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Woodworking as Spiritual Practice
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Author: Paul Mueller
"Last year in conversation with a therapist a hot topic was my isolation from others in the midst of a congregation and my separation from any active spiritual practice. He asked me for suggestions, and I found myself saying that I would really like to take a course in woodworking at the local vocational arts college. The suggestion came as a bit of a surprise to me, but the more I thought about it the better it sounded. But, I remember asking, W.W.C.D? What would the congregation do, or rather, think? Would they object to my taking this time for myself? ..."
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With/Between/Beyond: Ruminations of a UU Buddhist
PDF (8.39 KB)
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Author: Rev. James Ishmael Ford
" ... As I’m an ordained Soto Zen priest authorized as a spiritual director within two Zen lineages as well as a serving UU parish minister, people often don’t know what to make of me. She understood how I am a Unitarian Universalist, proudly so. And I am a Zen Buddhist. Sometimes there’s a hyphen, sometimes not. Sometimes I speak from my life as a UU. Sometimes I speak from my life of Zen practice. And sometimes there is another place, which I think is even more important, and to which I’ll come to in a moment ... "
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UU Men’s Groups: A Vision Unfolding
PDF (70.37 KB)
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Author: Tom Owen-Towle
"'I'm a self-made man, but I think if I had it to do over again, I'd call in others.' —Roland Young. A Reason: One of America's burgeoning revolutions finds men meeting to share pieces of their deep hopes and hurts, as they unwrap their self-sufficient exteriors to exchange touch and thought with other men..."
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Religious Professionals in Men's Programming
PDF (71.3 KB)
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Author: Tom Owen-Towle
"Men should not have to look outside the church to find support and direction for living the manhood for which they were created. This conversion—from a worldly definition to a self-definition open to the abundant riches of the Creation—this is the church’s business. — James Dittes. There are two primary questions: (1) Why do we need men’s programming in our congregations? and (2) How can ministers and religious educators (and other professionals) assist in the implementation of such efforts?..."
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The Minister As Fund-Raiser
PDF (95 KB)
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Author: Rev.John Wolf
"The year after his retirement as the minister of the First Unitarian Church of Berkeley, California, Raymond B. Cope came to stand in for me at All Souls while I was on sabbatical, and to help get our second congregation started. It gave him a singular chance to evaluate what kind of job we had been doing and what our prospects were for a growing Unitarian Universalist minister in Tulsa. He gave me and our two congregations some startling advice: “Unless the minister is seriously involved in fund-raising, you cannot, will not, accomplish what you have set out to do."..."
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Ten Money Tips for Ministers
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Author: Ralph Mero, Office of Church Staff Finances
"1. Reduce debt. Scrimp, save, cutback, eat at home, whatever it takes to raise the money to eliminate those corrosive payments on student loans and credit card balances. Only items likely to increase in value should be debt-financed. Typical examples are land, housing, and education. High interest credit card debt is especially crippling. Don't charge what you can't pay off next month..."
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Supporting Your Religious Educator
PDF (101.04 KB)
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Author: Rev. Makanah Morriss with assistance from Judith Frediani, Rev. Patricia Hoertdoerfer, and Rev. Jeannellen Ryan
"Relationship, communication, and collaborative support are three key components in creating a healthy and strong professional team. . ."
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Spiritual Mentoring or Direction
PDF (78.25 KB)
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Author: Gretchen Woods
"Spiritual mentors and spiritual directors offer guidance in developing a practice which will deepen our connections with our inner-knowing/source/god/goddess/ground of being. They listen, support, challenge, and provide tools for greater understanding of our whole life. They not only teach, they model through their own living and their way of being with us..."
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Raise Your Voice: Tips for Public Ministry
PDF (133.5 KB)
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Author: John Hurley, UUA Director of Information and Public Witness
"Unitarian Universalist ministers have a central role in establishing Unitarian Universalism as a respected public voice for liberal religious values. But being a public voice means communicating to a wider audience than those who fill the pews on Sunday, and reaching that wider audience necessarily entails dealing with the media. Knowing that dealing with reporters can cause apprehension, I offer this guidance for successful media relations..."
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Protocol and Manners: Civility Among the Clergy
PDF (99.78 KB)
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Author: Rev. Gordon B. McKeeman
"One of our colleagues, Kathy Duhon, recently commented, “In stable, interconnected communities, values like courtesy and hospitality are going to be high.” We Unitarian Universalist clergy are certainly interconnected. A mark of our connection is an embrace of good manners, civility, the nurturing of considerateness, a kindly awareness and regard for the feelings and circumstances of our colleagues’ lives..."
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Pastoral Care Committees
PDF (91.53 KB)
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Author: Florence Gelo, D.Min
"What is a Pastoral Care Committee? A pastoral care committee provides a structured way to care for those within the congregation in times of personal crisis. Often pastoral care is offered informally whenever ministers or lay people attend to the spiritual needs of those in crisis. However, when a congregation grows in numbers and the minister can no longer respond to the needs of all of the congregants, it is often necessary to create a formal structure to ensure that all those in the midst of a life crisis are offered support..."
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Nominating Committees: Making Them More Effective
PDF (103.8 KB)
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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A Guide to Offer to Your Church Nominating Committee
Author: Rev. Kirk Loadman-Copeland
"While the role of the Nominating Committee varies in Unitarian Universalist churches, it is one of the most important committees in the church. Its vision and effectiveness, or lack thereof, has significant and enduring organizational consequences. Typically, the Nominating Committee is responsible, per the bylaws, for nominating a slate for the Board of Trustees, both officers and atlarge members. In some congregations the role is much larger and involves recruiting people for committee chairs and other key leadership positions..."
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Mentoring Ministers in a UU Context
PDF (93.84 KB)
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Author: Gretchen Woods
"In the late 1980’s, the Ministerial Fellowship Committee, realizing that ministers can “wash out” during the first five years of ministry, determined that an informal mentoring process was needed for ministers during those critical years. The UU Ministers Association agreed to help ministers find mentors through chapter relationships. Reporting consists of signing a paper that indicates who the mentor is and that the pair meets on a regular basis. Training was not required, nor was much given..."
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Jewish UUism, U Judaism, Junitarian Juniversalist?
PDF (9.57 KB)
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Author: Rev. Rachele D. Rosi
"By whatever name, being a Jew and a UU is a joy and a challenge, especially as a UU minister. I wasn't raised Jewish. Nor was I raised as a UU. I first discovered Judaism as a child, seeing my secular half-Jewish cousins and wondering just what it meant to be “half-Jewish,” when I knew Judaism was a religion and my cousins were far from religious..."
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Internships
PDF (107.35 KB)
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Author: Rev. David Sammons
"In the UUA Manual on Internships it says that in a pastoral internship “a teacher and a learner covenant together to reflect critically on their ministry as a way to grow in self-awareness, professional competence, theological understanding, and religious commitment.” It’s a way for a candidate for the UU ministry to “experience practical ministry in a supportive environment.”. . ."
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Hymns for All: Singing Without Accompaniment
PDF (72.13 KB)
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Authors: Lena Breen and Lynn Ungar
"In small congregations that don’t have an accompanist or in small groups that don’t need one, in worship that includes children and in worship that invites livelier participation — throughout church life there are opportunities to sing songs whose words and melodies are simple enough that they don’t require the help of written music and a pianist..."
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Framed, Furnished and Sustained
PDF (23.42 KB)
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Author: the Rev. Dr. Anita Farber-Robertson
"Faith journeys are a lot like rivers – the older they get, the more they meander. Maybe, if we are lucky, like rivers, they get deeper. At least that is how it has been for me. I am the product of a mixed religious marriage ..."
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Four Paths to Socially Responsible Investing
PDF (84.89 KB)
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Author: The UUMA SRI Committee
"Socially responsible investing makes the radical assumption that we are responsible for the quality of life through our financial practices. Our purchases and our investments have meaning. The meaning we make through our economic lives can be a powerful force for good in the world. That good comes from the willingness to assume responsibility for the companies from whom we buy and in whom we invest..."
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Creating a Level Playing Field: Men & Brotherhood
PDF (69.18 KB)
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Authors: John K. Davis and Dick Michaels
"A common core element of successful men’s groups is a spirit of brotherhood (or “brothering”) shared among the participants. This sense of being deeply connected with one another can transform the lives of men involved with the group..."
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Congregation Based Community Organizing
PDF (124.42 KB)
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Administration
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9/23/2010
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Author: Fred Seidl
"Congregation Based Community Organizing (sometimes called Faith-Based or Broad-Based) is a movement that seeks to establish inter-faith, cross-class, multi-ethnic and multi-racial grassroots organizations for purposes of increasing social integration and power in civil society and for making civic, regional and state-wide changes for social improvement. By “civil society,” we mean the voluntary sector, including religious institutions..."
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12 Ways to Improve a Men’s Group Check-In
PDF (72.07 KB)
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Administration
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9/21/2010
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Author: Jaco B. ten Hove and Friends: Neil Chethik, John K. Davis, John Britt, Marlin Lavanhar
"'Checking-in' is an almost ubiquitous activity in sharing groups, yet it can sometimes be quite timeconsuming with less than inspiring results. A modest survey of some experienced men’s group participants turned up the following hints and suggestions..."
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