Lay Leader Resources

Here are links to websites that can provide resources for individuals engaged in lay leadership. If you have suggestions for additional links that have been helpful to you, please contact the webmaster.

A Religion for Our Time video series highlights inspiring work in Unitarian Universalist congregations, including innovative projects relating to worship, social justice, membership, and fellowship. New episodes will be added every few weeks to this multimedia page:
http://www.uua.org/multimedia/religion/index.shtml.

New UUA Resources Page - Visit often to view new videos and search for materials covering all areas of congregational life and governance: http://www.uua.org/resources/index.shtml

Healthy Congregations Workshops - You can download and view the powerpoints from Rev. Van Becelaere's Healthy Congregation's workshops for the Pittsburgh Cluster. If you have powerpoint on your computer you can download the powerpoint file from this site. If you do not have powerpoint you can view the files in your web brower.

Are you a subscriber to Interconnections, the UUA's leader's newsletter? This is now only available by email or on their website and you can learn more at www.uua.org/publications/interconnections/index.shtml. You can also their weekly tipsheet at tipsheet.blogs.uua.org/

Missed the Committee on Ministry Best Practices webinar in August? You can listed to the audio and view the powerpoint on our website.

The UU Minister's Association has created some best practices and assessment documents to aid congregations with assessing the congregation's ministry. Visit www.uuma.org/assessment for details.

Are you intersted in the Green Sanctuary Program? Visit the UUA website at www.uua.org/leaders/leaderslibrary/greensanctuary/index.html

Planning a Board Retreat? Harvest the Power: Developing Lay Leaders is an Adult RE Workshop from the Tapestry of Faith Program now available to congregations online. Visit www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith/harvestpower/index.shtml

There are new emergency management resources for congregations. You can view the list on the Emergency Management page.

There are new economic resources for congregations. You can view the list on the Economic Help page.

Swine Flu Resources - The UUA has posted a number of public health resources for congregations and their leaders at
http://www.uua.org/leaders/leaderslibrary/disasters/index.shtml . Resources include planning tools, information, and concrete suggestions for dealing with a public health threat, including the current H1N1 virus. Also included are materials designed to inform and protect the immigrant community, a group doubly at-risk because it has been unfairly targeted as responsible for the crisis.

Listen to the latest ‘UU World’ Audiorecordings of the articles in the latest UU World are now available. Award-winning audiobook actor Dick Hill reads articles from the Spring 2009 issue. The recordings can be listened to in most browsers or downloaded to your computer for playback using an .mp3 player. The audio version of UU World is produced in cooperation with the UUA Office of Accessibility Concerns.
http://www.uuworld.org/issues/audiorecordingsspring2009.shtml?n

New UUA Resources for Small and Midsized Congregations. The UUA is creating new website resource collections for small and mid-sized congregations. If your congregation has up to 150 members, or up to about 125 at worship, please see www.uua.org/smallcongregations. There you will find connections to information and opportunities especially for small congregations. There is a page also posted on UUA.org for Midsize Congregations at www.uua.org/midsizecongregations. These resources are a work-in-progress and the Growth Services Program (Susanna Whitman and team) will be expanding these in the weeks and months to come.

The Stewardship Office has prepared a collection of articles on fundraising in difficult times titled, Giving During Tough Economic Times. Download the collection as a pdf or word document. Included in this collection is Anticipating the Effects of the Economy on 2008-09 Congregational Giving to help with planning canvass or pledge drives in our current economic times written by the head of the Annual Program Fund at the UUA. Download the document as a pdf or a word document.

UU World Options

When To Call the District Office?Click here to find out...

Church on Loan Program from the Church of the Larger Fellowship: Are you a smaller congregation with limited or no ministerial support? Are you constantly struggling to find high quality worship services and religious education class ideas for your congregation? If so, the Church On Loan Program may be the answer for you. The Church on Loan program helps groups plan and present effective and meaningful worship offer easy-to-teach religious education programs and provide easy-to-prepare study programs for adults. For a yearly fee, this program provides congregations with:

To learn more about the program visit www.uua.org/clf and click on Church on Loan in the menu, or contact the district office.

UU Military Ministries. Does your congregation have military families in it? Do you want to learn how to support your veterans, military families and service members? There are congregational resources for this at www.uumm.blogspot.com. You should also be aware that there are more UU chaplains in the military now, after a period of time when we had only one. This is serving a need for our UU service people. To help support this work, a Committee on Military Ministry is being created.

The UUA has just posted the content from the 2008 Large Church Conference to their website. If you are interested in seeing this, visit: http://www.uua.org/events/largecongregations/2008/perspirationinspiration/index.shtml. If you are looking for this on the UUA website, you will find it under the I am Interested in...Events section not the Leader Library.

Looking for election guidelines for congregations? Click here to learn more.

Leader of a small congregation? Check out this resource by Rev. Jane Dwindell, specialist for small congregations: www.spiritoflifepublishing.com. This website has information on a book listed titled, "Big Ideas for Small Congregations" that is hot off the press. In addition, you can subscribe to and download back issue of "Small Talk" a monthly newsletter for small congregations. Each issue deals with a special area of concern for small congregations.

Email lists - the UUA has a number of special email lists just for congregational leaders. If you are a congregational president or treasurer for a congregation in the Ohio-Meadville District, there is a special email list for you. This gives you an opportunity to network with others who are doing the same job. Lists that are available to lay leaders include: congregational presidents in the UUA (Congpres-l), announcements about interconnections issues (InterConnections-L), one on membership and growth issues (Memb-l), treasurers for congregations in the Ohio-Meadville district (Omd-treasurers), and one for UU lay leaders of any type (UU-Leaders). This is just a sample of the 300 lists available on every topic you can imagine. To subscribe to any of these lists go to lists.uua.org/mailman/listinfo and follow the directions. Not sure how to participate in a list? There is a page of instructions and policies you can review.

Movie Licenses for Congregations. Do you show movies in your congregation as part of a service? As part of babysitting? Part of youth group or other social gatherings? If so, you probably need a license for public viewings. Only showing movies in a class as part of a curriculum are exempt from the need for licenses. For more information about this issue, click here.

Need help finding answers about liability and insurance? Church Mutual has a number of pamphlets and DVDs on a variety of safety issues that congregations face. These resources are free from Church Mutal, or you can contact the district office to borrow a copy. Click here to see a description of what is available.

Voices of a Liberal Faith DVD Resource - A new DVD titled, Voices of a Liberal Faith is being sent to all congregations, learn more about the DVD and how you can use it by clicking here. You can view this video online at You Tube, or by clicking on the file type: Real Player or Windows Media. And there is a new 30 second spot that you can view at You Tube, or by clicking on the file type: Real Player or Windows Media. You can download Real Player or Windows Media Player by clicking on the names.

The powerpoint presentation by Rev. Joan Van Becelaere at President's Day 2007 is now available on the website to view or download. Visit the President's Day Page to view.

DVDs to use to help your congregation! Three DVDs are now available from the UUA bookstore: "Ideas for Worship" - a DVD of stimulating segments taken from the first UUA Conference on Contemporary Worship.  This vital resource offers fresh ideas on worship that you can use in your congregation.  "UU University 2006" - This DVD presents key sessions held prior to GA 2006.  UU University exists to increase UU lay leaders' knowledge and ability to serve. Breakthrough Congregations '07 - Now an annual series, this is the third DVD presenting the successful efforts of thriving UU Congregations both large and small. Visit the UUA bookstore at www.uua.org/bookstore for details.

Also, your congregation should have received the CDs, "Drive Time Essays" discs one and two. These are short essays on a variety of issues around congregational life. Can't find your congregation's copy? All the files are available on the UUA website as podcasts that can be downloaded. Visit http://www.uua.org/publications/drivetime/index.shtml

Want to try podcasting with your congregation? Check out our podcasts page or the uupodcasters.org website.

A new training is available from Rev. Patricia Shelden for Lay Pastoral Care Associates is now available.

InterConnections- UUA Newsletter and Resource Library - including pages on each major topic with links to archived articles on those topics. The past issues are archived at the new UUA website. You can search the past archives by clicking here.

Lay Leader Library - This site offers information for all lay leaders. If you are interested in trying to find the best books, articles or other resources for someone doing your role in a congregation the size of yours, this site can provide that information for you.

Two ways to learn what is going on and what is changing in the UUA and the district is to attend the UUA's annual General Assembly in June of each year and to attend the District Annual Meeting in March or April of each year. The UUA webcasts much of General Assembly including the plenary sessions so if you missed this year, you can watch or read about the workshops and events you are interested in. Visit the UUA website to see what happened at last year's GA and to find out what is planned for GA 2008. To find out what is planned for this year's District Assembly, visit the District Assembly page on this site.

UUA's Congregational Packet - this is a monthly mailing that comes direct to your congregation from the UUA with news, forms and updates of what is happening at the UUA. Haven't seen the packet? You can check out the web version at the UUA website. The district mails out a similar packet with district events and information to each congregation. It is also available on the OMD website under publications as a pdf file. This packet is also available for congregations to submit information for everyone in the district to read.

Congregational Handbook - another part of the UUA website offers some information and guidance for those who are trying to develop policies, procedures and by-laws for their congregations. This includes a downloadable version as a pdf file of the Congregational Handbook.

Confused about Congregational Polity? Try reading the Commission on Appraisal's report Interdependence, which discusses what congregational polity is and issues surrounding it. There is also a study guide that goes along with this report. You can download a pdf copy of the report at the commission's website. Also, Conrad Wright's Congregational Polity is available at the UUA website as a downloadable pdf file.

Trying to figure out membership requirements and issues? The Commission on Appraisal's report Belonging looks at the different ways that UU congregations deal with these issues. You can download a copy of the report as a pdf file at the commission's website along with a study guide. Also at the UUA website is a page called "All the Docs" that has all the documents a membership committee might need.

Depending on the size of your congregation and the issues you are facing, you may have more specific questions. Many resources relating to specific sizes and issues are located on the Resources page of the congregational services office. You can find it at archive.uua.org/cde/education/index.html#resources

Looking for classes or training? There are now online classes offered by two of our theological schools. Offerings vary from semester to semester. Leadership schools are offered in a number of our districts and by The Mountain. This year the OMD is participating in a four district leadership program called UU Leadership Team Institute. Listed below are links to some other UU Leadership schools.