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CER News Update
January 2026 |
A New Tapestry
by Rev. Byron Tyler Coles
Happy New Year! It has been a gift to come to know and work alongside many of you since I assumed the role of Transitional Lead with the Central East Region last August. Over the course of these last few months, I have connected with a number of leaders as they discerned how to faithfully engage in making their respective missions come alive. It is not easy, but such work, such ministry, is important. What I have also learned is that many of our congregations across the region are earnestly working towards being thriving, vibrant communities in their own unique ways. This is important for us to honor and recognize when the narrative concerning organized religion is far too often bleak, and misses the very powerful ways that religious communities are indeed engaging in the long-haul work of creating the Beloved Community. Let us keep the faith and hold tight to hope, Beloveds.
As I mentioned in my first blog, the role of Regional Staff is two-fold: ecclesiastical and administrative. Ecclesiastical in the sense that we work closely with religious professionals and lay leaders alike, as you engage in the day-to-day ministry of your communities. Administrative in the ways that we craft resources, offer coaching, and provide meaningful partnerships in support of those ministries. Both of these are interwoven threads that bolster your shared ministry.
In the effort to bolster and fortify your work, your Regional Staff will be convening a series of gatherings whereby you might connect, reflect, share, and grow in connection as practicing Unitarian Universalists engaged in direct ministry. These meeting spaces include the Ministers’ Gathering, DeepRE Dive and RE Essentials, and partnering with the Southern Region for the Primer - Leadership Experience. As we strive to affirm your respective ministries, our aim with these various gatherings is that they might equip you for the work of Love in these days as we stitch one another into the tapestry of life. You will also see other resources and opportunities to gather, virtually and in-person, in the months to come. We truly hope you will join us, and one another, in our shared work as Unitarian Universalists.
Dear Ones, as we enter this new calendar year, I offer you this blessing:
Holy Weaver of Life,
You who are the new light upon the horizon and the sound of morning birds.
May we greet you with both excitement and steadiness for all that comes next.
Neither anxious nor weary, pessimistic or hesitant, but tenderly, curiously,
for all that you have to offer us and we to one another.
With deep breaths and open arms, we greet you.
Welcome. And so be it. |
The following events sponsored by CER and the UUA are upcoming. For full details and a complete list visit the CER Calendar Page. Also, please note, if you are mailing a check 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.
- Non-Fellowshipped Ministers Gathering ~ January 13, 2026, 3 pm ET, online
- CER BIPOC Monthly Gathering ~ January 21, 2026, 6:30 pm ET, online
- Congregational Leaders Conversation ~ January 27, 2026, 7:30 pm ET, online
- CER Ministers' Gathering ~ February 4, 2026, 2:30 pm ET, online
- CER DeepRE Dive Gathering ~ February 10, 2026, 11 am ET, online
- Non-Fellowshipped Ministers Gathering ~ February 10, 2026, 3 pm ET, online
- CER RE Essentials Gathering ~ February 11, 2026, 7 pm ET, online
- Winter Institute ~ February 13-16, 2026, Salt Fork State Park, Cambridge, OH
- Southern Region Primer Leadership Experience ~ February 18, 2026, 7 pm ET, online
- Congregational Leaders Conversation ~ February 24, 2026, 7:30 pm ET, online
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 March 1 for grants to be awarded in May 2026. |
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If you are a minister serving or affiliated with a congregation in the Central East Region, you are invited to join CER Staff for monthly gatherings. Register Today. |
Starting in January, the Central East Region will be hosting monthly gatherings on timely topics related to religious education in our region. On months when these occur, we offer a choice of evening and daytime times to support congregations and people with a range of needs. Choose one: RE Essentials calls for volunteer RE leaders (2nd Wednesday evenings, one hour), or DeepRE Dive calls for Religious Professionals (2nd Tuesday mornings, 90 minutes). Held on months when our region is not participating in a national UUA faith development call. Details on the website. |
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Save the date for April 18, 2026! Building Beloved Community Beyond the Binary
An upcoming online event including a keynote presentation given by a transgender/gender nonconforming person, 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. This event creates 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. Attendee registration details coming soon.
Interested in being a host site for this event? Sign up on the interest form for more information. Signing up on this form is neither a commitment to host nor approval to host, but an expression of interest in hosting. We will forward your information to your regional staff, and they will reach out to you with next steps. |
Congregational Life Events |
March is Small Congregation Month
The UUA’s Congregational Life Small Congregations Team is hosting a month of learning for small congregations. This year’s theme is Small Congregations: We’re Doing the Work. Four webinars over 4 weeks on these topics:
- Container for Justice
- Digging Deeper Into Green Sanctuary
- Redefining Welcome
- Holding the Sacred, with the Congregational Leaders Conversation.
Webinar dates are March 3rd, 12th, 18th at 8 pm and the 24th at 7:30 pm ET and will last 75-90 minutes. The webinars will be recorded and available to everyone who registers. Registration is on a sliding scale with a maximum cost of $20. Registration will open in late January.
Sermon of the Month Series Available
Designed for small congregations, lay-led congregations, congregations with part-time ministry, and any congregation that is seeking resources for worship, Congregational Life’s Sermon of the Month Series is a monthly subscription service that provides recorded sermons congregations can download and use for worship. Along with a transcript of the sermon, each month’s offering will include suggested readings and hymns. You can access all the recordings from earlier in the year if you register now.
Multi-Site and Shared Staff Learning Community
This is to gather people who are serving more than one congregation to learn together and make connections. In addition to staff, we welcome lay leaders from congregations who are
doing this intentionally as a "yoked" ministry. Please designate one -- if you have a "shared ministry" team, for example, select someone from that group. If you are interested in participating, please complete this form and we'll be in touch with a date.
What Webs Require: Restorative Approaches to Conflict
Learning Sessions — 2nd and 4th Thursdays in February and March (February 12 + 26, March 12 + 26)
Explore how we can mend the bonds that connect us, experience accountability with compassion, and feel connected in disagreement with one another. In this four-session introduction, we’ll look at what it takes to move from a paradigm of right and wrong to one of responsibility and care for how we impact and are impacted by one another and the world. Together, we will explore how we can trust our relationships in the face of disagreement, rely on them to support us in conflict, unlearn punishment, and experience accountability that feels humanizing. Learn more and register here!
Congregational Leaders Conversation
Tuesday, January 27, 7:30-9pm ET
Glitter Blessing What is Sacred
Rev. Sean Neil-Barron and Rev. Jami A. Yandle will explore what is sometimes perceived as the gulf between cisgender/heteronormative and transgender/queer communities. They’ll also lift up the roles of creativity and sacredness as grounded, life-giving responses shaped by queer history and lived experience. Together we’ll engage in a timely conversation about what’s unfolding and what is most needed in this moment. Register today. |
Southern Region Primer Leadership Experience |
The Primer section is a self-paced experience with recorded lectures, supplemental materials, and one live processing session. The topics covered in the Primer LE are UU Theology, Covenant, and UU History. 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. Learn more! |
The curriculum combines imaginative play, reflection, and a focus on community-building. Participants journey through Covenantia—discovering the Deeper Joy we can create together. No Roleplaying Game experience required to facilitate or participate!
Want to learn more about the curriculum? Join curriculum project lead Ember Oak on February 4th for an introductory training exploring how the curriculum works and how it can support connection in your community. Register for the event here. |
The Media Scares Me!
February 5 at 11 am ET.
Part 2 of the UUA Communications Foundational Webinar Series
Does the idea of talking to reporters fill you with dread? What’s the difference between Instagram and TikTok, anyway? In the midst of social instability and other challenges, are you wondering how you and your congregation’s public presentation matters? The UUA’s Communications Staff Group is presenting a Communications Foundational Webinar Series to help your congregation build your communications skills and capacity, share your stories, and manage crises. This series is designed to help Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations and communities promote UU values, highlight your mission and work to audiences inside and outside of Unitarian Universalism, and cultivate relationships with local media. Register today.
UUA Faith Development Co-Lab's Winter RE Meet-up
Tuesday, January 20, 12-1:30 pm ET
Kind, Clear and Heartful: Effective Boundaries In Faith Development
In all relationships, boundaries help guide our interactions, understand expectations, define our roles, and build connections that are experienced, by all involved, as respectful, safe, and valued. Boundaries are part of the soil that can nurture our relationships and
help our ministry thrive. Our Winter Religious Education Meet-Up will focus on boundaries for religious educators in their communities. We will explore the topic together through a series of presentations, breakout groups, and interactive activities. Religious Education Meet-Ups are open to all professional and lay leaders engaged in the work of faith development in our congregations. Registration is open.
The Spark RE and Music Leadership Professional Development Programs provide for 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. |
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Upcoming Gatherings
30 Days of Love 2026
Love At The Center: Reimagining the World As It Could Be.
At a time when fear, violence, and extraction dominate our politics and our planet, we practice another way. We believe love is not fragile; it is fierce. It grounds our organizing, fuels our imagination, and sustains our communities. Over five weeks, we will move through a journey from imagination to action, rooting our freedom dreams in faith and bringing them to life in our world. Each week, we will have a written reflection from Side With Love staff; a conversation with a UU theologian; a multigenerational family activity; reflection questions for journaling; a meditative body practice; and a coloring sheet connected to the weekly theme. Sign up to receive an email and/or text when each week’s content is live. |
Winter Institute 2026
Winter institute is back for 2026. Come join us for this relaxing weekend in UU community, February 13-16 at Salt Fork State Park in Cambridge, OH. The event page and registration will open in the first week of November. Early bird registration runs through January 15 and rooms must be booked directly with the Lodge by January 15 to be part of the block. Learn more on the event page.
Summer Institute 2026
The Summer Institute Planning Committee is pleased to announce that the 2026 Theme speaker will be Rev. Susan Ritchie, speaking on Co-Creating Hope: The Art and Beauty of Resilience. Join us at Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH, July 5-11, 2026. Like the theme? You can submit a t-shirt design for 2026. Learn more at the CERSI website.
Visit the website of the camps in our region to learn more about their programs:
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Central East Region
PO Box 425, St. Clairsville, OH 43950
Unitarian Universalist Association
24 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210-1409 |
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