To Be Disciples of Love

Welcome to the 2026 – 2027 Church Year!

While we hope your summer was restful, we are fully aware that ministry is always in full swing. Whether you were able to take a significant chunk of time away or were able to catch your breath during a sunset, may your spirits be full as we begin this next cycle. No matter the role that you serve in, blessings be upon you and your ministry. For together, as disciples of Love, we co-create the Beloved Community where justice, mercy, and grace are more fully known.

Your Central East Region staff have done some creative redesigning in updating our programs to meet your needs. This is the direct result of ongoing Meet the Moment cohorts, deep listening, and striving to fulfill the mission of the UUA. As such, we are continuing to concentrate on three areas in ever-evolving ways. First, focusing on supporting lay leaders and religious professionals alike as we bolster UU-Identity. Second, convening space for relationship building across congregations that foster Spiritual Depth. And finally, exploring and embodying all the ways that we can engage Generosity within and beyond our congregations. Through each of these, we can practice Shared Ministry for the benefit of our congregations, tradition, and world. We hope you will join us in this mighty endeavor. Below you can learn more about the expanded offerings that we are excited to be sharing with you all in the coming months.

As always, know that we are here to support the vitality of your ministry. Please feel empowered to reach out to your Regional Staff via email or the Partnership Activation Request Formwhenever you need.

Dear Ones, as we begin this next church year, I offer you this blessing:

May we bless all that is new, welcoming it with joy.
May we bless all that is returning, honoring the stability that it brings.
May we bless all that has come to pass, recognizing the role it has played in shaping us.
And may we bless all that is to come, creating space for the sweet revelations that it has to offer.Blessed Spirit of Life and Love, come, bless us in our service to one another.

The following events sponsored by CER and the UUA are upcoming. For full details and a complete list visit the CER Calendar Page. Also, please note, if you are mailing a check to pay for your registration, you must write the name and date of the event in the memo line. Otherwise we may not get it properly credited.

If your congregation or cluster has an exciting project that could use funding from our Chalice Lighter Program, our next Intent to Apply deadline is December 1 for grants to be awarded in October 2026.

Congregational Offerings:

As the 2026-2027 church year approaches, your Central East Region Staff is excited to announce an upcoming opportunity to empower your board leadership. Formerly entitled Board Facilitation Training, the Four Leaf Clover of Board Retreats: Faith, Focus, Fellowship, and Fun is a virtual gathering to learn the theory and practice of facilitating retreats and meetings for effective congregational governance. Regional Staff will ground participants in the foundational work of congregational leadership, providing an introduction to governance, mission, and strategy. Participants, whether board members themselves or other leaders from within the congregation, will have opportunities for breakout sessions focused on practicing various skills like developing goals, team-building exercises, and more. Additionally, participants will be provided with a menu of valuable resources that can be easily adapted and used during your retreat and subsequent gatherings.

Mark your calendars now for Saturday, August 22, from 10 am – 1 pm. To learn more and to register, visit our website.

Presidents’ Gatherings are a virtual space for current congregational Presidents, Presidents-Elect, Vice Presidents, and immediate Past Presidents to create a community of learning and collaboration with each other and with Central East Region Staff. Each session will include time for learning regarding particular topics, followed by small group discussion.

Presidents’ Gatherings will occur on the 3rd Tuesday of each month between September and May, from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm Eastern Time. Register today!

Ministers’ Gatherings are a virtual space for Ministers serving, or affiliated with, congregations in the Central East Region. These gatherings are an opportunity to connect with colleagues and your Regional Staff, as well as to share what’s emerging in your ministries and communities. Each month, we’ll hold space for conversation, collegial support, and resource-sharing. As needed, we will also address current needs and issues particular to ministers serving in the Central East. Whether you’re seeking collegial connections, grounding, or a place to stay up-to-date with Regional Staff, we hope you will join us. The Ministers’ gathering will occur on the first Wednesday of each month from September 2nd through April 7th from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm Eastern Time. Details and registration.

Every month, your Central East Region hosts an online gathering on a timely topic related to religious education. We offer a choice of evening and daytime times to support a range of needs. Register once for the entire series.

DeepRE Dive calls are suited to religious professionals who have been leading RE programs. Ideal for directors of children, youth, and lifespan RE/faith development and/or ministers and other professionals engaged in faith development or shared ministry around RE. These meet on 2nd Tuesday mornings for 90 minutes.

RE Essentials calls are ideal for very part-time or newer RE staff, people serving children and youth in a congregation without paid RE staff, or an RE Committee working with a professional and seeking to grow and learn together. If you’re re-starting your RE program, this may also be for you! Theses meet on 2nd Wednesday evenings for one hour.

As we launch a new congregational year, make some space to pause and notice the new beginning at the RE Kickoff: New Ways of Being Together gathering. In these live sessions, UUA staff will share our latest resources for Religious Education, from curricula to policies and practices to training opportunities. You’ll find tools for taking stock, setting intentions, and moving toward your goals. So, gather your team – including any professional Religious Education staff, key RE lay leaders, ministers and Board presidents – and join us as we kick off the year together.

Three identical sessions will be offered at a variety of times to accommodate many time zones and individual needs. Choose one on the registration form. Registration is open.

At the UUA, we’ve witnessed the steady, growing call for an updated UU faith development curricular series—and we’ve responded to the call! We created Woven Faith to both honor our past and incorporate our present and future expressions of faith. Woven Faith also integrates our most current associational learning around anti-oppression practices, supporting the cultivation of both internal and interpersonal social-emotional skills essential for sustainable justice work. Interested in piloting Woven Faith? Register for a free pilot year for the 2026-27 congregational year and receive access as soon as materials become available. Learn More and Register for Woven Faith

Join us for any one of these August orientations to the new Woven Faith pilot materials (each session is the same). We’ll start by grounding in an approach of whole church faith development, cover tips for preparing your congregation, and provide an overview of each component, feedback mechanisms, and have time for Q&A.  Register to attend or receive a recording.

This three-part series will cover child and youth safety standards and protocols, using real-life scenarios to deepen our exploration of how to best equip our congregations to create spaces where our young people can thrive.

There will be approximately 90 minutes of required pre-work (including a 50-minute video and online resources to explore), then each session will dive deep into a different topic.

Sessions will be facilitated by members of the Congregational Life and Lifespan Faith Engagement teams at the UUA. The target audience for this series is religious professionals and lay leaders with extensive child and youth interaction. Register today.

Do you have questions about what makes a pledge drive effective today? Join us for a three-session webinar designed for stewardship teams engaged in a spring pledge drive. We will explore current congregational giving trends, pledge drive practices that are working, and examples of real UU congregations who have experienced pledge drive successes. Congregations must register as teams, with 3 – 4 people per congregational team. Learn more and register.

New Resource for Congregations as Employers

Jan Gartner, our Congregational Staffing Practices Director, has created a new newsletter, The Staffing Inquirer, to address issues associated with being a good employer. We encourage you to share this newsletter with other leaders who support staff (board members, supervisors, finance and personnel teams) – as well as with staff themselves, to help them stay well-informed. Sign up today!

You’re invited to our upcoming Property & Casualty Town Halls on August 4 at 12pm Eastern and August 5 at 3:30pm Eastern. This is a great opportunity to meet the team supporting the UUA Property & Casualty Insurance Program, including Hugh Dennis, Director of Benefit Plans and Services; Kenessa O’Dell, Account Manager; Greg Hunter, Managing Director; and Abby Greeno, Program Sales Operations Leader.

During the session, we’ll discuss current property and casualty underwriting trends, what they mean for congregations, and answer your questions. Whether you’re new to the program or looking to stay informed, we encourage you to join us for this informative conversation. Register today.

If your congregation has investments in the UU Common Endowment Fund and you have questions or want to know more about what is happening, you can join their quarterly calls on September 8 and December 1 from 2-3 pm ET. Registration is open.  Learn more about their work at UUCEF’s website.

Join DRUUMM (Diverse & Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries) for four transformative days of worship, conversation, learning, healing, and celebration as Unitarian Universalists of Color gather to reconnect, deepen spiritual grounding, and build the future together. The gathering will be at Unity Village, Kansas City, September 17-20, 2026. Learn more at the DRUUMM website.

A retreat for trans, nonbinary, Two-Spirit, intersex, and gender-diverse UU religious professionals, October 12-16, 2026, Provincetown, MA. Registration is open!

The Summer Institute Planning Committee is pleased to announce that 2027 Summer Institute will be July 11-17, 2027 at Oberlin College, OH with Rev. Manish Mishra-Marzetti as the theme speaker.

If you have an idea for a morning seminar or afternoon workshop please submit a proposal by October 31, 2026. For details on what these entail, visit the CERSI website.

CERSI is an opportunity for lay leaders to stretch their leadership wings. Nominations for SIPC and SICOM members are open until August 10.

Visit the website of the camps in our region to learn more about their programs:

Quick Links

Find Your Regional Contact ~ CER Website ~ UU Institute ~ UUA Job Board

Submit a Job to Be Posted ~ Chalice Lighters ~ Neighboring Congregations ~ Guest In Your Pulpit

Disaster Relief Fund ~ Stewardship For Us Blog ~ InSpirit UUA Bookstore