Blue BoatTransition in Campus Ministry
It has been such an honor to work with all of you in my nearly three years serving as Campus Ministry Associate at the Unitarian Universalist Association. I look forward to continuing in this position until my last day on July 12th. I have appreciated getting to know many of you as individuals, and learning what particular gifts you bring to your campus ministry. Some of my favorite memories are helping you plot the most enjoyable and effective ministry through one-on-one phone calls, larger conference calls, and group google hangouts with monocles, pirate hats and tiaras. Having the duty of organizing information in spreadsheets and databases, updating and creating resources, and attempting to wield the UUA…
CUUYAN Goes to Louisville
At General Assembly in Louisville, KY next week, you’ll find members of the Continental Unitarian Universalist Young Adult Network (C*UUYAN). The C*UUYAN Steering Committee is excited to be at General Assembly and is in a process of transformation to a membership organization! You can visit with us at the Young Adult Caucus Orientation at 1 pm on Wednesday, June 19 and learn about our current programming and our dreams for the future, including: Opus, our annual spiritual retreat; and ConCentric, the annual business meeting. Click here to learn about and register for Opus 2013 at Unicamp in Honeywood, Ontario. Steering Committee members Julie Brock, Alexis Ettner, Kelly Rauch, Ian Jaffe, and Elizabeth Mount can…
Sexuality Toolkit for Campus Ministers
The Unitarian Universalist Association and United Church of Christ are offering a free workshop on sexuality for campus ministers before the National Campus Ministry Association’s (NCMA) annual conference this summer. For details on the conference, and why you should attend, read our new blog post on. The conference will be held from Wednesday, July 10th-Friday, July 12th and the pre-conference training “Sexuality Toolkit for Campus Ministers” will be held on Tuesday, July 9th from 2-6pm. This workshop is designed specifically for campus ministers, and will enable you to support healthy sexuality in pastoral counseling with individuals and as a leader in your campus community. It will focus on building knowledge, gaining skills, and taking home…
Running for Someone Else’s Life
We re-post an excerpt of this story from the Standing on the Side of Love blog, reminding us how much stronger are the bonds of love than of hate. – Ed. May 07, 2013. This post was written by Helene Newberg. Helene is an avid runner and a member of First Parish Unitarian Universalist in Arlington, Massachusetts. Marathon 2012 In 2012, I was out of town on Patriot’s Day. Watching social media for Boston Marathon news, I started seeing reports that a student was found drowned in a local pond, less than a mile from our house. My heart sank; I did not want to believe that a child maybe from my community could die…
BSA: Maybe Less Exlusionary, Still Not Inclusive
UUA President decries Half-measure proposed by BSA Board The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has proposed modifying its membership rules to the more inclusive position of not discriminating against youth membership on the basis of sexual orientation or preference. The language of the Boy Scouts of America proposed Membership Standards Resolution states: “No youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone.” The proposed resolution is a compromise between the existing full ban of youth and adults on the basis of their sexual orientation, and the position promoted by Scouts for Equality, GLAAD and others allowing membership of youth and adults irrespective of their…
A Shelter in the Storm
On Tuesday night I, like the rest of this city and the country, was struggling with what do in the wake of the tragic bombings of the Boston Marathon. Boston is my adopted hometown for now, and I felt a very strong connection to Monday’s events, even though I did not personally know anyone who was injured. I’ve walked down Boylston St. where the bombs went off many times, and could easily have made a fateful decision to go down to watch the marathon that day; also, a young boy who was killed lived only a few blocks from me. So I attended one of the candlelight vigils that were blossoming around the city in…
A Move for the Millennial Generation
As you have probably heard, the Unitarian Universalist Association is planning a big move of its HQ offices from historic Beacon Hill to the up-and-coming Fort Point neighborhood in Boston. If you ask me, I’m super excited about this move. It feels like a true recognition from the highest levels of leadership in our faith that we are embracing the future that is a reflection of the way our generation, the Millennial Generation, will be interacting with religion for years to come. First, with this move we’ll get considerable upgrades in technological capability at the UUA. Right now, all the internet access in my office has to be beamed across two city blocks to the…
Come Out AND Keep Faith
Welcoming Faiths Welcomes You This community event addresses head-on the impact of religion and bullying by society on LGBTQ youth and families. 11 area congregations in the Lowell, Andover, and Haverhill Massachusetts area have joined together to form a community advocacy group called LGBTQ Welcoming Communities of Faiths. Welcoming Faiths, along with PFLAG, and the Northern Essex Community College GSA are presenting a community event April 3, 2013 at 7pm titled “Coming Out and Keeping the Faith”. There will be a panel of diverse religious leaders as well as LGBTQ youth impacted by rejection based on religious belief. Be part of the dialog and learn how to be an ally and welcoming to the LGBTQ…
Ignorant to Inspired – Mass Incarceration and Me
Last week, I got to see Professor and Human Rights Activist Michelle Alexander speak about the racist caste system being created by mass incarceration and the war on drugs. She was speaking specifically about her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color-blindness, which was designated the Unitarian Universalist 2013 Common Read, as well as the Yale Divinity School common read this year. I am currently a student at Yale Divinity School and they hosted Professor Alexander’s lecture, so I was honored to be able to attend and watch her speak live. If you missed it, you can still watch online. It was inspiring and motivating to hear her speak so passionately and prophetically…
Colorado Joins the Union
Continuing the trend of legislative and electoral victories, Colorado has become the 10th state to approve legislation equalizing the rights of couples joined in same-sex civil union to married couples. The United States Supreme Court hears argument on California Proposition 8 on March 26 and is expected to rule sometime in June. Their ruling could affect marriage equality laws in the all of the states covered by the 9th Federal District Court. – Ed. Colorado’s civil unions bill which grants same-sex couples similar rights to married couples passed in the Colorado House on Tuesday morning and now heads to Gov. John Hickenlooper who is expected to sign the bill into law. Read the full…
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