From Better Together
Tagged as: Emerging Ministries

By now, we all know the story of Orlando – it is the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history, the deadliest incident of violence against LGBTQ people in the history of the U.S., and the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. since 9/11 in 2001....

By Joan Van Becelaere | June 27, 2016 | From Better Together
Tagged as: LGBTQ Issues, Social Justice

Dear Clergy, Congregational Leadership and Congregants of the Central East Region,...

By Joan Van Becelaere, Megan Foley | May 30, 2016 | From Better Together
Tagged as: UUA Staff

Partnerships sometimes emerge in strange but exciting ways. The Partnership of the UU congregations in Binghamton NY and Cortland NY is a mix of contrasting sizes, ages and histories. But these contrasts bring strength to the relationship. This video shares the views of the ministers of the two...

By Douglas Taylor, Joan Van Becelaere | November 2, 2015 | From Better Together
Tagged as: Congregations in Partnership

A perennial problem with religious organizations is that the professional staff who serve congregations at a district or regional level and those who serve the larger denomination as a whole must be funded somehow, usually through donations from local congregations.

By Joan Van Becelaere | December 15, 2014 | From Better Together
Tagged as: Covenant

Past blogs in CERGing Forward and some in Better Together have outlined a number of the reasons that factor into our discussions about regionalization: a desire to live our theology of interdependence, our covenant responsibilities within the tradition of the Cambridge Platform, a desire to...

By Joan Van Becelaere | October 6, 2014 | From Better Together
Tagged as: UUA Districts & Regions

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