Pacific Western Region
February 2025 |
Content
Blogpost: Holding on to Joy, Community, and Justice
Rev. Tania Y Márquez
News: Pacific Western Region
Responding to Now: A Pacific Western Region Series
Chalice Lighter - Spring 2025!
News: Unitarian Universalist Association
UUA General Assembly 2025
March 2025 - Small Congregation Month
Spiritual Deepening Through Workshops and Small Group
System Theory - Sparks Module, March 2025
Spark RE and Music Leadership
Side With Love
UPLIFT Transgender/Nonbinary+Monthly Gathering
UPLIFT Trans/Nonbinary+Gatherings & Pastoral Care Space
What's next after the Revival? Revival Community of Practice
Green Sanctuary New Materials Release
UU Climate Justice Revival Facilitator Training
2024 UUA Social Justice Award - Bennett Award, Nominations Wanted!
Skinner Sermon Award
Important Resources
Community Resilience Hub
Disaster Relief Fund |
Pacific Western Region Staff
PWR Lead
Sunshine Wolfe
PWR Program Staff
Summer Albayati
Melissa James
Sarah Gibbs Millspaugh
Tania Y Márquez
Sam K Pearl
PWR Administrator and Bookkeeper
Hara Madera
Melanie Buck |
Pacific Western Region Links
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Blogpost
Holding on to Joy, Community, and Justice |
The beginning of the new year came with new challenges for our region, our country and our world. First with the wildfires that destroyed homes and neighborhoods and displaced so many people in Southern California and, second, with the start of the new administration.
The beginning of this new administration has made itself felt in all communities across the United States and other parts of the world. A wave of executive orders targeting marginalized communities like communities of color, trans community, the undocumented community, and direct and clear threats to reproductive rights and rolling back the measures of diversity, equity and inclusion long established to help level the playing field for people of color and other marginalized groups.
It is a lot.
Please take a moment to pause and acknowledge the stress that has lodged itself in your body during these past weeks and as you read the previous paragraph. Really, just take a second to look away from the screen, to offer yourself some gentleness. Bring your attention inward and breathe mindfully or place your hand on your chest, or allow sounds around you or images to ground you back into the space and moment you are in right now. Pause.
I know that the things we have witnessed have not come as a surprise for most of us. They are still not less shocking or painful, especially when we know how directly they impact people we love and care about. But it is true, as we have heard, that the road is long and that we need to know how to better direct our energy to the things that are most important and that we can influence. There is no clear map ahead, we get to make the path as we move and much of that is yet to be revealed to us. In the meantime, I want to remind you of some things that I believe are important during these times:
1. Resistance is not reactivity. Reactivity comes as an emotional response to the events that upset us but resistance is grounded in a solid sense of our values and vision that allow us to withstand the storm knowing where we are headed, even if there are strong forces trying to veer us in a different direction.
2. Resistance depends on our ability to be present to the movements of the here and now. The present moment is not in complete stillness but in constant movement and evolution. We focus our energy and attention on the things that we can influence, contribute to, and amplify.
3. Those in power have no jurisdiction within us. We still have agency and power and it matters that we use it to hold on to our sense of joy and belonging. They don’t get to decide how we allow our inner lives to exist and relate to the world. Let our stubborn hope and resistance guard off despair and hopelessness.
4. Our ability to be in community is of utmost importance right now. We know that our communities can sustain us and empower us to live in the world with integrity and compassion. Every attempt to be in community and to build honest, equitable, inclusive, and compassionate connections is revolutionary and subversive. We get to care for each other and, in doing so, we open ourselves to the joy and beauty of authentic connection.
5. Grieving is necessary. We need to grieve and allow ourselves to feel the pain so that, once we process those emotions, we are better able to be present to whatever calls us to act or respond to in the moment.
In an interview, the late Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano shared his awe at the mystery of “the unexplainable madness of fighting for a world that is the home of everyone and not the home of the few and the hell of the majority.” I believe his description captures what is at the heart of our faith that calls us to place love at the center and to hold this vision of a world that is a true home for everyone. The vision of a Beloved Community may appear distant right now, but it is still ahead. We must keep moving forward towards it together. No matter how imperfectly we do this, we will learn and grow on the journey. The challenges we face are many, but I trust that Love will indeed guide us and lead the way.
As UUA and Pacific Western Region Staff members, our commitment is to provide you with relevant resources responding to the needs of the moment but grounded in the larger vision of the Beloved Community. May we tend to the suffering within and around us with tenderness, wisdom, and care and may we be among the ones known for bringing to life the vision of a just, equitable, inclusive, free, and compassionate world.
- Rev. Tania Y. Márquez |
News: Pacific Western Region |
Responding to Now: A Pacific Western Region Series |
DATES & TIME
February 6th | March 6th | April 3rd
7:00pm to 8:30 pm PST via Zoom
In this political climate, we need one another more than ever. This series of three workshops offer leaders of UU congregations and covenanting communities the opportunity to receive, and give, moral and practical support for facing the challenges of religious leadership in 2025. Topics will include leading strategically in anxious times, dealing with conflict and difficult behavior, and creating meaningful connections for people of all ages, all in the context of a spiritual community that is called to uphold human rights and dignity.
For more information, the Responding to Now: A PWR Series page is here. |
Chalice Lighter - Coming this Spring 2025! |
Greetings Pacific Western Region,
We are excited to announce that Chalice Lighter will be back this Spring. We will provide more information such as dates, website, email, and more in the next coming months. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please email pwr@uua.org. |
News: Unitarian Universalist Association |
UUA General Assembly 2025 |
We invite you to join us for the 2025 UUA General Assembly in Baltimore and/or online from June 18-22—a chance to connect, reflect, and build a future that meets this moment with purpose and courage. This year’s theme, “Meet the Moment,” calls us to engage with the evolving challenges of our world, exploring fresh ways to deepen our faith and respond boldly to our mission. Across five days of powerful worship, insightful workshops, and community-building experiences, we’ll find inspiration together, reconnect with friends and colleagues, and return to our congregations renewed. Join us in person or online to be part of this transformative experience, where every voice matters and our shared vision grows stronger. General Assembly registration is now open and rates go up on March 31st. |
March 2025 - Small Congregation Month |
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March is Small Congregation Month! The UUA's Congregational Life Smallers Team is hosting a month of learning for small congregations. We will be offering a webinar each week in the month of March on a variety of topics for small congregations: Deeper Joy (community building activities); Deep Listening (a foundational element of good communication;) and Social Action for small congregations. The final week of Small Congregation Month will be dedicated to convening cohorts of small congregation leaders: ministers, religious educators, board members, etc.
The dates for the webinars are Wednesday, March 5, Tuesday, March 11, and Thursday, March 20. Monday, March 24, through Thursday, March 27, will be the dates for the convenings. All webinars and convening will begin at 8pm ET and last for one hour. The webinars will be recorded and available to everyone who registers. Registration is on a sliding scale with a maximum cost of $20. Learn more at the UUA website. |
Spiritual Deepening Through Workshop and Small Groups |
Four Saturday Sessions, Saturday May 3 through May 24, 11:30am to 1pm ET
The Center for Congregational Spirituality and the Congregational Life Staff group are excited to offer another session of their popular online course that inspires congregational leaders to create worship- and small group-centered opportunities designed to deepen both communal and individual spirituality.
The course will include both on-demand videos and in-person virtual sessions. The registration fee is $575 for 4 people, $475 for 3 people, $350 for 2 people, and $200 for one person. Individuals and congregations will receive a 25% off early bird discount if they register by March 1. Use the Discount Code "EARLYBIRD" when registering.
For more information, visit their website or email Phillip Lund at plund@uua.org. |
System Theory - Sparks Module, March 2025 |
Why System Theory?
This module provides a time to engage with the essential lens of understanding how your congregation functions as a whole System. Participants will examine human beings as emotional, intellectual, and physical beings, explore and clarify what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist, and discuss the human qualities that help and hinder the growth of the beloved community. Sessions are four Fridays, March 7-28, from 12n-2p ET. Details at the UUA website. |
Spark RE and Music Leadership |
Professional Development Programs provide 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!
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Side with Love has a number of events coming up. Be sure to check their website for new events near you. Get all the details at the event link.
30 Days of Love 2025
January 20-February 14
Join Side With Love for 30 Days of Love 2025! Beginning Monday, January 20th through Friday, February 14th, this annual event offers spiritual nourishment, political grounding, and shared practices of faith and justice over four weeks. These offerings are for individuals, families, religious professionals, partners, and communities who need soulful sustenance for the work of liberation and justice. Find everything on Side With Love and subscribe to our newsletter to get an update when content is available. |
UPLIFT Transgender/Nonbinary+ Monthly Gathering |
February 25, 5pm PT
Join the UPLIFT monthly gatherings focused on trans, nonbinary, and other not (completely or at all) cis UUs. Join us to connect with other trans/nonbinary UUs and co-create support and community across our faith. This is a multi-generational space. Register today. |
UPLIFT Trans/Nonbinary+ Gatherings & Pastoral Care Space |
February 7 at 5pm PT *Date change this month.
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What's next after the Revival?
Revival Community of Practice |
February 12 at 4pm PT
So you held a Climate Justice Revival… now what? Come together with other UUs who are also moving through the Rest, Celebrate, Reflect, Synthesize, Organize process following the Revival. Learn together! Register to join us. |
Green Sanctuary New Materials Release |
February 19, 4pm PT.
Green Sanctuary Community meetings take place on the third Wednesday of the month. Register to join us. |
UU Climate Justice Revival Facilitator Training |
February 26, 4pm PT.
Are you one of your congregation's facilitators for the UU Climate Justice Revival? All facilitators need to join one of our 2-hour Facilitator Training Sessions. Register to join us. |
2024 UUA Social Justice Award - Nominations Wanted
Bennett Award for Congregational Action on Human Justice and Social Action |
The Bennett Award for Congregational Action on Human Justice and Social Action honors a Unitarian Universalist congregation that has done exemplary work in social justice and is accompanied by a $1,000 cash award. Submissions must be received by April 25, 2025. Submissions consist of a short description form, and if applicable, a testimonial from a partner organization or community group, and any relevant media about the congregation's justice ministry, including news articles or photos. Submit a nomination. |
The Skinner Sermon Award honors Clarence Skinner, the late dean of the Tufts College School of Religion in Medford, MA and is presented annually to the preacher of the sermon best expressing Unitarian Universalism's social principles. It comes with a $500 honorarium. We particularly encourage and invite sermons that speak to one of our four intersectional justice priorities (bodily autonomy inclusive of reproductive justice and trans liberation; decriminalization; democracy and electoral justice; and climate justice). Submissions must be received by April 25, 2025. Submissions may be offered as a document of the sermon text and/or as a video recording of it being offered. Please be sure to include the author's name, address, church affiliation, phone number, email address, and indication of when and where the sermon was delivered in your email submission. Submit your nomination. |
Community Resilience Hub
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. |
Disaster Relief Fund
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. |
Pacific Western Region of the UUA Newsletter |
This email was sent to congregational leaders, committee chairs and staff.
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Pacific Western Region - UUA
P.O Box 567
Brighton, CO 80601
United States |
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