Earlier this year, just as the reality of the pandemic was unfolding, the New England Region was planning to host a workshop on “Faithful Risking,” one of our Practices of Spiritual Leadership. Ultimately we ended up cancelling the workshop. While we could have adapted to an online format,...

If there’s a knot in your stomach still; a dread of what else may be coming; fears about the Supreme Court; worry about your safety; feelings about your neighbors, family, and fellow citizens who support racism, fascism, and misogyny; this is an offering from me to you.

The Delmarva Cluster has a grant program that began at the First Unitarian Church of Wilmington, DE called Grants For Growth.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how tired I am of hearing words that include black, dark, and more, used in a negative way even as we proclaim that Black Lives Matter.

There are very predictable outcomes from congregations where there has been boundary violations. These outcomes persist until intentionally challenged and changed—they continue well beyond the tenure of the misbehaving person, and even when the behavior may not be remembered.

Faithful congregations take faithful risks. In this post, we lift up examples of the faithful risks New England Region congregations have taken recently. The UU Meeting House of Pittsfield, ME When they lost their longtime minister and realized they could not afford to hire another professional...

The West Shore UU Church in Rocky River, Ohio has been experimenting with different circle formats (e.g. World Café, Peace Circles). One of their board members, Brian Gardner, was inspired and wrote the following theological reflection on the process:

Although humans can’t gather at church, stuffed animals still can! Plan your own stUUfieCON!

We are layers and layers of stories passed down by our ancestors. Our stories are made from struggles and joys that have made us resilient. These stories need to be shared, because by sharing our stories we have the power to change the things that we feel are unjust and to keep hope alive.

The Central East Regional (CER) has a primary contact staff system to ensure our congregations know who to reach out to for assistance. Every CER congregation and community has a UUA Staff Member who serves as your Primary Contact for all services of the region and the UUA.

While the New England Region staff team’s introduction of the concept and practices of Spiritual Leadership has been enthusiastically received, there’s been some pushback about the one we call “binding to tradition.” Most Unitarian Universalists don’t like the idea of being bound to...

As we move into the new normal, we have a chance to find models of community and connection that reflect our vision of who we are.

These are the basic responsibilities of the CLM Mentor. Mentors should meet regularly with their CLM candidates. Attend quarterly meetings of mentors. Review the candidate's quarterly reports....

Once commissioned, the Commissioned Lay Minister should participate in these activities. This page also describes the process of applying for recommissioning every three years.

Once the CLM candidate has completed their training and is ready to be commissioned as a CLM, this is the procedure to follow: The candidate should download the commissioning documents from the website. The candidate and the mentor will verify that the reading list has been completed....

Once an aspirant has approval from their congregation, this is the application process.

The aspirant process is different for those in congregations with and without ministers. This is the process for a lay-led congregation without a minister.

The aspirant process is different for those in congregations with and without ministers. This is the process for one with a minister.

Thank you for your interest in the CLM program in the Central East Region. The following pages describe the process of applying for the program, becoming a CLM candidate, being commissioned as a CLM and continuing in the program once commissioned....

We go over the basics of how to have a congregational meeting on Zoom, including registration options, polling options, and security controls.