Announcing our Worship and Preaching Seminar for Lay Leaders, facilitated by lay leader Kay Judd and NER staff Rev. Heather Janules.

Join other lay leaders who share Sunday worship services in their congregation. We’ll draw on The Shared Pulpit: A Sermon Seminar for Lay People, and support one another to develop our authentic preaching voices. This seminar will meet online every other Wednesday beginning October 8 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm ET. Additional sessions will be scheduled 2026 to hear each other’s final sermons.

Registration is free and required. The registration deadline is Monday, October 6.

We’re re-launching a series of gatherings for religious education professionals and lay leaders in religious education in the New England Region. These sessions will offer compelling content on safety policy updates, 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. These sessions will not be recorded.

Please join on the third Tuesday, bi-monthly, from 1:00 to 2:15pm ET. Our first gathering will be in November.

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!

The next No Kings National Mobilization is on Saturday, October 18.

As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the NO KINGS non-violent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power belongs to the people. The Unitarian Universalist Association is proud to be an organizational sponsor of the October 18 No Kings National Mobilization.

Learn more and find a gathering in your area – or sign up to a host a No Kings gathering in your community! Please also check out the UUA's No Kings resources.

Deepa Iyer's Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection (Skinner House) is the UU Common Read for 2025-26. In a workbook format, Iyer introduces a Social Change Ecosystem model that congregations, or other groups focused on justice and transformative change, can apply. Iyer guides readers to examine their personal connections with interconnected roles, such as builder, storyteller, disrupter, caregiver, visionary, and more. The Common Read offers two tracks – for multigenerational groups and for adults (adaptable for older youth) – for Whole Church engagement in learning and practice. Learn more and register to explore the Common Read Resource Kit!

During times of great turmoil, it can feel risky to try something new. Yet, perhaps that is exactly the time that something else – a change – is called for. 

Did you recently implement a big change in the life of your congregation or UU community? Are you working on one now? Interested in spending time with other congregational leaders implementing change; reflecting on the very nature of change itself, its obstacles, and opportunities? Learn more and apply to join the Changemakers with the Normalizing Change Wave Cohort, meeting this fall. Support each other in bringing intentional, planned change to our UU communities.

The deadline for the simple and short application is Monday, October 6. Email Jessica York, Director of Congregational Life, for more information.

Want to lead a spring Wave Cohort? Join for the fall information sessions! Folks will be introduced to the idea of Wave Cohorts and learn information about submitting Wave Cohort proposals for the spring of 2026.

Registration is free and required at the links above. These sessions will be led by Rev. Kierstin Homblette Allen, UUA Meet the Moment Program Manager, with support from Betty Clark and Rev. Ashley Horan.

Join on Tuesday, October 14 from 1:00 to 3:00pm for this year's Threshold Conversations. This year, we'll delve into topics of Unitarian Universalist theology of covenant. Whether you are new to Unitarian Universalist thinking on covenant or coming back again, this conversation will have something for you.

This event will be a watch party of a recorded panel discussion, followed by live audience Q&A with the panelists and our attendees. Your NER liaison from the  Lifespan Faith Engagement office, Jennica Davis-Hockett, will be moderating.

Registration is free and required.

There’s a lot to think about when it comes to recruiting and hiring a new staff member! Are you wondering about best practices for interviewing? How specific to make your job description? Tips for diversifying your staff? Whether it’s okay to hire a member? Join Jan Gartner, Associate Director, UUA Church Staff Finances, on Wednesday, October 15 from 3:00 to 4:15pm ET for questions and conversation about recruitment and hiring. Jan will briefly share UUA resources and then take your questions. 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.

Two sessions remain. 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.

The Primer section of the multi-part Leadership Experience (LE) is a self-paced with recorded lectures, supplemental materials, and one live processing session. The Southern Region will have other offerings later in the year to build off this section. The topics covered in the Primer LE are UU Theology, Covenant, and UU History.

The Primer section builds your foundation in and connection to Unitarian Universalism. This section is for newer members who would like a grounding in our shared faith AND for long-time members who would like to deepen their relationship with our shared faith as well as gain a fuller understanding of what it means to be an every-day Unitarian Universalist. All ages are welcome for this online offering; it is a wonderful augmentation to Coming of Age, Youth, Young Adult, and membership development programs in your congregation.

Join for the live session on Wednesday, October 15 from 7:00 to 8:00pm ET. Registration is required for a fee. Registration closes on Wednesday, October 8.

Taproot returns on Thursday, October 16 at 8:00pm ET - find out more at the link. This year, Taproot’s theme is “Leadership as Spiritual Practice,” focusing on integrating spiritual groundedness with leadership development. We will explore how personal biography and resilience contribute to effective leadership and address challenges like responding to microaggressions and internalized supremacy. This space is explicitly for people identifying as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPoC). 

Registration is free and required.

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 month join for Healing Congregations After Misconduct: Empowering Congregational Leadership on Tuesday, October 28 from 7:30 to 9:00pm ET.

To support the healing and health of congregations that have experienced clergy and lay leader misconducts, we must address both the harm and the factors that allow harmful patterns to repeat. Our guest, the Rev. Dr. Deborah Pope-Lance, will discuss how congregational leaders can develop the capacity, skills, and structures needed to heal, protect, and express the principles and values of their congregations.

Registration is free and required. Please note, registration is only required once for the series.

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.

Aiming for Allyship is a 12-hour multiracial intersectional antiracism training occurring on four Tuesdays from 4:00pm to 7:00pm starting on November 4. Find out more on their website. Registration is required for a fee. Registration closes on Tuesday, October 28.