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Metro NY Minute --
October 2010 |
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News From the
District
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The 2011 District Annual Meeting
will be held May 6-7, 2011, at the Hyatt
Morristown. Registration begins February 15,
2011. Interested in facilitating a
workshop? To submit a proposal,
click here.
The New York
State Convention of Universalists
will hold its 182nd Annual Meeting on October 22-23 at
the First UU Society of Syracuse. Gini Courter, UUA
Moderator, and Ruthie Rosauer, singing meditation
practitioner, are featured guests. The theme is Local
Action -- Global Connection: 21st Century Universalism.
For a registration flyer,
click here
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The General Assembly (GA) Program
Development Group (PDG) is now
accepting proposals for GA 2011 programming.
GA 2011 is
scheduled for June 22-26, 2011, in Charlotte NC. To
submit a proposal,
click here.
The PDG is a diverse team of UUA Staff and GA
Planning Committee members committed to providing
excellent GA programs aligned with the vision and
mission of the UUA. All proposals must be received
by November 1.
Read more
More Good Stuff to Check Out!
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 Is your congregation poised for growth but needs
a little help? Do you have a vision of where you want to be but
need a map? Your congregation might be a CERG Threshold Congregation,
eligible for special assistance from CERG consultants to help your
congregation achieve its growth plans.
Learn more.
What is a youth Con and why go to one?
District youth Russell Hathaway gives his most important
reasons in a thoughtful and thorough piece. "Cons have opened my eyes to
issues I found myself to be passionate about . . . I have made some of my
best friends from Con touch groups . . . The Con environment strengthens
youth-adult relations".
Read more
Mark Bernstein, CERG Regional Growth
Development Consultant, will lead a webinar November 4 from
7:00-8:30pm on "The Rites and Wrongs of Passage" focusing
on the reasons people leave congregations as members and ways to slow down
the exodus. To register for the webinar,
click here.
The District Women and Religion Committee is
sponsoring its
Annual Women's Weekend Renewal
. on November 12-14 at St. Josephat's Retreat House, Glen Cove NY,
featuring a presentation by UU minister and Dartmouth professor the Rev
Nancy Jay Crumbine on "Living Creatively With Intention," a two-part
workshop on creativity and spirituality.
News From the
UUA 
 A new
episode in the video series A Religion For Our Time is
now available. Episode Ten, titled
Multicultural Ministry, shares insights from the
15-year journey of the UU Church of Annapolis toward
becoming a more diverse congregation.
View the video.
A team
of elected leaders and UUA staff known as General
Assembly and the Mission of the Association Partnership (GAMAP)
have drafted a statement of purpose for the 2012
Justice General Assembly to be held in Phoenix AZ
June 20-24, 2012, pledging to work with internal and
external partners to identify outcomes, provide
opportunities for participation by individuals of differing
abilities and people with historically marginalized
identities, and use the 2011 General Assembly to prepare
delegates for the 2012 meeting.
Read more.
The Multicultural Growth and
Witness staff group provides a variety of
resources to help congregations be more effective in
social justice work, including
The Real Rules, IRS guidelines on congregational
advocacy, lobbying, and election, work, and Inspired
Faith, Effective Action
,
a handbook on more effective congregational social justice
work.
News From Congregations
| Milestones and Transitions
Julie Taylor will be ordained
by the Fourth Universalist Society (Manhattan) on October
10 at 5:00 pm
Peggy Clarke will be ordained
by the UU Fellowship of Northern Westchester (Mount Kisco
NY) and the UU Fellowship of Braircliff, Croton, and Ossining
(Croton-on-Hudson NY) on November 7 at 5:00 pm at the Community Unitarian
Church at White Plains (NY). Note: The date, time, and location has
changed from what has been previously announced.
The Rev. Matt Tittle will be
installed by the Central Unitarian Church (Paramus NJ) on
November 14 at 5:00 pm.
Merrin Clough now serves
Central Unitarian Church (Paramus NJ) as Interim
Director of Religious Education.
Lissa Gundlach now serves the Unitarian Church of All
Souls (Manhattan) as Interim Director of Religious Education.
The Rev. ReBecca Sala
now serves the UU Congregation of Central Nassau
(Garden City NY) as Director of Religious Education.
Kristen Schara now
serves the UU Congregation of the Catskills (Kingston
NY) as Religious Education Coordinator.
Betty-Jeanne Reuters-Ward
now serves the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock
(Manhasset NY) as youth and Young Adult Programs Coordinator.
Laurel Koepf now serves
the Fourth Universalist Society (Manhattan) as Acting
Director of Religious Exploration. |
 The Unitarian Church of Staten
Island (NY) welcomed the Rev. Mark Kiyimba to the pulpit for a special
National Coming Out Day Worship on October 3. Rev. Kiyimba founded the only UU
church in Kampala, Uganda, in 2004. His church is one of the few congregations
in Uganda that openly welcome LGBT people. The church sponsors an orphanage
school for 550 children who lost their parents due to HIV/AIDS. Rev. Kiyimba also
led a workshop at the District Leadership Day October 2, led a late-afternoon
worship service at the Fourth Universalist Society (Manhattan)
on October 3, and spoke on Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill at a
breakfast sponsored by the Staten Island Clergy Leadership on October 5.
The UU Congregation of Queens
(Flushing NY) is holding is
4th Annual UU Revival October 8-9 and all UUs are invited.
Special guests for the weekend of preaching, singing, and food include
Daniel Gregoire, UU seminarian and member of the District
board, the Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt, minister at the
Fourth Universalist Society (Manhattan), the Rev.
Michael Tino, minister at the UU Fellowship of Northern
Westchester (Mount Kisco NY), Jennifer Green,
Director of Religious Education at South Nassau UU Congregation
(Freeport NY), and Matt Meyer, guest musician from Boston.
 Central Unitarian Church
(Paramus NJ) member Herb Ouida was featured on a September
3 segment of Religion & Ethics News Weekly, a PBS television show. The
segment focused on a discussion of the proposed Islamic Cultural Center near
Ground Zero. Both Herb and his son, Todd, were working in the towers on
9/11. Tragically, Todd was killed during the attack. To honor Todd, Herb's
family created the
Todd Ouida Children's Foundation. Read a transcript of the
segment.
 The Unitarian Church in Summit
(NJ) and the high school youth group of the Unitarian Church of All
Souls (Manhattan NY) each received a 2010 award from the UU Service
Committee (UUSC). All Souls youth received the Mary-Ella Holst Youth
Activist Award for working to "advance human rights and social justice
through activism and leadership in collaboration with the UUSC." The Summit
congregation received the Social Justice Congregation Award for "exemplary
achievements as a congregation to advance human rights work in collaboration
with the UUSC." Pictured accepting Summit's award are Gary
Nissenbaum and the Rev. Vanessa Southern.
Read more.
The UU Congregation of Somerset
Hills (Somerville NJ) is featured in an online article at
myCentralJersey.com describing the congregation's purchase of its new
facility. Previously meeting at Raritan Valley Community College, the
congregation recently purchased the former Christian Science Church in
Somerville.
Read more.
The Rev. Margie Allen, new
Consulting Minister at the UU Fellowship at Stony Brook (NY) is
featured in an online article of the Times Beacon Record. "Part of
Allen's mission is to help the congregation of more than 200 decide
which direction it wants to take."
Read more.
 UU Congregation of Shelter Rock
(Manhasset NY) members formed a human rainbow wearing shirts of red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, and violet to proclaim its welcome to the LGBT
community at the congregation's annual homecoming picnic on September 19.
The UU Fellowship of Huntington
(NY) is sponsoring a weekly discussion, October 5 through November 2, on
understanding Islam, led by the Rev. Paul Ratzlaff, and
focusing on No god but God by Reza Aslan. Aslan's approach is
historical, naming the conflicts and motivations that led to the various
schools of Islam.
The UU Congregation at Montclair
(NJ) will celebrate on October 17 the 15th anniversary of the Rev.
Charlie Ortman's service to the congregation and the 10th
anniversary of the Rev. Judy Tomlinson's service to the
congregation.
Other Noteworthy Items
 UUs for Jewish Awareness (UUJA) will hold its first gathering
in more than 20 years -- Let Us Be Counted -- on February 18-20, 2011, at
the UU Congregation of Atlanta. Participants will come together to explore
and celebrate UU Jewish identity.
The Church of the Larger Fellowship
(CLF), under the direction of the Rev. Patty Franz, sponsors a Prison
Ministry. CLF offers free membership to prisoners and also sponsors a
letter-writing ministry. UUs are matched with prison CLF members for an
exchange of letters. To read more about the CLF Prison Ministry, or to
sign-up to be a pen-pal,
click here.
The UU Service Committee (UUSC) now
has resources available for
Guest at Your
Table, the annual project to raise money for UUSC human
rights projects. The suggested date for
opening Guest at Your Table is November 21, continuing for four to eight
weeks. Participating congregations are urged to order supplies,
including coin boxes and donation envelopes, well in advance, since it
typically takes up to four weeks to process the order. Planning packets
are available online, or through the mail by special request.
The 10/10/10 Global Work
Party, supported by the
UU Ministry For Earth, is October 10, a day of action to
call upon worldwide decision-makers to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide
to 350 parts per million. As of October 3,
350.org reports that almost 6,000 events in 183 countries are
planned and nearly 60 UU congregations are known to be participating.
The Allies for for Racial Equity
Annual Conference will be held March 25-27 at the UU Church of Fort
Myers in in Fort Myers FL. Programming will be designed to help develop
skills, build connections, and strengthen anti-racist and anti-oppressive
identities and practices. A portion of the conference will focus on
immigration issues.
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Upcoming Workshops and Meeting
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Visit the District
Calendar and the District Events
page for these and other events. You may also want to visit the
CERG Events
page. |
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4th Annual Queens Revival:
October 8-9, UU Congregation of Queens, Flushing NY. For more
information, contact the Rev. Ian
White Maher. |
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Elementary OWL Training:
October 15-17, UU Congregation at Shelter Rock, Manhasset NY. For a
flyer, click here .
To register,
click here. For more information, contact
Andrea Lerner. |
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Junior/Senior OWL Training: October 15-17, UU
Congregation at Shelter Rock, Manhasset NY. For a flyer,
click here .
To register,
click here. For more information, contact Andrea Lerner. |
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Youth Social Con (AAAHH Real
CONsters!): October 29-31, UU Congregation at Shelter Rock,
Manhasset NY. For a flyer,
click here .
To register,
click here. For more information, contact
Sara Neiss. |
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Annual Women's Weekend Renewal : November
12-14, St. Josephat's Retreat House, Glen Cove NY. |
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Senior Youth Advisor Workshop:
November 13, Unitarian Society, A UU Congregation, East Brunswick
NJ. For a flyer,
click here .
To register,
click here. For more
information, contact
Andrea Lerner. |
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UU
Small Group Ministry Facilitator Training: November
13, UU Congregation at Shelter Rock, Manhasset NY. For a
flyer,
click here .
To register,
click here. For more information, contact
Andrea Lerner. |
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