This past summer the First Unitarian Church of Rochester, NY, produced a video, “Coming Home,” for its homecoming weekend September 10–11. The 4:09-minute video, a combination rap/music production, captivated the congregation and garnered a lot of attention across the Unitarian Universalist...

When you put your work on the web, this act constitutes an "implied license" to allow access to that work through normal web usage patterns, i.e., reading, viewing, or listening to that work....

Presenter: Rev. Cathleen Diane Cox. Is conflict a sign of something wrong or an organic component of growing communities? This workshop presented the clear, accessible processes of Compassionate Communication (NVC) which turn conflict into an opportunity to build stronger connections in which...

General Assembly 2008 Event 3013 A dragon, an angel, and a bug-eyed monster sit down in a Unitarian Church…. No, it's not the opening to a really bad joke. It's just another Thursday night service at the First Unitarian Church of Second Life (UUSL), which celebrates its fifth anniversary next...

General Assembly 2007 Event 3055 Presenters: Chris Walton, editor of UU World, Tom Hallock, Vice-President for Beacon Press, Deborah Weiner, Director of Electronic Communication, Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Deb Weiner: "On the day of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, I happened to b...

Presenter: Rev. Dan Harper Prepared for UUA.org by the Rev. Dan Harper, Reporter; Margy Levine Young, Editor Complete Presentation Text "There is no conceptual difficulty involved in achieving significant growth in your congregation's website traffic," said Rev. Dan Harper. Harper is the parish...

General Assembly 2010 Event 3004 Presenters: Rev. Carmen Emerson, Roger Hartz, Tandi Rogers, Shelby Meyerhoff Twitter—Facebook—blogs—RSS feeds—handheld apps—all this adds up to so much more than websites and email messaging! This advanced-level panel presentation covered major social media...

Developing a Covenant of Right Relations is an important step in clarifying expectations and creating a safe environment for congregations. "Covenant" is Latin for "come together" and means a "solemn agreement" or "promise from the heart" regarding a course of action between parties. Although the...

What is Destructive Behavior Policy? A Destructive Behavior Policy, sometimes called a Disruptive Behavior Policy, gives the leadership of the congregation more tools to stop abusive, harmful, inappropriate, and otherwise destructive behavior in your midst. A Destructive Behavior Policy, put into...

Debra W. Haffner This book is designed to help our congregation’s lay and professional leadership specifically reflect on the issues of safety, health, conflict, comfort, and justice in the context of becoming a safe congregation. These are issues that affect our relationships on all levels of...

45-Minute Workshop Suggested Participants Ministers Religious educators Congregational leaders Goals Explore how religious leaders can take care of themselves Learn the difference between stress and burnout Learn about common boundary violations in a religious context Materials Copies of “Mental,...

It is not always possible to pair a UU Principle and every safer congregation issue. Here are a few samples of ways to discuss this subject. What ideas do you have? The inherent worth and dignity of every person Every person's sexuality is sacred and worthy of respect; it is not to be violated.

Essential and Recommended Questions Essential Questions for Persons Under Consideration for Positions in Religious Education, Church Music, Church Administration, and Contact with Vulnerable People Adapt, as appropriate, if talking with a personal reference versus an employment reference.