Pacific Western Region
October 2025 |
Content
Blogpost
Mx. Sam K Pearl
News: Pacific Western Region
Admin Quick Announcement - Newsletter Link Errors
Program to Face the Challenges of Leading a Congregation in 2025
PWR UU Virtual Mixer - Building Connections Across the Miles
Responding to Now - October: Increase Giving through "Story-Listening"
PWR Treasurer's Roundtable
Regional Assembly 2026
News: Unitarian Universalist Association
UU Common Read for 2025-26
No Kings National Mobilization
Congregational Leaders Conversation
Meet the Moment - Wave Cohorts
Leading Change: Stories and Learnings Save the Date
Threshold Conversations: The Theology of Covenant Watch Party
Side with Love
Congregation Announcement
2026 Pacific Southwest Assembly - April 24-26, 2026
Important Resources
Non-Fellowshipped Ministers Gathering
UUA Job Board / UUA Job and Careers
Congregational Incident Form
Community Resilience Hub
Disaster Relief Fund
UU Mental Health Network
Publications
October Publications |
Pacific Western Region Board
Co-Presidents, Bob Miess and Libby Fitzgerald
Treasurer, Lisa Lake
Secretary, David Sheh
At-Large, Russ Menk, Ramon Urbano
|
Pacific Western Region Staff
PWR Lead
Rev. Sunshine J. Wolfe
PWR Program Staff
Rev. Summer Albayati
Rev. Sarah Gibb Millspaugh
Rev. Tania Y Márquez
Sam K. Pearl
PWR Administrator and Bookkeeper
Hara Madera
Melanie Buck |
Pacific Western Region Links
|
I felt this Ingathering season deeply in my body. It serves as our ceremonies we enact to honor our cycles, the importance and reach of our communities, the time we choose to spend with one another. I always find spiritual comfort in my home congregation’s Water Communion – a ritualistic reminder of our connections to each other and our shared planet. In addition to Ingathering, I had the honor last month of spending my time greeting new ministers, presidents, and treasurers and it has felt so good to be together once again. I love being invited into your congregations and spaces. Getting the opportunity to puzzle and solve together is the best part of my role.
This season, inspired by my son’s back to school attitude, I am digging into research that I hope will grow our Region’s roots deeper and spread our wings wider. Thank you to all of you who attended our Board Basics trainings and gave us feedback through the evaluation forms. The UUA refers to this season as the “Autumn of Data” and I am diligently reviewing our regional data as well as the Meet the Moment Wave Cohorts’ presentations from 2025 General Assembly.
One suggestion I humbly offer you all this Fall season is to look around and take stock of your congregations. Collect the abundance, the resources, the passion, the movement points, the areas of inspiration and collate it all. Look into some of the Wave data yourself. Undertake a congregational survey – I spoke to Sacramento's anti-racist committee recently and they’ve just completed a justice audit to identify their next projects! I also highly recommend doing an asset map of your congregation using the tools in Deepa Iyer’s Social Change Now! (this year’s UUA common read).
If you know the story of Frederick the mouse, gather your stores and stories for the winter. If you’re unfamiliar with the children’s tale, imagine yourself as a harvest mouse preparing for the long winter ahead – needing to gather seeds and nuts but also making time to store the memories of summer – the flowers, travels, sights, scents, and shared meals. Let these also be a source of endurance that can nourish your heart in the harsh time ahead.
The season of harvest, change, and renewal is upon us. The witchy season is just around the corner and I encourage us all to cast spells of collective strength and resiliency for these times. Here’s my spell: As the days darken, the harvest comes in, may we study and learn from our collective capacity, may we appreciate the abundance around us, may we continue to muster resistance and solidarity come what may, and may we rest. May it be so.
- Mx. Sam K Pearl, PWR Congregational Life Staff |
News: Pacific Western Region |
Admin Quick Announcement - Newsletter Link Errors |
Hello PWR and Happy October,
Some of you have reported that the browser link in recent newsletters has been displaying an error. I apologize for the inconvenience and want to assure you that I am actively working to resolve the issue.
If you experience the same problem in this month's newsletter, please don't hesitate to contact me at pwr@uua.org.
Thank you for your patience.
- Hara Madera, PWR Regional Administrator |
Programs to Face the Challenges of Leading a Congregation in 2025 |
Your Pacific Western Region UUA staff are hosting a series of training webinars designed for boards of congregations (including ministers). Each of these live webinars offers opportunities for interactive learning and small-group discussion. You’ll come away feeling more equipped and empowered to lead your congregation through the volatile and uncertain times ahead.
October 4th & 18th Webinar: “Being a Board in 2025”
Everyone who serves on the board of a UU congregation or covenanting community in the Pacific Western Region is welcome to this participatory live webinar about issues facing our boards in 2025-2026. We’ll explore the challenges of leading in these volatile and uncertain times, and share frameworks from Adaptive Leadership and Emergent Strategy that can help boards lead with vision and purpose. We’ll share resources and ideas for responding to conflict, destructive behavior, and crises (both internal and external.) And we will lift up how the work of the board can be seen and experienced as community care.
We’ll hold this program twice: on Saturday October 4th and Saturday October 18th. The content will be identical. It will be three hours in length. Start times: 2:00 pm MDT, 1:00 pm PDT and MST, 12:00 pm ADT, 10:00 am HST. Register here!
Oct-Nov: Modules on Trust, Conflict, Generosity, and Congregational Growth
In October and November 2025, we are hosting one-hour webinars exploring the board’s specific role in addressing congregational challenges: some that feel like “good problems to have” and some that boards find continually aggravating. We will explore:
- The Board's Role in Mending Broken Trust: October 21st and repeated on October 23rd. How do we learn to lead in trust-conscious ways that help heal rifts in the congregation from conflict, difficult endings, or professional misconduct?
- The Board's Role in Addressing Conflict: October 28th and repeated on October 30th. When disagreements arise and escalate, what is the board's responsibility to address them? What options does a board have for internal processes and outside support?
- The Board's Role in Supporting a Growing Congregation: November 11th and repeated on November 13th. Most congregations are excited to welcome newcomers, integrate young families, and have new people sign the membership book. But without some intention, that growth can fall away. What key role can the board play in attracting, supporting, and sustaining congregational growth?
- The Board's Role in Building a Culture of Generosity: November 18th and repeated on November 20th. It's an annual cycle for most boards: trying to create a budget using projected income that falls short of the congregation's hopes and dreams. Beyond just making sure an annual pledge drives takes place, what can a board do to foster the kind of generosity of time, talent, and treasure that helps us fund our visions?
In order to offer a range of times for differing needs, each of these modules will be held on a Tuesday at 7:30 pm Mountain, 6:30 pm Pacific, 5:30 pm Alaska, and 3:30 pm Hawaii, then repeated on a Thursday at 3:30 pm Mountain, 2:30 pm Pacific, 1:30 pm Alaska, and 11:30 am Hawaii Time. (Note that daylight savings ends between the first two and the second two in the series, so participants in Arizona and Hawaii will have to adjust the relative timing accordingly.)
|
Pacific Western Region UU Virtual Mixer
Building Connections Across the Miles |
|
Let’s gather in the spirit of community, curiosity, and connection!
Join fellow Unitarian Universalists from across the Pacific Western Region (PWR) for a relaxed virtual mixer. Whether you’re active in your congregation, connected through UU justice work, or simply interested in meeting other UUs in the region—this space is for you.
This informal gathering is a chance to:
Meet new folks from across the PWR
Share stories, experiences, and laughs
Celebrate the richness of our UU communities
Connect in small group conversations
Other than chalice lighting, there’s no agenda; however, the informal gathering will be facilitated—just a relaxed, come-as-you-are evening to spark connection across congregations and communities. Bring your favorite drink or snack, wear your cozy clothes, and be ready to meet some new UU friends, chat, and play games!
If you receive this, please pass the invite along! We hope to see you there. Register here! Registration will close on Monday, October 9th at 6pm PT. |
Responding to Now - October
Increase Giving through "Story-Listening" |
|
People give to places where they feel seen and heard and known. But we seldom ask our congregants to share what our congregation means to them. Creating opportunities for people to tell their own stories of transformation increases their sense of belonging, and contributions of time and money follow organically. Participants will leave this highly interactive session with at least 20 practical, no-cost suggestions for eliciting powerful stories in anticipation of pledge drives. (All have been tested, and you’ll see photos and examples from them.) You’ll have a plan of action that includes clarity about who else you’ll need cooperation and buy-in from for the project to succeed.
Co-hosts Susan Howlett and Zoe Meyers have spent their careers as professional fundraisers with all kinds of nonprofits, and have been active leaders and fundraisers in their respective Unitarian congregations for decades. Both are seasoned presenters who are known for engaging their audiences throughout the conversation.
|
PWR Treasurer's Roundtable |
This is a special monthly opportunity for treasurers of our congregations and covenanting communities to learn from one another, our PWR staff, and guest speakers on finance-related topics. The meeting will take place every 3rd Thursday of the month at 1pm PT.
For any additional questions, please contact Mx. Sam K Pearl at spearl@uua.org. |
News: Unitarian Universalist Association |
UU Common Read for 2025-26 |
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! |
No Kings National Mobilization |
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! Need resources? There is info on LeaderLab including an intro video and other links. |
Congregational Leaders Conversation |
October 28 (monthly, generally 4th Tuesdays), 4:30-6pm PT.
The Path to Healing: Empowering Congregations Harmed by Misconduct
To support the healing and health of congregations that have experienced clergy and lay leader misconducts, we must acknowledge and address the two elements always present in the aftermath. First, a misconducting minister/leader chose to violate their profession’s ethical standards of practice. And second, congregational leaders are disempowered; they lack the capacity, sometimes chronically, to manage themselves in ways that serve their congregation's best interests and health and that express their principles and values. With Rev. Dr. Deborah Pope-Lance. Register for Congregational Leaders Conversation |
Meet the Moment
Wave Cohorts |
|
Meet the Moment is a movement-wide framework helping Unitarian Universalists to collaboratively analyze, discern, and take values-based action in response to today’s religious, cultural, generational, and political realities.
Helping Our Communities Thrive: A Meet the Moment Wave Cohort for UUA Congregational Life Work
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*:
- Lay Leaders/Congregants: Monday, September 29th, 5 pm PT. This event is for lay leaders in congregations.
- Lay Leaders/Congregants Holding Traditionally Marginalized Identities: Monday, October 8th, 5pm PT. This event is for lay leaders holding traditionally marginalized identities such as people of color, trans and nonbinary people and those with disabilities. (This space is only for those with traditionally marginalized identities.)
- Religious Professionals: Thursday, October 23rd, 5pm PT. This event is for religious professionals like ministers, religious educators, musicians, administrators and other paid staff.
Invitation to Join the Changemakers
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? Apply to join the Changemakers with the Normalizing Change Wave Cohort, meeting this fall, to support each other in bringing intentional, planned change to our UU communities. Find out more here. The deadline for the simple and short applications is October 6th. Contact Jessica York, Director of Congregational Life, at jyork@uua.org, for more information.
Lead a Spring Wave Cohort! - Fall Info Sessions
Join Rev. Kierstin Homblette Allen, UUA Meet the Moment Program Manager for a one hour zoom webinar to learn how to submit Wave Cohorts Proposals for Spring of 2026. With support from Betty Clark and Rev. Ashley Horan. |
Leading Change: Stories and Learnings Save the Date |
Saturday, November 15, 2025
Join members of the Normalizing Change Wave Cohort and UUA staff in our exploration of the nature of Change. You will hear stories about the obstacles, the opportunities, the beauty, and risk-taking from congregational leaders actively working to bring change to the life of their congregation/UU community. This free, one-day Zoom conference will offer resources and time to reflect on the ever-constant nature of change and how we can bring intentionality and planning to the changes we wish to make to enrich our lives and our faith. Registration information will be available in early November. |
Threshold Conversations: The Theology of Covenant Watch Party |
Tuesday, October 14, 2025, 2 hours, 10-12pm PT
Delve into topics of Unitarian Universalist theology of covenant. What is a covenant, and is such a thing relevant today? What is the lived value of a covenant? Explore together what it could mean to call or be called back into covenant, and contemplate Rumi's quote "Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn't matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again, come, come." 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 conversation, followed by live audience Q&A with the panelists and you. This is part of the Threshold Conversations series which seeks to understand and attend to the emergent needs of our Unitarian Universalist communities and cast a vision for UU faith development into the future. Register today! |
The Gathering by Side with Love on October 13, 5pm PT
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.
Upcoming topics for The Gathering:
Upcoming Gatherings
Side with Love News
|
News: Youth and Young Adults |
There are no Youth and Young Adults announcement this month. |
Congregational Announcement |
2026 Pacific Southwest Assembly
April 24-26, 2026 |
|
|
Save The Date for the Pacific Southwest Assembly, April 24-26, 2026, at the Rancho Palos Verdes, Unitarian Universalist (UU) campus. The Pacific UU Church is located South of Los Angeles and West of Long Beach and is central for those traveling in most directions. In the spirit of the former district assembly, we invite UUs and affiliated people to join in our Blue Sapphire reflection – 65 years of UU history – with a look ahead as we strive for Justice.
Help to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the merger of the Universalists and Unitarians in the US and the creation of Camp de Benneville Pines. Reflect upon 65 years (Blue Sapphire) of UU successes and struggles, the good and the ugly, while we keep our eyes wide open in the pursuit of justice for all. Let's learn from history and blend our voices with our ever-current arc toward Justice. The assembly is a unique creation of workshops, music, and keynote speakers, and we invite you to provide event planners with your ideas and suggestions for workshops and activities.
Formerly known as the Pacific Southwest Service Area Assembly and made up of the churches of the former PSWD, our annual assembly brings together UU's and affiliates from the 50 churches located in the Pacific Southwest. Congregations participate in meaningful exchanges and exciting workshops. The two keynote speakers help to carry the theme and stimulate deep conversations. Church leaders meet on Friday for the Leadership Luncheon with speaker. Sunday concludes with an exuberant worship and choir service.
More information to follow. Create a placeholder on your calendar, April 24 - 26, 2026, and plan to be a part of this historic event. Every church can have representation in person and/or on Zoom.
Dale Botts,
Pacific Southwest Assembly Planning Chair & Member Board of Directors De Benneville Pines, Inc. (dba Camp de Benneville Pines)
For more information and to provide your ideas, contact Dale Botts: dale.botts2@gmail.com, 714.686.2791 (he/him) |
Note: If your congregation would like to share an event in the PWR Newsletter, please email pwr@uua.org with the following: event poster (if available), brief summary of the event, and any relevant links. Please note that events listed in this section are sponsored by local congregations and have not been reviewed or endorsed by the UUA or the Pacific Western Region (PWR). |
Non-Fellowshipped Ministers Gathering |
Ministers who are not fellowshipped with the UUA and are serving UU congregations are invited to gather monthly with the MidAmerica's Regional Lead. We will share information, experiences, and resources with one another and explore questions concerning the UUA and Unitarian Universalism. Register now. Meets are second Tuesday of the month beginning September 9th. Details at the UUA website. |
UU Job Board / UUA Job and Careers |
Congregations are hiring, check out the UU Job Board to see what is available.
The UUA is hiring for several positions. Find job descriptions and application information at their Job Openings webpage. |
Congregational Incident Form |
The simple Congregational Incident 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 Safe Congregation Program email, safecongregations@uua.org. Please let us know if you have any questions. |
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 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 UU Mental Health Network, is driven by a single goal; to empower the Beloved Community in honoring each individual 's unique mental health journey towards wellness..
We envision a world where the Beloved Community: is a place where all members feel welcomed, understood, and held in love; engage in respectful curiosity to understand emotional distress; welcome open, authentic, and fearless sharing about mental health; and passionately commits to mental health justice. For more information, click here. |
Pacific Western Region of the UUA Newsletter |
This email was sent to congregational leaders, committee chairs and staff.
|
Pacific Western Region - UUA
P.O Box 567
Brighton, CO 80601
United States |
|
|
|
|
|
|
