UU Growth Resources
Welcome
to my UU Growth Resource page. There are many great resources
out there on growing our faith. This is a list of resources
you may find interesting. To be informed of updates to this
site make sure you are subscribed to my free e-newsletter. Have
a resource to share/suggest? Email
me.
UU
Statistics & Demographics
Unitarians
as a percentage of all residents.
(Graphic/GIF)
Data from used to generate map was drawn from paper " Religious
Congregations and Membership in the United States."
Unitarian
Universalist Association Statistical Summary
UUA
Statistics, compiled by Financial Advisor Larry Ladd
Graph
of combined Adult Membership and RE enrollment (1961-2000)
Graph
of combined Membership & RE Enrollment as Percentage of
Population (1961-2000
 YouTube
as vehicle for sharing our message?
The following
is a link to a video on YouTube.Com released around October
14th. In two weeks it was viewed 1500 times. Not bad! Besides
the intitial computer equipment its free. How does that compare
to a newspaper ad? The video titled "Save the Planet"
is an alien promoting UU principles as good "cosmic values"
for all sentient beings...
Watch
the video on YouTube.com
Sermons
& Talks
Where
Do We Go From Here (posted June
15)
By the Rev. Davidson Loehr. This was given on 29 April 2006
as the keynote address at the annual district meeting of
the Ballou-Channing District of the Unitarian Universalist
Association, and has been slightly expanded for this version.
"I’ve been asked to speak
to you on the question of where we go from here. For me,
that also involves the question of where we are, and how
we got here. And that may raise the question of why on earth
anybody would care about questions like this. So I’ll
start there.
These questions matter because in the UUA, we’re
in a non-moving “movement” that is dying, and
has been dying since before the merger of Unitarians and
Universalists in 1961..."
"Making
Room In Our Hearts". By the Rev. Peter Morales.
April 23, 2004 while serving as UUA Director of District
Services.
"And
while I would love to stand before you and cheerlead,
while I would love to paint a rosy picture of vitality
and hospitality, instead I come to tell you that our
future does not look bright. I believe we are in deep,
deep trouble. That’s the bad news. The good news,
and it is good news, is that all of this can change
starting next Sunday."
"Out
From Walden"
2005 Sermon of the Living Tradition by Rev. Dr. Patrick
T. O'Neill. Delivered at The Service of the Living Tradition
at The General Assembly of the UUA. Ft. Worth, Texas June
24, 2005. Watch
video of this event. NOTE this is the full event. The
sermon begins at 1hr and 5minutes. Use scroll bar to advance
to the sermon.
"I
cannot urge you enough, if you take up the ministry at this
point in our history, young colleagues, be aware: do not
take on this mantle merely to save your own soul. Rather,
we need you to become ministers as the poet urges, to spend
your souls, spend them lavishly and wantonly in service
to the world. I entreat you; do not use your trusted office
to take refuge while the world around you is going to hell.
Do not employ your preaching talents to give comfort to
the already too comfortable."
Why
“Unitarian Universalism” is Dying. By the
Rev. Davidson Loehr. Theme Talk at SUUSI, 21 July 2004.
First UU Church of Austin.
UUA
Growth Strategy Reports
If you care about growth, keep an eye on
the UUA's
Board of Trustees site. There are many documents and
reports related to growth shared through this site. Below
are a few of interest.
UUA
Growth Resources
Our association has a great collection of
resources on congregational growth located at:
http://www.uua.org/cde/education/
Some
highlights from this sight:
Some
highlights from this sight:
District
Growth Websites
A number of UUA districts are developing great
growth resources and growth webpages. District Staff, please
feel free to toot your own horn and tell me about your site.
Essays,
Articles, Papers
Do you have ideas on how to grow our
faith? If so, PLEASE PLEASE share them. What would you say
if the president of the UUA asked for your advice? Send
me your "Dear Rev. Sinkford" growth letters
other growth related essays. I'll post or link to selected
submissions on this page.
DEEPENING
OUR CALL
Rebecca Parker: "Madly, Truly, Deeply: Loving
the Work"
Bob Hill: "Healing Hearing: Saving Our Planet
in Circles of Ten"
Rosemary Bray McNatt: "After the World Ends"
Meg Riley: "For You: Conjuring Language of Love"
NURTURING OUR FAITH
Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley: "Not By Ourselves
Alone"
Helena Chapin: "Joys, Sorrows, Fun and Frustrations"
Daniel O’Connell: "Unitarian Universalism:
The Religion"
Judith Meyer: "The Pluralistic Edge"
CLAIMING OUR PROPHETIC VOICE
Peter Morales: "Evil, Spirituality and Prophetic
Voices"
Suzanne Meyer: "Modern Church, Post-Modern World:
Conflict and Creativity"
Ray Manker: "Do We Really Want to Claim Our Prophetic
Voice?"
LIVING OUR MISSION
Judy Tomlinson: "Living Our Mission: The Daring
Adventure"
Clark Olsen: "If Life Is A Gift"
Gordon Gibson: "Living in Nineveh"
Victoria Safford: "The Small Work in the Great
Work"
Other
Impediments to Growth: How Reliance on a Learned Clergy
Keeps Us Small and Non-ambitious -A personal and institutional
essay. By the Rev. Thom Belote. April 2005. Revised
May 2006. Posted on UU with permission. This essay explores
how our ministerial formation process impacts the entrepreneurial
spirit of clergy and the growth of our movement. This
paper was shared with the UUA Board of Trustees by John
Blevins. My understanding is that it has been read by
the entire board. You may find a copy in their January
2006 packet. I asked Thom's permission to share it more
widely and to post it online where others may find it.
Come on, who reads the UUA BOT packet each month besides
random UU church geeks like me? I hope you will read it
and share it. Thanks to Thom for adding to the conversation.
Read Thom's
Blog for biographical info and more though provoking
ideas.
North
Point Ministries
North Point has developed some wonderful resources for churches.
See the UU PLANET Store
for my favorite North Point Publications. See
North
Point Store for Church Resources.
|
