| | Rev. Dr. Richard Speck - District Executive |  | The summer is rapidly fading away as congregations prepare for the new program year. As leaders, I hope that you and your board and religious staff have had or are planning a retreat to plot out where the congregation needs to head in the coming program year. I know that we are reaching about twenty-five congregations each year through our Adjunct Staff to lead these retreats for planning. I hope that the other two thirds are conducting their retreat with someone else who is not part of the congregation. The outsider can bring a neutral perspective to the deliberations and facilitate the negotiations that are a part of ongoing life in leadership in our congregations. Keep reading... |
Meredith Higgins - Adjunct Staff Coordinator As the new program year begins, board members' thoughts turn to all the decisions they have to make. Can we do what we need to do and keep within the budget? How can we find enough volunteers to take responsibility for the many committees and activities?Will we be able to keep to the goals we have for the year when unexpected challenges arise? Keep reading... |
Rev. Dr. Om Prakash John Gilmore - Director for Racial & Social Justice Today we are involved in the process of making beauty where there is harshness and internal ugliness. This is the task of the strong-hearted: to be that beauty wherever you go. I guess what I am basically trying to say is that it is time to be peaceful warriors striving for peace and justice instead of just being passive. In the end we will have it. "We who believe in freedom shall not rest until it comes" for all people. Keep reading... |
Mark Bernstein - Regional Growth Development Consultant for CERG As congregations prepare for the new church year, I find it curious that many Unitarian Universalists allow their faith to take a vacation every summer. Where did your faith vacation this year? Keep reading... |
| Joan Priest - Development Director Are you (like me) chained to a scorched calendar and looking for a way to try something new? Try engaging new members in roles of responsibility and watch the JPD calendar for new training opportunities. Sign up for workshops to learn the latest in best practices and find out how to implement them. Healthy Congregations Workshops and Leadership Training Days are planned for the southern and the northern parts of the District, and Wayne Clark will be presenting a Stewardship Workshop on Nov. 13 at the Germantown church in Philadelphia, PA. Keep reading... |
Board Column - Mike Harris, JPD Board President Your district board held its annual retreat last month. A major task was to revisit our "ends" policies. We accepted the recommendation of our working group to make them more concise and revised them as follows (our district executive will be presenting his interpretation of the policies at our October meeting). Keep reading... |
Joseph Priestley District Ends Policy 7/7/10 I. Global Ends Policy The Joseph Priestley District (JPD) of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) exists to connect, grow, and strengthen our congregations at a cost within the resources available to the JPD. |
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