Support for youth and emerging adult ministry (14-24ish years of age) from the UUA is evolving! The office of Lifespan Faith Engagement now has five youth and emerging adult (YEA) ministry staffers and an events coordinator who are charged with providing equitably accessible support for YEA ministry across the country. As such, Jennica Davis-Hockett will be serving New England Region congregations directly! This direct connection looks like: 

Here’s a note from Jennica:

I’m pretty darn excited to get to work with New England Region congregations. I’ve worked in UU religious education and youth ministry since 2008. If you can believe that, I hardly can! I began working at the First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City, UT (where I still live) and have served at the district level, regionally, and nationally. I’ve been meeting with your congregational life staff to get a better understanding of the history, geography and current trends in the region.

I am passionate about creating multigenerational communities of care that center young people, especially young people with marginalized identities, those going through life's transitions and those experiencing mental health challenges. That passion is what drove me to edit the second edition of Youth Ministry Advising: A Complete Guide, and create the Peer Pastoral Care UU Institute Course and the Youth Ministry Volunteer UU Institute Course.

My favorite thing to do at work right now is steward Deeper Joy: Games, Activities and Practices for Community Builders. You can join me in my happy place if you attend a Deeper Joy Open Studio any Thursday where I gather with others excited about creating more accessible and inclusive communities.

My spiritual practices include learning things from my flower and medicinal herb garden, sitting with my buddhist meditation sangha, practicing anti-oppressive parenting, and being a total nerd for relationship dynamics.

I am open to talk about all these things and anything youth or emerging adult related. You can email me or just pick a time that works for you using my calendly to talk via phone/zoom. 

This series explores each of the seven recently affirmed Shared Values of our faith using podcast episodes as the "text" to generate thought, discussion, and learning together. Facilitated by the two newest members of the New England Region staff team, Heather Janules and Emily Cherry, we will begin with an introductory session on Wednesday, October 9 and continue on second Wednesdays from 7:00-8:00 pm ET through May 2025.

All are welcome to attend our eight sessions on a drop-in basis, but we are asking participants to commit to attending at least four. Sign up to join! Once you have filled out the form, you will automatically receive links to the episodes, any other resources, and the Zoom links for each gathering. We will stream each episode directly before our gatherings in the same Zoom room. Sign up is required only once so that we may provide the materials and Zoom links in advance, and offer reminders about upcoming sessions.

Join us as we explore our ValUUes together!

Let's connect! We will convene for our first gathering of this church year on Tuesday, October 22 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm ET.

Join with your peers from across the region to share ideas, strategies, questions, concerns, and to receive and offer support.

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

The Zoom link has been sent to all Board members. Please contact Sherri Lysy, slysy@uua.org, if you have not yet received the invitation. Latecomers and early departures are welcome.

Kindly fill out our pre-gathering survey if you plan to join us.

We look forward to your participation!

Let's connect! We will convene for our first gathering of this church year on Wednesday, October 23 from 12:00 to 1:00pm ET.

Join your peers from around the region to share ideas, questions, concerns, and to receive and offer support.

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

The Zoom link has been sent to all congregational administrators. Please contact Sherri Lysy, slysy@uua.org, if you have not yet received the invitation. Latecomers and early departures are welcome.

Kindly fill out our pre-gathering survey if you plan to join us.

We look forward to your participation!

New this program year! In addition to Compensation Consultants, we now have Treasurer Consultants. This emerging team supports treasurers with responsibilities that fall outside of the Office of Church Staff Finances scope. Treasurer Consultants are listed on the Compensation Consultants page. 

Our office publishes a monthly newsletter, Compensation and Staffing News. Please sign up if you have financial or personnel-related responsibilities – or if you are a staff member who wants to stay current on employment matters. See our September issue for:

* For ordained UU community ministers and UU employers not yet participating in the UU Organizations Retirement Plan, now is a great time to get started. To learn more, contact us by email or visit our website.

The System Theory Sparks Module will take place on Fridays in November from 12:00 to 2:00pm ET. Registration is required for a fee; grant/scholarship funds may be available.

The Unitarian Universalist Mental Health Network (UUMHN) has openings on our Board. We are seeking candidates who have a passion to help make a difference on mental health issues in UU congregations. People with mental health challenges, people with disabilities, People of Color, Indigenous people, Hispanic/Latinx, and LGBTQ candidates are especially encouraged to apply. For more information please see the website.

You are invited to help the Unitarian Universalist Addictions and Recovery Ministry Team (UUARMT) broaden our resources for leading worship services addressing addiction and recovery. We seek a person to curate a worship “kit” for WorshipWeb including two to three curated options of calls to worship, chalice lightings, readings, offertory words, suggested music. A stipend of $2,500 stipend for curation, plus a $1,500 budget to be used as compensation for the materials. Payment will be made when all pieces are approved for publication by the Worship Web review team.

Resumes and a proposal for collecting and curating worship materials need to be sent to the Unitarian Universalist Addictions Ministry by Friday, October 18. Decisions will be sent by Friday, November 15. Please email us a proposal and resume. More information can be found on online (Google doc).