Nancy's Views on the Landscape

Tools for Moving Beyond the Mono-cultural Congregation

Nancy Heege — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:00:49 +0000

The UUA has recently added a new resource to its Web site — a 14-page document called Multicultural Welcome: A Resource for Greeters in Unitarian Universalist Congregations. The resource invites theological reflection on welcoming and hospitality; includes a section for training greeters; gives suggestions on inviting conversation with newcomers; a list of additional resources for reading and reflection; and more. Often, we’ve discussed how we want to move forward on becoming more multicultural, but have decried the lack of resources. This looks excellent, and I invite you to give this some thought and try out the ideas. You can find it here: https://www.uua.org/documents/idbm/multicultural_welcome.pdf

Conscientious Consumption at the Holidays – a New Approach

Nancy Heege — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:26:37 +0000

Some parents at First Unitarian Church in Des Moines IA have come up with a new idea about how to avoid overwhelming the local landfill with barely-used toys and books as they clean out their children’s rooms to get ready for another holiday season. They’ve launched a program called Play It Forward. This month, families are invited to bring in their excellent-to-good condition toys and books, and on one Saturday, the books and toys will be available for others to take home — for free! The only catch is that you can’t choose something for yourself, just to give to someone else. As an incentive to give, families who have donated toys can start their “shopping” an hour early. As a parent and grandparent, I think this is a great idea! Let’s share what our children no longer use. Recycled toys and books – yes!

Sextons in a UU Church? Why not?

Nancy Heege — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:35:23 +0000

Here’s a way that one congregation has found to assure that their building is an attractive and safe space during the week.

First Unitarian Universalist Church of Rochester MN has a team of 6 – 7 sextons. The sextons sign up for a week at a time through the year. On a daily basis, that week’s sexton goes to the church, walks through the building looking for open windows, unlocked doors, or clutter. The sexton turns off lights that are not in use, straightens up when there is clutter, and makes sure that the rooms are ready for the next group to use. They inspect the restrooms for adequate paper supplies and cleanliness. After checking the church building schedule, they program the thermostats in various rooms where meetings will take place. And on Sunday mornings or at other large events, they assist the staff or person in charge as requested.

The church has regular paid custodial help during the week. Snow removal is also contracted out. During the winter, the sextons put out orange cones in the parking lot on Sundays to guide drivers in parking their cars.

This group of sextons gather periodically for great parties; they make it fun for the team to do this work for the church! [Thanks to Sexton Patty T for sharing this information with me!]

Something New in the World of Church Potlucks!

Nancy Heege — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 21:31:18 +0000

Members of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames IA host potlucks in their homes – at least a couple of dinners every month. To make it easy to sign up, they’ve developed an online sign up process. When people go to the web page, they can see the list of potlucks and hosts, whether the host home is child-friendly or not, and how many spaces are still left at the party! People can also sign up there to host a potluck. The person who developed the online system says they hope to increase participation and reduce the workload. To find out more about how this works, send an email to potlucks@uufames.org Here’s to more excellent opportunities for sharing food and community!

Nancy Heege — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:07:35 +0000

Published by Beacon Press in 2010, The Match: Savior Siblings and One Family’s Battle to Heal Their Daughter tells the compelling story of the Trebing family, who decided to have another child to serve as a “savior sibling” for their daughter Katie, who was born with Diamond Blackfan anemia. Using preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and then in vitro fertilization, their pregnancy resulted in the birth of a son, Christopher, who later became a bone marrow donor for his sister. Beth Whitehouse, the author of the book, wrote a series of articles in Newsday which she expanded to write the book, which goes into the complexities of the decisions faced by this family, as well as some of the ethical questions raised by the choices now available.

As a Unitarian Universalist, I’m proud that Beacon Press tackles the tough issues. As a parent and grandparent, I’m glad that modern medicine makes it possible for parents to have options like this available for their children, if they have or can find the financial resources to pay for them.

Think We’re Too Small to Make a Difference?

Nancy Heege — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:01:10 +0000

Think we’re too small to make a difference? That we can’t get the attention of those in power? The folks at First Unitarian Church of Omaha have debunked that myth. Read all about it:

http://greensanctuary.blogs.uua.org/2011/01/18/lobbying-for-recycling-1st-u-omaha-ne/

Sorry for the bad link earlier.

So How are You Preparing a Place?

Nancy Heege — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 22:25:23 +0000

From Rev. Thom Belote’s Church Growth Inventory in The Growing Church: Keys to Congregational Vitality [Skinner House Books, 2010]: “The church did not begin the moment a member stepped in the door, and will not cease to exist the moment a member leaves. The church has a past, a present, and a future. When I address my congregation about growth, I say that when you first walked into this church, there was a seat in the sanctuary waiting for you. Before you arrived, somebody made sure that there would be an open seat for a person they hadn’t even met yet. I then say that it is incumbent upon each member of the church to ensure that there will be an open seat for the next person who walks in, and the next person, and the next.”

Another way of saying this is what I have sometimes responded to congregations who were wondering, “Should we grow?”

I remind them of Dag Hammarskjold’s saying, “Each morning we must hold out the chalice of our being to receive, to carry, and give back.” We come to a religious community and we find a welcome there — we receive. For awhile, it’s our turn to carry that community — to give of our time and our resources to sustain the community for ourselves and for others who are there. And then, at some point and due to some circumstance, we move on. It’s our responsibility to assure that our religious community will be there, strong and healthy, for others who will come in the future, just as we did. We receive, carry, and give back.

So what are you doing to prepare a place, to assure an empty seat, to give back, for the person who is seeking what you have found in your religious community? Tell me about it.

Boy, we were Green!

Nancy Heege — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:01:12 +0000

The word from Minneapolis is that during General Assembly in June, NO waste was sent to landfills from our time at the Convention Center.

76% of waste produced was recycled and composted, and the rest was processed to generate electricity and steam. Wow! I’m impressed!

Thanks is due to all of the wonderful volunteers who stood by the recycling containers, explaining over and over how to separate things out or digging through what we’d discarded to be sure the items were put into the right containers. Their work, and the intentionality of the GA planners, and the cooperation of the Convention Center staff, made this possible.

I’m proud of us!

14 out of 88? Wow!

Nancy Heege — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:35:44 +0000

I heard this week that 14 of the 88 members of the Bismarck-Mandan Unitarian Universalist Fellowship will be attending General Assembly in June. Wow! 14 out of 88! That’s terrific!

Then I heard that the congregation has set aside $5,000 to pay their expenses. Wow again!

The congregation’s president reported, “We saw this year’s General Assembly in Minneapolis as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and felt that supporting the attendance of those who wished to go was an important investment in our long term leadership development strategy. We are asking participants to attend at least one pre-GA planning session and a series of post-GA sessions to result in programming and other appropriate follow up.”

Rev. Lyn Burton, the congregation’s Consulting Minister, commented: “By financially supporting participation in GA by 14 of its 88 members, the congregation plans to strengthen lay leadership, broaden access to resources, deepen connections within the UUA, and build on the shared diverse experiences of those who attend. It is a punctuation mark by the board of trustees that affirms commitment to and momentum toward realizing the congregation’s vision for transforming the church and nurturing its growth.”

Making this investment in its members and their connection to the larger world of Unitarian Universalism, especially in this time of scarcity, is exemplary. I thought you’d want to know about it. So if you’re at GA this summer, watch for the folks from Bismarck! They’ll be the ones soaking it all in and smiling all the while!

PSD Musicians

Nancy Heege — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:12:06 +0000

I’ve just received the brochure for the UUMN [Unitarian Universalist Musicians Network] conference this July, and I’m thrilled to see how many musicians from Prairie Star District are involved in leadership roles for the conference!

As Director of Member Services and Liaisons, Julie Enersen [Lincoln NE] will work to match experienced conference goers with first-time attendees, so they will feel welcomed. What great hospitality!

The choir of Unity Church-Unitarian [Saint Paul MN] will present a full-length program of choral and vocal music by Elizabeth Alexander, billed as “a celebration of liberal religious heritage and values, in words and music.”

Ruth Palmer [Saint Paul MN] will co-lead a workshop on Creative Interchange: the Cornerstone of Music Ministry and will also facilitate an Easy Choral Reading session for participants.

Ruthie Rosauer [Eau Claire WI], co-author of the new Skinner House book Singing Meditation will lead a workshop on Singing Meditation: A Music Ministry of Song and Silence.

Becky Post [LaCrosse WI] is a member of the UUMN Conference Planning Committee.

Thanks to all of you for your leadership. I know that all conference participants will experience a conference full of learning and fun!