Staff Blog

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.

El Paso, TX; the U.S.-Mexico Border; the line between two different worlds which begin to blend the closer in proximity they become. If it were an abstract painting, the U.S. and Mexico would show up on the canvas in radically different colors and textures,

Twenty three years ago I began a journey of service as a Unitarian Universalist religious educator. I soon discovered the Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA). With clusters of religious educators, and my LREDA chapter, I found nurture, encouragement, and many...

“Walls and Windows” by Judy Small and Pat Humphries is one of my favorite songs. The lyrics include: “Did you sing your children lullabies to calm their fears at night? Did you hold them gently 'til they went to sleep? Did you plant in them the seeds of hope for new and better...

In this moment, my heart is overflowing. I received a call this evening from a beloved relative who had isolated themselves from their dearest friends and our family in recent months. Their personal circumstances had changed in ways they feared others would not understand nor...

Greetings of the New Year to All! And what a year it will be. Here are some of the exciting developments coming your way over the course of the next 12 months as we make our Unitarian Universalist values real in the Southern Region and beyond.

In this season of generosity, gratitude and reflection, we, your Southern Region staff, took some time to look back. We were surprised at all that had been accomplished over the year including:

Over the past several months, many Mississippi Unitarian Universalists joined in the effort to elect the first Black US Senator from the state since the Reconstruction Era. I was one of those Unitarian Universalists, knocking on doors, posting on social media, attending rallies...

This Sunday will be the first time many of us will gather together with our fellow Unitarian Universalists after the mid-term elections. As your Southern Region team, we know of the diversity that exists in our congregations, across the South and across the continent.

Building on the Southern Region’s guiding paradigm of a regional curriculum map, this new project partnership with the MidAmerica Region will provide support for the enhancement of faith development by providing coaching/companioning support for religious educators.