CUC eNews: May 28, 2019 – Issue 92

In This Issue:

• “Dismantling Racism” Study Group is Forming
• CUC National Social Justice Team Seeks Members
• Northern Lights Update
• Serving with Spirit Nurtures UU Leaders
• Upcoming Events You Won’t Want to Miss

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“Dismantling Racism” Study Group Is Forming!

Rev. Julie Stoneberg and Beverly Horton

We’re seeking expressions of interest to serve! May 11’s motion at the CUC Annual General Meeting to form a “Dismantling Racism” Study Group passed, and now it’s time to put the team together. The motion calls for a group of 5-7 participants who reflect racial, regional, and generational diversity, and which engages lay and professional Unitarian Universalists.

The Group’s mandate is outlined in the motion and one of its first tasks will be to outline a clear scope of work, including timelines and member roles and tasks. The proposed action plan can be found here.

The Study Group needs members with particular skill sets, among them experience with racial justice work and competence with web technologies. A two-year commitment is requested. If you are interested in being a member, please fill out the Expression of Interest survey or forward this to someone you think may be a good fit for the Study Group.  Expressions of Interest are accepted until midnight local time on Friday, June 7th, 2019.

Fill in Your Expression of Interest by June 7th

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CUC National Social Justice Team Seeks Members

The CUC is looking for 2-3 people to be members of the National Social Justice Team, which works with Social Justice Lead, Erin Horvath. The team has an overarching role in Canadian UU social justice engagement and works: 1) To expand the CUC’s knowledge base on social justice issues by connecting with key people that have the expertise, interest, and extensive insight in a particular area; and 2) To share this knowledge with other UU members.

Members should:

1. 1. Have a specific area (s) that they follow closely, eg affordable housing, climate justice, gender equity, racial justice, etc.
   2. Be willing and able to share resources, campaigns etc on the CUC’s social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) once or twice a month
   3. Be willing to alert the rest of the team when there is an issue of national significance that the CUC should attend to, and share facts in such a way that a short statement can be crafted
   4. Have writing skills to fine-tune articles (preferred but not crucial).

A broad range of experience, skills and diversity among members is preferred. The team will meet initially, and then only as needed, once tasks have been divvied up, but remain in contact electronically.

Interested or know someone who is? Fill out the Expression of Interest form. 

Check Out the CUC’s Love & Justice Facebook Page

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Northern Lights Update

The membership of the Northern Lights Awards Panel is:

Rev. Norm Horofker, Halifax (UU Ministers of Canada representative)
Susan Ruttan, Calgary (CUC Board representative)
Chuck Shields, Ottawa (CUC Board liaison)
Rev. Julie Stoneberg, Peterborough (Chair)

The panel began its work for the year with a review of the guidelines for the Northern Lights program and made a number of changes. They identified that many funded projects have not submitted final reports and reached out to the responsible people for those projects to request reports. They updated information about the program on the CUC website, developed a promotional plan, which guided efforts to encourage applicants, developed a plan for increasing the number of Chalice Lighters, the crucial element for funding selected projects, and agreed to reach out to each congregation/fellowship to ask them to identify a principal Northern Lights contact. It was agreed that care should be taken that promotion of the program is coordinated with other CUC appeals such as the Friends of the CUC.

Promotion of the program resulted in four notices of intent to apply. However, prior to the March 31 deadline, each of the possible applicants informed the panel that they would not be proceeding with an application this year.  As a result, there are no Northern Lights applicants for 2019.

The panel will be meeting to review the process and to consider whether any changes would have led to one or more of the applicants following through with their application.

To find out more about the Northern Lights program, initiatives that have been supported, and how to become a Northern Lights supporter, check out the Northern Lights page on the CUC website.

Contact the Northern Lights Team at northern-lights@cuc.ca

Download the Northern Lights Award program brochure

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Serving with Spirit Nurtures UU Leaders

Congregational life can be rewarding, but also hectic. So how does one ensure everything gets done while at the same time drawing energy from their contributions as well as simply giving it?

Serving with Spirit: nUUrturing UU Leaders is a weekend retreat that aims to answer this question. The success to the well-received CUUL School program, the retreat (which will have both an Eastern and a Western setting) will provide spiritual and experiential learning as well as more practical skills-based tools. Participants will walk away from the retreat with a greater sense of the connection between themselves as Unitarians and themselves as congregational leaders, and what congregational activities can feed them spiritually.

Retreat activities will include group work, personal reflection time, journaling, and an invitation to participate in spiritual practices that may be new or familiar, such as meditative walks, other forms of meditation, chanting, and more.

The retreat is open to everyone but may be especially meaningful for emerging and longtime congregational leaders. For this reason, organizers suggest that congregations identify congregants who would benefit from the retreat and consider providing them financial support to attend.  Doing so will make the retreat more accessible and confirm for people interested in attending that their congregation values them as leaders and wants to ensure they are nurtured and sustained.

Register for Serving with Spirit: nUUrturing UU Leaders (Western or Eastern)

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Upcoming Events 2019

Share what’s going on in your congregation. Contact communications@cuc.ca
Deadline: 14th of each previous month.

Regional 

Eastern Region Fall Gathering, October 19, Hosted by the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa
More information and registration coming soon.

Western Region Fall Gathering, October 19 – 21,  Unitarian Church of Edmonton
Hosted by the Unitarian Church of Edmonton and the Westwood Unitarian Congregation, Theme: Towards A Thriving Future.
More information and registration available by the end of June.

International 

UUA General Assembly 2019: June 19-23, Spokane, WA
General Assembly (GA) is the annual meeting of our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). Attendees worship, witness, learn, connect, and make policy for the Association through democratic process.

International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU) Meeting & Conference, October 26 – November 1, 2020, Montreal, Canada (more information coming soon)

Youth and Young Adult