NER Joint Leadership Retreats (JLRs) are back this fall and throughout the next church year! If you are current staff, Board, or leadership please check your email for more information. Registration is now open:

More information is available on our website.

Please also check out our 2025-2026 Board Retreat Template.

NER staff Emily Cherry will host another support gathering for congregational staff who identify as LGBTQIA+ on Wednesday, September 24 from 2:00 to 3:00pm ET.

NER staff are here for you as you prepare for another church year. We invite you to get in touch with us if you could use some more support; if you don’t know your congregation’s primary contact, you can contact them here.

If you are a professional or lay religious educator, check your inboxes soon for an announcement about our upcoming series of NER Religious Educator Gatherings. These sessions will offer compelling content on safety policy updates, supportive adult roles in youth ministry, and caring for parents and families and implementing the Deeper Joy model for all age groups. Whether you’re staff or a volunteer, these gatherings are a place to build skills, share wisdom, and find support in the vital work of faith formation. We are planning a session each for September, November, January and March. More information will be available soon!

Mark your calendar! Let's connect on Thursday, September 25 from 7:00 to 8:30pm ET. Join with your peers to share ideas, strategies, questions, concerns, and to receive and offer support.

This gathering is open to current New England Region Board members and those who will be on the Board within the next several months.

The Zoom link and our pre-gathering survey will be sent to all Board members. To ensure receipt, please check that all information for your congregation on my.uua.org is current and correct. Latecomers and early departures are welcome.

We look forward to gathering with you!

Mark your calendar! Let's connect on Wednesday, October 22 from 12:00 to 1:00pm ET. Join your peers to share ideas, questions, concerns, and support.

This gathering is open to all New England Region congregational administrators.

The Zoom link and our pre-gathering survey will be sent to all congregational administrators. To ensure receipt, please check that all information for your congregation on my.uua.org is current and correct. Latecomers and early departures are welcome.

We look forward to gathering with you!

Join Side With Love’s monthly event to strengthen your spirit, make sense of the threats to democracy, and take meaningful action alongside others! We have two live versions every month, and you can watch or share the recording with your congregation afterwards.

Find this and many more events from Side With Love on their website.

This monthly series will convene on Tuesday, September 23 from 7:30 to 9:00pm ET. Registration is free and required.

Heroes of Service: How are UU Congregations Uniquely Positioned for Sacred Resistance?

Our most common USAmerican cultural model of heroism is the solo heroic figure single-handedly saving the world with minimal assistance. Most of us lack a deep experience of how whole communities can effectively enact resistance, save lives, and prevent harm. In this conversation, you'll be able to identify some of the ways your congregation is uniquely positioned to serve and the actions you can take as a congregation -- even or especially those mundane, supporting cast actions that are foundational for effective resistance.

September’s guest speaker, CB Beal, M.Div (they/them), does human-scale social justice, gender, and sexuality education and group development to create stronger teams and more resilient, inclusive communities, all with the goal of bending the moral and material arc of the universe towards justice.

Do you have questions about what makes a pledge drive effective today? Join us for a three-session webinar designed for stewardship teams engaged in a spring pledge drive. We will explore current congregational giving trends, pledge drive practices that are working, and examples of real UU congregations who have experienced pledge drive successes.

Note, congregations must register as teams, with three people per congregational team. Don’t know your team members yet? Register anyway and send your team the registration form when you know.

Register and learn more on the UUA website. The registration deadline is Friday, October 3.

Ministers who are not fellowshipped with the Unitarian Universalist Association and are serving UU congregations are invited to gather monthly with MidAmerica’s Regional Lead.

In the gathering, folks will share information, experiences, and resources with one another and explore questions concerning the UUA and Unitarian.

More information is available on the UUA website. The gatherings will take place on second Tuesdays from September through May from 3:00 to 4:00pm ET. Registration is free and required.

The UUA needs your input this fall! Join a one-time wave cohort to envision the most effective interventions that Congregational Life Field Staff can make in the lives of our congregations and communities. Your session will help you imagine what helps a UU community flourish and how that process might be aided by Congregational Life work.

Pick the most appropriate group for you (just one!) from these options, register using the links below*:

The data generated from these events will help the UUA Congregational Life team determine priorities and focus in our next chapter. We look forward to gathering with you soon!

*if you can’t make the designated time for your grouping, please email Rev. Dr. Megan Foley for an alternative way to provide your input.

Available online now! This is self-facilitated and asynchronous.

This easy-to-use RE Kickoff Retreat can be self-facilitated and is a great way for RE leaders to get aligned on your program’s core purposes and priorities. Dig into the latest thinking on what’s working – on Sunday mornings and throughout the week – in programs that are inviting, engaging and affirming for children, youth and families. Close with building a plan for your RE Team’s work in the year ahead.

Come shape the future of UU faith development! All who've benefitted from and care about UU faith development are welcome: parents, youth, adults, lay leaders, volunteers, and religious professionals. This October summit will focus on the faith formation needs of this current moment and your particular context - both big picture models and specific activities and topics. Come share what you know, learn from each other, and help us map the landscape of innovations that are working in UUism.

More information is available. Registration is required and available on a sliding scale. The registration deadline is Sunday, September 28.