[Lekooks] Fw: February News from MidAmerica Region-UUA

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Some News for You UUs~~~

---------- Forwarded Message ----------
From: MidAmerica Region UUA <midamerica at uua.org>
To: gymbeau at netzero.com
Subject: February News from MidAmerica Region-UUA
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2016 11:28:50 -0500 (EST)


 The MidAmerica MessengerVolume 3, Issue 7

February 2016
In This IssueRegional Assembly 2016 Registration is OpenRegional Assembly WorkshopsMidAmerica Youth Events for 2016Gratitude for Your Congregation and What You ShareGratitude for Your Congregation and What You ShareGratitude for Your Congregation and What You ShareGratitude for Your Congregation and What You ShareGratitude for Your Congregation and What You ShareCalendar Quick LinksFind Us on FacebookLast Month's NewsletterMore About UsEmail the Editor   To: James Hansen   Each month we try to provide you with the latest information about the MidAmerica Region of the UUA, and this month is no exception. If you'd like to know more about what's going on with the wider UU movement, there's the UU Bulletin. You can find the current issue by visiting http://www.uua.org/communications/bulletin  and clicking on "Check out the latest edition." 

And as always, the latest news about Unitarian Universalism can be found at http://www.uuworld.org. Be sure to check out the article on the two women who have been nominated for UUA the presidency!      Yours in Faith,Phillip LundCongregational Life Consultantplund at uua.org612-875-0959
The MidAmerica Region is building a new era 
in Unitarian Universalism, where UUs visibly live our   faith, create connections, grow our membership, and  welcome all persons who share our UU values.    Regional Assembly 2016 Registration is Now Open!   Registration for the 2016 MidAmerica Regional Assembly is now open! Building on last year's New Era theme, this year's assembly will be looking at WHO we want to be as faith communities in the coming years. Who will we Unitarian Universalists need to be, to be relevant? How will we get there? Who will be accompanying us on this journey? 

Join us at the InterContinental Hotel in Saint Paul, Minnesota, April 29 to May 1 for an exciting weekend celebrating the future of Unitarian Universalism in the MidAmerica Region. You can find out more here. Register now for the 2016 MidAmerica Regional Assembly and receive the early bird rate. Sexually Safer Congregations By Rev. Dr. Lisa Presley, Congregational Life Consultant

The UUA and the Religious Institute are partnering to launch a new initiative to help our congregations reduce the possibilities of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and sexual misconduct within their walls.  There are several aspects that help congregations do this--have policies in place for staff and volunteer screening and training, education for congregation members of all ages, youth group covenants, effective policies for incorporating persons with history of sexual offenses, and an on-going commitment from the board on down to helping maintain a place of sexual safety. The Religious Institute has developed a comprehensive website to assist congregations in developing and assessing their safety policies, as well as a program where congregations can apply for the Best Practices Seal. For more information or assistance, feel free to contact Lisa Presley, the program manager for this work in the MidAmerica Region, and/or visit the Religious Institute website at www.religiousinstitute.org/safer-congregations.  Lisa is helping our Region adapt necessary policies too, and so she knows some of the rewards and challenges first hand.    The WHO in the New Era of UUism: Widening the Circle  By Nancy Combs-Morgan, Credentialed Religious Educator-Master Level, Congregational Life Consultant
 As you may have already seen, the theme for the MidAmerica Regional Assembly is "The WHO in the New Era of Unitarian Universalism." Part of widening the circle of our faith means affirming that we are a multi-generational community, so we hope that the "WHO" includes our amazing youth leaders. 

With that in mind, I am working with the talented leaders of the Minnesota UU Social Justice Alliance (MUUSJA) in providing a special add-on track for leaders of all ages to expand their thinking and skills in faith based activism. Rev. Ashley Horan, the Executive Director of MUUSJA, and I are working to organize a half-day training, on Friday, April 29th, from 12:30-4:00 p.m., at Unity UU Congregation in St. Paul, that will include a youth and adult panel of leaders who will share their firsthand experiences as courageous leaders who are seeking to build a just and loving world. 

There will also be break out tracks specifically for youth and religious educators. I will be leading the track for religious educators, with the focus on how to incorporate social justice themes and activities into congregational religious education programming. MUUSJA will be handling the registration for this add-on training, and the event will be posted soon. We hope that the youth and adult leaders who take part in the MUUSJA pre-RA training will also register and participate in our regional assembly.Announcing the 2016 Winter Chalice Lighters Call         
The Winter 2016 Chalice Lighters call features four MidAmerica Region congregations: the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Mankato, MN: the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Northfield, MN; the James Reeb Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Madison, WI; and the UU Fellowship of Decatur, IL. To find out what each congregation hopes to do with funds they'll receive, and to donate online, visit https://midamericauua.org/programs/chalice-lighters/2561-2016-winter-call. And thank you to everyone who's signed up to participate in the Chalice Lighter Program. Your generous support helps strengthen Unitarian Universalism throughout the region.
 Generous Gift Received         By Nancy Heege 
D'Ann Prior was an extraordinary person. A member of Michael Servetus Unitarian Society in Fridley, Minnesota since 1994, D'Ann was a devoted Unitarian Universalist who truly lived her values. She was active in a variety of social justice efforts. She helped to start a state-wide network of UUs for advocacy work, the Minnesota UU Social Justice Alliance, and she worked to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment that would have banned same sex marriages in Minnesota. She wore her gold Standing on the Side of Love t-shirt and baseball cap, even after cancer began to slow her down.

After D'Ann's death, the MidAmerica staff were notified that she had left bequests to her congregation, to MidAmerica Region, and to the Unitarian Universalist Association. In this way, her beloved faith communities, and the causes that she cared about, will continue to benefit from her passion and her generosity.

People interested in making a bequest to the MidAmerica Region can contact Lisa Presley at lpresley at uua.org  for more information. UU Summer Camp: July 3-9, 2016         By Margaret Plett

Consider joining fellow UUs this summer in the Missouri Ozarks at the annual Midwest Unitarian Universalist Summer Assembly (MUUSA). The weeklong camp offers many workshops and activities for families, couples and singles of all ages. This year Reverend Krista Taves will lead the daily Morning Celebration service on this year's theme: "The UU House of Soul." Come gather with hundreds of other UUs in the beautiful forests and rolling hills of the Missouri Ozarks at YMCA Trout Lodge, where you can connect with old friends, make new ones and participate in a wide variety of activities.  Get all the details at muusa.org  Learning Network Covenant Update         By Bill Sasso, on behalf of the Learning Network Covenant Task Force

Last April, MidAmerica Region delegates endorsed the Learning Network Covenant (LNC)-an open and inclusive visioning process intended to help us explore the possibilities that our new region can engage. Here's a quick update to keep you informed about the LNC process. Our LNC Task Force has met recently to review two draft summaries: a statement of principles and direction, and a compilation of stakeholder groups in our MidAmerica visioning process. We are also developing a set of questions for you and your congregation, to help us understand what resources will be most valuable in MidAmerica, and where they might already be present. We also encourage UU organizations other than congregations to be part of the LNC process. We hope to share these drafts with you soon (perhaps in March), and look forward to receiving your feedback and comments. For more information, or to share your suggestions and insights concerning the MidAmerica Region Learning Network Covenant process, please email bsasso at juno.com! Your questions and/or reflections are always welcome!  Fair Share Giving to the MidAmerica Region         By Lisa Presley, Congregational Life Consultant

Friends, please let me extend a deep apology to the many good congregations that should have been included on our list of Fair Share congregations in the last newsletter, and were not. I don't know if you've ever had that kind of day where the document you forward that supposedly contains the right information is not, in fact, that document! Well, I had one of those days, and passed on to our staff team wrong information. So in this newsletter, we THANK all those who were inadvertently left off the list of generous Fair Share donors in our last newsletter, as well as all those we did include! We can't do our work without you, and we are most grateful. I apologize for any consternation, hurt, dissing or other ill feelings this has created in your congregations. We so appreciate you! Lisa Presley

UU Fellowship of AmesAmesIAUU Fellowship at BurlingtonBurlingtonIAUU Society of Black Hawk CountyCedar FallsIAUU Fellowship of ClintonClintonIANortheast Iowa UU FellowshipDecorahIAFirst Unitarian Church of Des MoinesDes MoinesIAUU Fellowship of DubuqueDubuqueIAUU Society of Iowa CityIowa CityIAUU Fellowship of North Central IowaMason CityIAFirst Uniitarian ChurchSioux CityIAFirst Unitarian AltonILUU Church NormalBloomingtonILBeverly Unitarian ChurchChicagoILPeoples Church of ChicagoChicagoILThird Unitarian ChurchChicagoILUU Fellowship of DecaturDecaturILUU Church of ElginElginILUU Society of GenevaGenevaILPrairie Circle UU CongregationGrayslakeILUU Congregation of Rock ValleyRocktonILAbraham Lincoln UU CongregationSpringfieldILFederated ChurchSycamoreILUU Church of Urbana ChampaignUrbanaILUU Church of BloomingtonBloomingtonINUU Congregation of ColumbusColumbusINUU Fellowship of ElkhartElkhartINUU Church of EvansvilleEvansvilleINUU Congregation of Fort WayneFort WayneINFirst Unitarian Church of HobartHobartINUU Fellowship of KokomoKokomoINUU ChurchLafayetteINUU Church of MuncieMuncieINOaklandon UU ChurchOaklandonINFirst Unitarian Church of South BendSouth BendINHeartland UU ChurchZionsvilleINUnitarian Fellowship of LawrenceLawrence KSUU Fellowship of ManhattanManhattanKSFirst UU Church of WichitaWichitaKSUU Church of Bowling GreenBowling GreenKYThomas Jefferson Unitarian ChurchLouisvilleKYOpen Door UU FellowshipOwensboroKYUU Fellowship of Madison CountyRichmondKYCommunity Uus in BrightonBrightonMIUU Church of Greater LansingEast LansingMIUU Congregation of FlintFlintMIGrosse Pointe Unitarian ChurchGrosse PointeMIPeople's ChurchKalamazooKalamazooMIThe Marquette UU CongregationMarquetteMIUU Fellowship of MidlandMidlandMIUU Fellowship of Central MichiganMt PleasantMIHarbor UU CongregationMuskegonMINew Hope CongregationNew HudsonMIUU Congregation of PetoskeyPetoskeyMIUU Community Church of Southwest MichiganPortageMINorthwest UU ChurchSouthfield MIPilgrim House UU FellowshipArden HillsMNHeadwaters UU FellowshipBemidjiMNLake Fellowship of U & UExcelsiorMNMichael Servetus Unitarian SocietyFridleyMNUnitarian FellowshipGrand RapidsMNUU Fellowship of MankatoMankatoMNUU Fellowship of NorthfieldNorthfieldMNNorthwoods UU FellowshipPine RiverMNFirst UU ChurchRochesterMNSt Cloud UU FellowshipSt CloudMNUnitarian Church of UnderwoodUnderwoodMNMesabi UU ChurchVirginiaMNUU Church of MinnetonkaWayzataMNUU Fellowship of WinonaWinonaMNUU ChurchColumbiaMOUU Fellowship of Jefferson CityJefferson CityMOGaia CommunityKansas CityMOUU Fellowship of RollaRollaMOFirst Unitarian Church of St LouisSt LouisMOBismarck Mandan UU Fellowship and ChurchBismarckNDGrand Forks UU FellowshipEast Grand ForksNDUU Church of Fargo MoorheadFargoNDKearney UU FellowshipKearneyNEUnitarian ChurchLincolnNEFirst Unitarian ChurchOmahaNESecond Unitarian Church of OmahaOmahaNEFirst Unitarian ChurchCincinnatiOHNorthern Hills FellowshipCincinnatiOHSt John's UU ChurchCincinnatiOHMiami Valley UU FellowshipDaytonOHUU Fellowship of LimaLimaOHFirst Universalist ChurchNew MadisonOHHopedale UU CommunityOxfordOHUU Fellowship of Yellow SpringsYellow SpringsOHChequamegon UU FellowshipAshlandWIUU Church of the LakesElkhornWIOpen Circle UU FellowshipFond du LacWILake Country UU ChurchHartlandWIBradford Community ChurchKenoshaWIUU Fellowship of La CrosseLa CrosseWIUU FellowshipMarshfieldWIUnitarian Fellowship of MilwaukeeMilwaukeeWIBlue Hills UU FellowshipRice LakeWIPrairie Lakes UU FellowshipRiponWIUU Society of River FallsRiver FallsWISaint Croix UU FellowshipSaint Croix FallsWIUU Fellowship of Door CountySister BayWIUnited UU CongregationWaukeshaWIFirst Universalist Unitarian Church of WausauWausauWINorthwoods UU FellowshipWoodruffWI  Calendar - Upcoming MidAmerica Events   
February
5-7:    WomanSpirit 2016 
12-14: JusticCON: Heartland High School CONference, Bloomfield Hills, MI
15:     Chalice Lighter Grant Applications Due
19:     InterCultural Competency Workshop, Indianapolis, IN19-21: Middle School Northern Cluster CON, Kalamazoo, MI
26-28: OWL Facilitator Training Grades 7th-9th, 10th-12th, Lenexa, KS

March
4-6: Middle School Election CON, West Lafayette, IN
11:  CARE for Youth Conversations about Racial Equality
31:  Donate to Chalice Lighters Winter Call Deadline
31:  Early Bird Registration for Regional Assembly

April
1:  Spring CON Northern Central Midwest
3:  Ordination of Shari Woodbury
8:  High School Bridging CON in Heartland
11:  Reserve your hotel for RA by today!
22:  Last Day to Register for RA
27:  Ministerial Days
29:  Regional Assembly 2016

See complete MidAmerica calendar at https://www.midamericauua.org/events    
  MidAmerica Region 
Unitarian Universalist Association2355 Fairview Ave. #312, 
Roseville, MN 55113
Web:  http://midamericauua.org  Phone: 312-636-9724Email: midamerica at uua.org 

Central Midwest, Heartland, and Prairie Star Districts
of the Unitarian Universalist Association
joined together as MidAmerica Region in July 2013.  
  
 MidAmerica Region UUA, 2355 Fairview Ave. #312, Roseville, MN 55113SafeUnsubscribe™ gymbeau at netzero.comForward this email | Update Profile | About our service providerSent by midamerica at uua.org in collaboration with
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