 |
|
Newsletter of the Florida District
October 2007 - Volume 1, Issue 4
|
| In This Issue |
| Note from District Executive |
| Note from Lifespan Program Consultant |
| Best Practices Workshop |
| Trustee Tidbits |
| GA 2008 |
| October District Packet |
| UU's on U tUUbe |
| Quick Links |
| Contact Us |
| Calendar Notes |
|
October
27 -
Light the Fire
November
4 - Rev. Carole Yorke Installation
11 - Rev. Pallas Sanford Installation
17 - Florida District Board Meeting
December
8 - The Courage to Lead
24 to 31 - FLD Offices Closed
|
| Save the Date! |
|
Florida
District Annual Assembly
This
year's Annual Meeting of delegates from our District
congregations will take place at the Unitarian
Universalist Fellowship of
Gainesville.
We thank their leadership for the invitation. |
 |
| Note from Reverend Kenneth Hurto |
|
Greetings Florida
District UUs,
"Everywhere you look in society, every family, every school, every congregation, every business, it is the least mature, most recalcitrant who call all the shots."
Rabbi Dr. Edwin H.
Friedman
Ed's generalization sure seems apt far too often in congregational life. Over and over, my phone line is heavy with tales of how naysayers and the "doesn't play well with others" types control Boards and whole congregations or make a minister's life hellish. Countless hours are wasted and goodwill squandered by an ineffectual "nice people" culture that too often sacrifices progress for pseudo-peace and growth for placating the immature and selfish. How does this happen? Well, we confuse tolerance of diverse theological expression with toleration of emotionally abusive speech or bullying behavior. We equate freedom of belief with a "no one can tell me what to do" license [e-mail is where it shows up the worst]. And in our desire to respect individuals, we deny the common good and "rights" of the beloved community. "A congregation exists," said Rev. A. Powell Davies to "grow souls." It takes a lifetime, often with lots of bumpy places and misdirection. To create a cradle of safety and solace, congregations need to nurture growth and not indulge immaturity. Given the diverse life experiences people bring to our congregations, leaders especially need to name values and rules for the congregational road we seek to travel. Perhaps there was a time American society was so homogeneous it was clear how to behave in groups. People policed themselves, or at least accepted the discipline of a community. Today, a "have it your way" narcissism makes you sound like a dolt or tyrant if you dare ask, "Doesn't the group's overall well-being matter? Must it be only 'my way or no way' and never 'our' way?" In this time of societal regression, congregational leaders are challenged to articulate a commonly held mission and set of values to define our ministries. They are likewise challenged to say that joining a congregation is not about "you," it's about "us." If we are not to be ever lost arguing whether leaders can lead and not to be bullied by the stubborn and willful, each congregation needs to undertake a disciplined review of its behavioral expectations associated with membership. To that end, many Unitarian Universalist congregations across the UUA have gone through a period of self-study to create what is called a "Covenant of Right Relations." It is a straightforward listing of how we ideally ought to treat one another in our congregation, and what to do when we fail to honor our principles. It legitimates the sense that the commonweal matters. It calls people back to mature engagement rather than letting some act out with verbal rock throwing or intimidation. If your congregation does not have such, I commend to you Gil Rendle's Behavioral Covenants in Congregations: A Handbook for Honoring Differences [ISBN# 1-56699-209-5, available for $15 from the Alban Institute or on loan from the FLD library]. Or you might want to network with the leadership in our Tallahassee congregation [http://www.nettally.com/uuct/], who spent a year creating their Covenant ─ one of the best I've seen. Then, get to work. You'll be a smarter and wiser congregation. May we get to the day where Ed's lament is no longer credible. |
| Note from Acting Lifespan Program Consultant |
|
As I mentioned last month we will
hold our first DRE gathering September 29th in Sarasota.
We are planning the next one on January 5, 2008 with the
Treasure Coast UU Society in Stuart hosting. These gatherings are an opportunity for Directors of Religious Education to share their vision and hope for the future of our movement. It is also a time to look at needs and resources and to build community. If your congregation has recently hired a new Director of Religious Education, Religious Education Professional or called a Minister of Religious Education please have them contact me crgdre@tampabay.rr.com. Connie Goodbread Acting Lifespan Program Consultant |
| Best Practices Workshop |
|
Dear
Fellow UUs, Mark your calendars! The West Central Cluster is sponsoring, in cooperation with the Florida District and the UUA, the "Best Practices" Workshop November 3, at the UUs of Clearwater. Emphasis will be on preparing our congregations for the marketing campaign. This will a day-long event that will be led by UUA consultant Valerie Holton. Invitees specifically include: people from membership, finance, publicity [newsletter, website, etc.] the president and the minister. Others are welcome and encouraged to attend. The goal is to get everyone working on the same page to discern where we are and what we need to have in place to welcome new seekers/guests, and to track the effects of the marketing campaign. The initial step is to establish common practices and the base-line data against which comparisons of future attendance & membership will be made. Part of the time will be for teams to do assessment and planning for their specific congregation. It would be helpful for all congregations to complete the Congregational Assessment beforehand (available at http://www.uua.org/documents/congservices/uncommon/congassessment.doc ). There will be a $15 per person charge to cover lunch and other expenses. Further registration information will be sent as soon as details are worked out.
West Central Cluster
|
| Trustee Tidbits |
|
By now many of you have your church year
programs underway and hopefully your congregation is well and
thriving. The column this month is about one of the several
Unitarian Universalist funding initiatives: the Fund for
Unitarian Universalism. The Fund for Unitarian Universalism grants are given to UU organizations in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada that are perceived to strengthen UU institutions and community life, nurture and celebrate our liberal religious heritage, and encourage a generosity of spirit among UUs that is reflected in commitments of time, money, and energy. These grants are available to congregations who are given to innovative, challenging or experimental programs that will have impact beyond the doors of the congregation, or that address needs unmet by the institutional structure of the denomination. Preferred projects usually have plans for income from diverse sources, including contributions from the members of the group applying. Grants are not made to individuals and activities that are considered to be part of the ongoing work of the congregation or organization. They are not generally given for equipment, capital campaigns, endowments, or congregational studies. The maximum grant is $20,000; the average grant is $7,000. "Challenge" or "matching" grants are common, in keeping with our UU mission to encourage generosity. Grants are for one year but second-year funding is possible upon submitting a final or interim report and anew proposal. As with all UU funding grants The UU Fund for Unitarian Universalism takes into consideration congregational commitment in meeting the UUA Annual Program Fund Fair Share contribution. Further information can be found on the UUA web site: uua.org. Please contact me at jlund@uua.org or 813-931-9727, if I can be of assistance in your congregational work or answer questions or just to stay in touch. I look forward to hearing from you. Enjoy October and happy Halloween.
Joan Lund, UUA Trustee for the Florida District
|
| General Assembly 2008 |
|
I have been
encouraged by the responses I've had to my recruitment of
candidates for the Volunteer Committee, made up of Florida UUs
who will coordinate Information Services (pre-GA tours, local
information, greeters), Transportation (shuttle buses between
hotels, motels, and the Convention Center), Ambiance (décor for
plenary hall and meeting rooms as well as Banner Parade),
Special Events (late evening musicians/DJs), Volunteer
Coordinator (helping recruit and assign volunteers), Service
Project Coordinator (identifies local service project involved
in UU-compatible endeavor worthy of support by GA attendees'
donations), and Administrative Assistant. I'll be
meeting with the GA Planning Committee in Boston September 12-16
for their approval of the candidates. Look for
their names in the November District mailings. I've already started visiting churches to give my invitational pitch both to attend and to volunteer to be one of the 200+ volunteers who will help in a variety of endeavors during GA. I made my second pitch outside of Florida (the first was at GA in Portland, Oregon in June) at the First UU Church in Columbus, Ohio where I was visiting my son and his family over the Labor Day weekend. I hope to give two pitches on the Sunday in October that I visit my daughter and her family in Houston, Texas. On September 9, Water Sunday in the UU Church of Fort Lauderdale (my home church for the past six years) I was also able to display and light the official UUA chalice, which will be on loan to the Florida UU District up through June 29, 2008. It's impressive from a distance as well as up close, and it's quite heavy. It's lit during the Plenary Sessions at GA. I will be traveling to various Florida UU congregations and cluster groups with the chalice in tow as I make my pitch for GA2008 and volunteering. I encourage Cluster groups and Sunday Services Committees to contact me to arrange a visit starting in November and going through into June. I won't be able to get to all congregations (I'm our church's choir director and we sing two Sundays a month), so if a Cluster group has a meeting on a weekend that I'm free, I'd particularly welcome doing double duty by pitching the Cluster on Saturday and the local congregation on Sunday. I'm willing to settle for just a Sunday pitch in some instances. My pitch takes about ten minutes, is interactive, and is generally a lot of fun.
David Fisher, District GA Coordinator
954-567-2677
|
| October District Packet |
|
The October 2007 monthly packet has been
posted to the District website and may be viewed at the
following link: http://www.floridadistrict.org/flyers/monthlypackets/Oct2007.pdf The October 2007 District packet contains the following items:
Please share the information contained in the monthly packet with individuals in your congregation. A paper copy of this packet has been mailed to congregation offices and congregation ministers. |
|