Woullard Lett: Where are we before we are born? What happens after we die? These questions have been answered differently by different cultures throughout the ages. Our various approaches to addressing these questions across time and space epitomizes the essence of the fourth principle: a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. One common cultural response to the question of what happens after we die centers around how we relate and respond to the idea of ancestors. In contemporary culture in America, there can be found marked differences between how some communities of European descent and some communities of African descent view and relate to ancestors. 

Erica Baron: In one of the most important texts in the intellectual tradition of my culture, she said, Homer’s Odyssey, the hero Odysseus has to visit the Underworld to speak to the dead prophet Teiresias. This visit is suggested by the witch Circe. She tells him that only Teiresias has been allowed to retain his intelligence after death. The other souls “flit about as shadows.” (Translated by A. T. Murray). 

Circe tells Odysseus how to find the Underworld and what to do there. She instructs him to give offerings of water, wine, honey, milk, and barley to the dead. He is also told to slaughter two rams. The spirits of the dead will be drawn to the blood from the rams. He is supposed to keep them all away from it until Teiresias comes. Odysseus is to allow Teiresias to drink from the blood. This will give Teiresias the strength to see and communicate Odysseus’s future. 

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Whatever ministries you are a part of — worship, music, faith formation, hospitality, social justice, governance, or anything else — the practices of Spiritual Leadership are a theologically faithful way to create Beloved Community within and beyond the congregation. So much pulls us away from living at the center of our values. The practices of Spiritual Leadership help us cultivate the creativity, resistance, and resilience that are needed to make the culture change we are called to make.

Such faithful living takes practice ... and company. We are organizing a community of practice for anyone interested in embedding the practices of Spiritual Leadership in their congregational life and beyond. A community of practice is a network of people with a common interest who commit to connecting with each other in order to deepen their practice around that interest. 

NER staff will convene the group every couple of months beginning the 4th week of January. Attendance is not required but invited based on interest in the topic and design for each gathering. We will use various formats: presentations, case studies, Q and A sessions, small group engagement, congregational stories of challenge and transformation, etc. Each will be advertised well in advance so participants can plan accordingly. Specific dates and topic for the first gathering will be communicated in our December and January newsletters, and directly to all who join through this form.  

We expect that as the network grows over months and years, participants will make themselves available to each other during and between convenings for mutual support, accountability, resource-sharing, thought-partnership, and more. We also assume sub-groups will form as people connect across common questions and concerns, and that new people will join in the community over time. 

Regardless of current familiarity or experience with the Spiritual Leadership practices, all those interested are welcome to join at any time using this form.

The 2021–2022 UU Common Read is Defund Fear: Safety Without Policing, Prisons, and Punishment by Zach Norris, published by Beacon Press. The Common Read builds community in our congregations and our movement by giving diverse people a shared platform for reflection and a shared focus for action. Further, a Common Read can take us on a powerful faith journey as we explore—individually and together—what it means to be human and accountable in a pain-filled world.

In Defund Fear, Community leader and lawyer Zach Norris shifts the conversation about public safety away from fear and punishment and toward growth and support systems for our families and communities. Norris explores what has gone wrong, why, and who has been most impacted by repressive and racist policing systems. He offers a blueprint for public safety that holds people accountable while still holding them in community. As Unitarian Universalists, the matters raised in Defund Fear invite us to respond to public safety in the U.S. today through a lens of faith. We urge you to grapple theologically with big, tough questions about who we are and the meaning and purposes of our lives. For your care, for your growth, and for the care and growth of others in your community with whom you will discuss Defund Fear, it is strongly recommended that you enter this book with this series of questions by your side.

We expect by the end of this calendar year we’ll be ready to announce a menu of resources so that congregations can start scheduling their Common Reads. You may find, based on the identities and social location that you hold, that a community other than your UU congregation may better support your faithful exploration of Defund Fear and what it asks of you. With online gathering now a norm, readers need not live near one another to form a group. Anticipate a range of resources geared toward identity-based groups and geographically dispersed cohorts as well as a traditional discussion guide for a Common Read session that any UU faith community can use. For more information visit: www.uua.org/read.

Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community (UUJEC) Opportunity!

Are you concerned about economic justice? Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community (UUJEC) works with the frontline communities most challenged by economic injustice and the climate crisis. We stay in solidarity with the poor and with other oppressed groups, and we affirm Unitarian Universalist principles as we work for empowerment.

The Nominating Committee of UUJEC is looking for people to serve on the UUJEC Board of Directors. We hope you will consider this opportunity yourself or nominate someone you think would be a valuable addition. Our Board meets monthly by via Zoom that’s usually an hour.

Learn more here.

Please Help Us Keep Your Information Current



We track ministers, administrators, religious educators music directors, presidents, vice-presidents and treasurers in your congregation. We would appreciate you completing this form if people in these roles change during the year. If you have more than 3 updates, please start a new form. Note this is note a replacement for updating you MyUUA data.

The most meaningful changes for our communities start locally. Find your local election office contact information for answers to questions about polling locations, in-person registration, and other local questions. Read the remarks from the UUA on the attacks on our democracy.

Gatherings for Congregational Board Members/Trustees - Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 7p (ET)

This is the NER quarterly zoom gatherings for congregational board members/trustees. Join with your peers to share ideas, strategies, questions, concerns, and support.

Learn more and register here!

Explore the Full UUA Events Calendar for more!

Leadership Resource Library

If your congregation is discussing how to come back together in person, the Leadership Resource Library may help in that process!

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We thank all congregations whose generous contributions to the Region

and to our UUA Annual Program Fund make all of our work possible.

We offer learning opportunities throughout the New England Region for congregational members, lay leaders, and religious professionals.

Regional staff services and support are available to UU congregations year-round.

Contact us!

(617) 948-6415

newengland@uua.org

Website: uua.org/new-england

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