MidAmerica Region UUA

MidAmerica UUA Region: Consider Our Future Together

Why are you writing this blog?

The boards of the Prairie Star, Heartland, and Central Midwest districts voted unanimously last Fall (2011) to propose to our districts that we move from district governance to regional governance. We will discuss this at our District Assemblies this Spring (2012). We will vote at the DAs of 2013.

We advise congregations to prepare their congregations for important decisions by communicating proactively and encouraging full discussion. The staff of the region, with invited guest bloggers including our district presidents, aim to do this with this blog. We need your wisdom to create our future together.

This is more than a conversation about district and regional structures. We are all learning to minister in a very different emerging world. We need to figure out how to do this together. We invite you into a conversation about these things.

Reflections on Staff Titles

Written by Rev Ian Evison |

| Hits: 35

Creating our regional structure we wish to both learn from the best wisdom of our congregations and reflect good practice to them. I interviewed Stefan Jonasson, UUA expert on growth and on large congregations regarding what he sees as key issues our larger congregations are working. It was fascinating to see how closely many of these issues mirrored things we have been considering in creating our new region. Here are Stefan's thoughts on the first of the issues he mentioned. I will post more of Stefan's thoughts in the next couple of weeks.

Accept with agility continuing staff transition. It is fascinating how naïve many large congregations can be about the reality of frequent transitions of key staff. They need to regard staff transition as a continuing reality. If a year passes when there isn’t a transition of a significant staff member, it should be considered an odd year. I constantly see our larger congregations thrown back on their heels by the departure of a staff member. Our congregations need to be prepared for continuing transition—for the comings and goings of staff and the need to re-form.

Our congregations should in general view key staff and staff portfolios much more dynamically. Congregations, especially large congregations, find it hard to imagine changing portfolios. Congregations tend to ossify the portfolios from the beginning into jobs and job titles tied closely to specific work rather than considering that collectively they have a body of work to do that needs to be divided among them and redivided as needs emerge. Portfolios should be renegotiated yearly and perhaps more frequently.

By the sheer number of staff they can employ, regions have an opportunity to model good practice here. They need not replicate the DE and PC roles. They might ask how should rather ask how, if they can afford five or six professional staff, they can negotiate the portfolios to do the work—and stop doing work that no longer has value to those we serve or where work of greater importance has emerged. The structure needs to be organized so this can be done—and redone as needed--without the constant angst of eliminating and creating positions that are set in their focus. We need more nimble structures.

Social Justice in MidAmerica

Written by Rev Lisa Presley |

| Hits: 53

At the recent Heartland District Ministers’ Chapter meeting, once again I presented information about the planned move from District-based service delivery and governance to Regional-based models. I’ve been talking with the ministers and religious education professionals about this for the past 18 months, and once again I asked “What are your questions?” One of the ministers sent me four specific questions. I’ll be addressing each of them in a separate blog entry.

Here’s the fourth one: Is there a regional presence regarding justice, support of other non-congregational UU institutions in the region, state legislatures, embodied by . . . ?

Here’s the heart of the answer: We in MidAmerica believe that social justice is part of all we do. It’s the embedded in who we are, and it’s the expression of our religious message in the world. We also think it’s an area where there can be an even more powerful synergy between the national and the local/state/regional efforts on social justice. We know that justice looks different across our country. For example, in preparation for Justice GA in Phoenix we have learned a lot about how immigration issues play out in MidAmerica that are different than in other parts of the country. That’s important to know, and to address. We get in trouble if we assume that the issues play out the same across our nation, and so a regional focus is a good thing. Also, we realize that some things are best done locally: In Heartland we are the fiscal agents of a state advocacy network, Michigan UUs for social Justice, an organization whose boundaries already cross into Central MidWest. This work supporting regional efforts helps us partner across our boundaries, and helps the organizations partner better with congregations.

There are also new possibilities. Two of our regional staff, Nancy Combs-Morgan and Dori Davenport Thexton, are working to develop alternative spring break trips for young adults, one with immigrants in the fields, another an urban experience. They can do this because other parts of their work are being taken up by the whole, freeing them up from duplicated activity. This is just one example of what is growing through our cross-district relationships. Another is that deeper understanding that social justice is embedded in our expression as Unitarian Universalists. Our “job” is to help people live out their UUism—to help transform the world, and so we see that kind of collaborative outreach by congregations and clusters to be essential. We can no longer afford to stay behind the walls of our individual congregations when there is so much work to be done. Our job is to help congregations figure out how to be in the world—not tell them what to do, but help them realize that the embodiment of religion must not stop at the inside of the congregation’s doors. That work needs a local focus: individual towns and cities, clusters, states, regions. This isn’t work that your District or Regional Staff can do for you—it’s work that we need to do together.

New Developments in Staffing in UU Congregations

Written by Nancy Heege |

| Hits: 187

In the past few years, we’ve noticed a new staff position in some of our growing mid-size and larger UU congregations in Prairie Star District. Known as the Director of Congregational Life, the position is that of a “generalist” – taking responsibility for a variety of aspects that support vitality in congregational life – areas such as Sunday morning hospitality, newcomers’ classes, new member integration, member retention, community-building events and activities, and small groups. Oversight of leadership development and faith formation may also be part of the job description. These people serve as important connection points for visitors and newcomers with other staff and programs. They are enthusiastic about meeting people and helping them to find places in our congregations.

loriemisonclair-cropped Lori Emison Clair, DCL at First Unitarian Church of Des Moines, IA

In some of our congregations, the person doing the work of the Director of Congregational Life was formerly a Director of Religious Education. In others, this position grew from a part time Membership Director position.

Here’s a description of the responsibilities of the Director of Congregational Life in one of our midsize congregations: Manage or direct Congregational Life Programming, including Religious Education for Children, Youth, and Adults, new member development and integration, small group ministry, fellowship and social justice programs. Supervise Religious Education staff; collaborate with church leaders and committees. Recruit, train, and support volunteers in shared ministry. Takes part in ongoing professional development.

In our larger congregations, the Director of Congregational Life may or may not be part of the senior management team, serving alongside the Minister/s and the Director of Finance and Administration. Senior management team members are able to hold an overview of the whole life of the congregation, and they help to connect the more specific program work of those they supervise into the larger whole. They may have several program-level specialists reporting to them, but they hold the larger picture and help to integrate the programs into the larger whole.

In an important way, Directors of Congregational Life are weaving together the pieces of the congregation, creating a network of connections for newcomers and members.

The congregations who currently have Directors of Congregational Life are First Unitarian Church of Des Moines IA; First Universalist Church of Minneapolis, MN; Shawnee Mission UU Church in Overland Park KS; Unity Church Unitarian in Saint Paul, MN; and White Bear UU Church of Mahtomedi, MN.

Territory, Growth and New Congregations

Written by Rev Lisa Presley |

| Hits: 86

Here’s the third one: What is the responsibility for “territory” e.g. regional staff serves region? What of traditional/untraditional extension work, is the region, or the UUA, or a congregation, or no one responsible?

Here’s the heart of the answer: It’s complex. I read in this question the desire for someone to be responsible for helping with the growth of congregations, and of new congregations, and wondering where that is located. Right now, the District/Regional Staff are responsible for growing Unitarian Universalism and growing healthy/healthier congregations in the geographic land mass that is currently the Central MidWest, Heartland and Prairie Star districts. We do this by providing webinars and workshops, in coaching and teaching, and helping folks realize what’s necessary for the future, and we will continue to do that. We know that Unitarian Universalism is a message that people need, and we get pretty darn evangelical about that, and that belief and approach won’t change moving forward into regional structure.

The problem is that with all our experiments in ministry and starting congregations over the past 30 or so years, the “success” rate in doing that (with some notable exceptions!) has not been very great. Most of the extension congregations or new starts have leveled out in the small to small-midsize congregations, most of them at or well below 150 members. One congregation in Heartland is under 100 members now, despite somewhere between $70-100,000 being “invested” in its new start. Many of the former extension or new start congregations have hit a wall when the funding was reduced/eliminated, or when they got to the point of needing their own space in size, but not having the critical mass of numbers to be able to afford a building, or a building and a minister.

We have not figured out how to do this well, or what will catch fire. And at the same time, there are new developments happening where we hope to make a difference. There is a new UUA Growth Office, and they are looking at what is working, and will be looking to partner with districts and regions. And here in MidAmerica, we’re working with the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF) to see how we can partner with the smallest of our groups—those who are already affiliated, and those who may never amass the numbers required for congregational affiliation, but who share our UU theology.

We’re also looking to see how the Congregations and Beyond emphasis that is designed to connect with the thousands of people who claim they are UUs but who don’t come to church can help us foster healthy UU communities here in the region. How can we help our congregations reach out to and connect to these folks, provide mutual support and understanding, and help congregations lower their walls? How can we connect with the folks who grew up UU but don’t come to church? All good questions, and frankly, there isn’t much funding at either the national or district/regional level to do this work. But again, here in MidAmerica, we understand how to connect with folks with our Midwestern approach to live. Growth is about congregations understanding what it means to be hospitable, and how to lower those walls, how to reach out to the community, and we believe that we understand how to help MidAmerica congregations that want to do this work learn how to do it. Phil Lund, one of our MA staff currently in Prairie Star, is considered one of our national experts in this work, and I’m excited we get to work together.