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Opportunities for Connection
CER Update ~ April 2025 |
Featured Resource: The Gathering
The Gathering is a monthly virtual event from Side With Love, designed to offer:
- Spiritual Grounding – Strengthen your heart and spirit for the work ahead.
- Political Analysis – Understand the threats to democracy and justice.
- Collective Action – Organize with others to block anti-democratic forces and build a just and loving world.
Congregational staff and board members, please watch for an email next week about a version of this specifically for you called Now What. |
You are invited to join the interfaith prayer vigil on the eve of the first hearing of the historic lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security's rescission of the sensitive locations memo. The vigil will take place on Thursday, April 3rd, at 6:30pm at National City Christian Church in Washington, DC. Together, we will gather in solidarity, lifting prayers for justice, compassion, and the protection of immigrant communities. The Rev. Nancy McDonald-Ladd, UUA Communications Director is participating in this event. Learn more. |
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Leading with Love at the Center
Online session on April 5, registration closes Thursday, April 4
Syracuse, NY, session on May 3, registration closes April 26.
2025 is calling; how will Unitarian Universalists respond? In a world marked by political oppression and escalating crises, centering love is a radical and transformative act—one that calls for all of us to move into collective spiritual leadership. What grounding and skills do we need to practice Unitarian Universalism, offering this faith to ourselves, to one another, and to the world that needs us?
Everyone is welcome to join us when and where they can do so. Board and committee leaders, parents, children, youth, young adults, staff members, religious professionals, ministers, and any committed and engaged folx who love Unitarian Universalism and might not have formal roles. Registration is open! Find out all the details at the CER website. |
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Save the date for April 26, 2025! Register now!
Upcoming online event brought to you by First UU Syracuse
Every year at First UU Society of Syracuse, we host a keynote presentation given by a transgender/gender nonconforming person, offer workshops from and for the trans community only, as well as additional workshops for cisgender people who are ready to learn more about how to be an ally. We create a space and time where transgender people, allies, advocates, and accomplices can bravely (and with more safety than usual) explore, learn and grow, bear witness, and be witnessed. We are really excited about this year’s keynote: Spencer Bergstedt, a trans man, a lawyer, a trans activist, a parent. You can find him on his Trans Dad channel on Instagram.
You can register to attend this event online now with tech support and registration assistance from UUA staff. You can watch it together at your congregation! If you’d like to have a watch party or engage as a congregation please reach out to your regional staff.
We encourage you to share the link to register to participate online with your congregation. However, please do not share the link to register in public such as on your website or Facebook page. In these times we would like to make it more difficult for trolls to learn about and access the space to keep it safer. |
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Over the past couple of months, UUA Congregations and related organizations have seen an increase of outside threats and destructive incidents at our UUA congregations. In planning for ways to be supportive and affirming of your congregation’s ministry, it would be helpful to us to have a way keep track of these incidents.
We have designed a Congregational Incident form to help you help us keep track of these incidents. This simple form provides a way for congregations to inform the UUA of a threat or disruptive incident that comes from outside the congregation itself, helping us track trends and create resources.
All forms come to the Safe Congregations Program email. Please let us know if you have any questions. |
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In 2025, Summer Institute gathers July 6-12 at Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH. Our theme speaker will be Rev. Joanna Fontaine Crawford, speaking on the theme Live a Life on Fire: Change the World with Your Love. Learn more about SI and past activities at the website and the video (YouTube). Registration for CERSI 2025 will open mid April. |
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We invite you to join us for the 2025 UUA General Assembly in Baltimore and/or online from June 18-22—a chance to connect, reflect, and build a future that meets this moment with purpose and courage. This year’s theme, “Meet the Moment,” calls us to engage with the evolving challenges of our world, exploring fresh ways to deepen our faith and respond boldly to our mission. Across five days of powerful worship, insightful workshops, and community-building experiences, we’ll find inspiration together, reconnect with friends and colleagues, and return to our congregations renewed. Join us in person or online to be part of this transformative experience, where every voice matters and our shared vision grows stronger. GA Registration is now open and rates go up on March 31. Housing reservations are going fast! |
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UUA Faith Development Co-Lab's Spring RE Meet-Ups
What We Have Laid in Store
Sunday, April 13, 7-8:30 p.m. ET or Tuesday, April 15, 12-1:30 p.m. ET
As authoritarianism rises and so much we hold dear is under siege, our Spring Religious Education Meet-Ups will focus on how we can bring to bear the skills and knowledge we have gathered through decades of Unitarian Universalist faith development scholarship and practice. We will remind one another of the practices, stories, patterns and rituals we’ve created and inherited that can help families make sense of chaos, focus on what matters most, and use their power in service of our UU values. Registration is open. |
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This year the Minns Lecture will be presented as a three part series both in person and online on the theme of Deconstructing Mythologies of Unitarian Anti-Racism. Each presentation will be followed by a response.
- April 30, Rev. Dr. Wayne Arnason will present Rehearsal for Reconstruction at 7 pm CT at Unity Church-Unitarian, St. Paul, MN
- May 8, Rev. Lisa Friedman will present To Uplift the Race at 7 pm ET at First Unitarian Church of Rochester, NY.
- May 14, Rev. Dr. Mark Morrison-Reed will present Founders or Followers at 7 pm ET at First Church, Boston, MA.
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The Transforming Hearts Collective offers two education offerings on Trans issues for UUs.
Responding to the Anti-Trans Movement: A Course for UUs
This concise on-demand course consists of three sessions: trans 101, what you need to know about the anti-trans movement, and how to ensure your congregation is truly trans welcoming. Each session includes a 25- to 35-minute video and accompanying resources.
It’s perfect for UUs who are looking to level up their understanding of the current political assault on trans people, how to respond to anti-trans information, and how to create more safety and belonging for trans people and our families in their congregations. Learn more.
Defend Trans Lives: A Webinar for People of Faith
This webinar, offered on April 8, is geared toward pro-LGBTQ Christians (but is open to all people of faith), presented in partnership with Enfleshed and Soulforce. Prior to the webinar registrants will receive essential background info from trans faith leaders and national trans advocates from the Transgender Law Center, the National LGBTQ Task Force, the Human Rights Campaign, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and more. On the webinar, speakers will discuss the moral and spiritual imperative to defend trans lives and how attendees can take action in the public square and in their own churches and faith communities. Learn more. |
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Side with Love has a number of events coming up. Be sure to check their website for new events near you. Get all the details at the event link.
Congregational Study/Action Issues Feedback Sessions
Join the UUA's Commission on Social Witness to offer your feedback on the proposed Congregational Study/Action Issues (CSAIs). All proposed CSAIs received the required “yes” votes in the Congregational Poll to be admitted to the agenda for UUA General Assembly 2025, where one will be selected for three years of study, reflection, and action. Register for any of the upcoming CSAI Feedback Sessions:
Resources from Side with Love
Upcoming Events
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Sometimes you've just got to pause
by Lenore Bajare-Dukes
It was just over five years ago when the pandemic came to my community. I was two years into serving as a religious educator in a UU congregation, and I had no road map for what to do next.
I remember seeing, first a few lone voices on social media, then in trusted news sources, that this new illness - this “pandemic,” a word that seemed to belong to the realms of history and science fiction - was about to affect the lives of everyone I knew. We were on a threshold. Very few of us knew exactly what would or should come next.
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The following events sponsored by CER are upcoming in the region. For full details and a complete list visit the CER Calendar Page. Also, please note, if you are mailing a check to the regional office to pay for your registration, you must write the name and date of the event in the memo line. Otherwise we may not get it properly credited.
If you are looking for Sparks Modules for Religious Educators or Our Whole Lives Trainings, check the full calendar on the UUA website.
- CER Learning, Transformation and Networking Days ~ April 5, 2025, 10-1 ET, online.
- Taproot: A National BIPOC Gathering ~ April 9, 2025, 8-9:30 pm ET, online.
- UUA Board Meeting ~ April 10-12, 2025, online.
- Building Beloved Community Beyond the Binary ~ April 26, 2025, First UU Society of Syracuse, NY
- CER Learning, Transformation and Networking Days ~ May 3, 2025, 10-4 ET, May Memorial UU Society, Syracuse, NY
- UUA Board Meeting, May 12, 2025, 7 pm ET
- Taproot: A National BIPOC Gathering ~ May 14, 2025, 8-9:30 pm ET, online.
- General Assembly ~ June 18-22, 2025, Baltimore, MD and online.
- Summer Institute ~ July 6-12, 2025, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH
If your congregation or cluster has an exciting project that could use funding from our Chalice Lighter Program, our next Intent to Apply deadline is August 1 for grants to be awarded in October 2025.
Congregational Events
Congregations are hiring, check out the UU Job Board to see what is available. |
Need Increases for OWL in Communities
By Melanie Davis, PhD, UUA OWL Program Manager
HB233 has passed in Utah and awaits signature by the Governor, banning Planned Parenthood educators or their materials from Utah schools. This is part of a growing pattern of limiting sexuality education to abstinence-until-marriage content. Congregations can help offset the lack of comprehensive sexuality education in schools by opening Our Whole Lives programs to children, youth and teens in the larger community.
To support this much-needed ministry, UUA and UCC OWL leaders and the UUA Organizing Strategy Team will present a General Assembly workshop (in-person and live streamed) titled "OWL Sexuality Education as a Community Care Innovation." It will explain how congregations can build relationships that pave the way for collaborative OWL programming with faith and other organizations.
For the day, time, and location (in-person and online) for the workshop, please refer to the GA Program Book. Congregations not attending GA can request resources afterward from owl@uua.org
If your congregation is struggling with how to respond in this moment, please check out the UUA's Resilience Hub. This is a location where we are gathering resources to help congregations build strong, connected, and resilient communities.
The Spark RE and Music Leadership Professional Development Programs provide Unitarian Universalist Religious Professionals learning communities where they can easily access applicable skills and tools for religious leadership. Courses are also open to interested lay leaders. Check out the lists of classes, these are great resources!
The UUA has a Disaster Relief Fund for those who want to make a donation to help congregations who have faced losses due to tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires and more. Please donate if you can. Learn more about the work of the Disaster Relief Fund. We are Better Together.
The UUA is hiring for several positions. Find job descriptions and application information at their Job Openings webpage. |
Central East Region
PO Box 425, St. Clairsville, OH 43950
Unitarian Universalist Association
24 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210-1409 |
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