Staff Blog

Thank you to all the Board Presidents, Ministers and other congregational leaders who took our call or got back to us when we reached out to you during our COVID-19 check-ins early in the spring.

Yesterday someone said to me – “well - what will this all look like when it’s over?” The question was in earnest. I looked at them. I smiled, they needed something from me that I did not have - an answer. I have never been here before, I don’t know - but they needed something to...

I’m writing to share with you a recent development in my professional life. As of June 15, I will begin my new position as Lead for the Pacific Western Region (PWR) of our Unitarian Universalist Association.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused us to radically rethink the ways in which we do congregational life as Unitarian Universalists.

Remember what is at the heart of Unitarian Universalism. Remember those values that will sustain you as we move deeper into this time of unknowing and solitude. For me I come back over and over to the love that holds me and that I am accountable to.

Like everyone else, we, your Southern Region UUA Staff, continue to adjust to the emerging reality that is the COVID-19 pandemic. As individuals, we have taken on hygiene, healthy distancing and wiping down surfaces with appropriate fervor.

As we move forward into this anxious time, how we do what we do will make all the difference in helping to control the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

In appreciation of the tremendous community outreach of many of our Southern Region religious educators, who go the extra mile to extend much needed comprehensive sexuality education with “Our Whole Lives,” I felt compelled to ask Sarah White, the Director of Religious Education...

Because of the permanent and long-term damage climate chaos stands to inflict on our planet, it’s only fitting that the climate justice movement be represented by people from the generations that stand to be most impacted by it.

I began ballet lessons when I was 3 years old. I remember begging my grandparents to allow me to stop playing softball - where the shirts were always polyester, the sun was always hot, and the dust was always in my mouth - in favor of the beautiful tutus, pointe shoes, and air...

This week was a difficult one for me and many of my fellow Unitarian Universalists in Mississippi. On Election Day, we saw the affirmation of the existing power structure by voters who elected and re-elected individuals who oppose

As the summer days wind down and school bells start to ring, we on the Southern Region Team are excited for the months that lie between now and the beginning of next summer.

August 7 marked the beginning of the academic year across much of Mississippi. In the midst of many happy first-day-of-school pictures, we started seeing very different and awful images of children not knowing where their parents were.

I continue to be inspired by colleagues, particularly in the Southern Region, who for years, have been asking all Unitarian Universalists to consider that everything we do is faith development.

As Susan Frederick-Gray mentioned during her president’s report at General Assembly in June, LeaderLab is a tremendous resource for congregational leaders. Check it out at: https://www.uua.org/leadership .

We know that small congregations are sharing the Love and Grace of Unitarian Universalism with their people and their communities every day. We also know that small churches can be faced with big challenges. Together we can help small congregations reach toward their greatest...

We live in frightening times. We are, on a daily basis, made aware of the fact that horrendous events happen moment by moment. In those instances, we can be re-traumatized and/or challenged in ways that we try to come to grips with, and not shy away from.

Greetings and love to everyone! As of June 16, I’m on leave from my work with the UUA Southern Region! Since the beginning of the year, I have been a candidate for Mississippi’s 10th State Senate District, representing two counties in the northwest part of the state: Marshall,...

By the time of my first settled ministry (in Louisville, KY), I had served in a leadership capacity of some kind in a number of different UU congregations in multiple states. So when the congregational leadership told me it was time to schedule the annual fire drill service, I...

This Sunday will be my first Mother’s Day without my mom, Luberta Elliott Smith. She died peacefully a week ago at the age of 84 after many years of declining health and multiple medical issues. I was there at her bedside in those final moments, as was my older brother Edwin.