Prairie Star District

This is the first PSD newsletter of the new church year. Welcome to those who are new to Prairie Star District and congregational leadership positions.

We always appreciate your comments and suggestions for the newsletter. Click on the “email the editor” link in the menu on the right to send us a message.

This issue of the PSD Newsletter, and previous issues, can be read online.

District workshops are offered on a variety of topics and in two formats

• face to face, where participants meet in person with others, and
• online, where participants communicate by phone while watching a presention on the Internet.

More information including how to register is available on the PSD web site.

Face to Face Workshops

• Fall Leadership Conferences
  Leadership Conferences are weekend conferences offering workshops and networking opportunities for congregational leaders. Multiple tracks of workshops run concurrently in the same location. Two locations are available; choose the most convenient. Tracks this year include Presidents and Vice Presidents, Treasurers, Membership, Leadership Development, and Voluntarism and Spirituality.
  • Mid-District Leadership Conference
    Friday & Saturday, September 19–20, 2008
    Des Moines, IA
  • Northern Leadership Conference
    Friday & Saturday, September 26–27, 2008
    Fridley, MN (northern suburb of Minneapolis)
    
• WebFest: A Conversation about Congregational Use of the Web
  Saturday, September 27, 2008
  Minneapolis, Minnesota
  Have questions? Have answers? Come share with other Websters. Anyone involved in using Web technology for UU congregations is welcome — whether you provide content, post items, or are more technically involved.
• Pastoral Care: Intro for Religious Educators
  October 2–4, 2008
  Minneapolis, Minnesota
  This training is an introduction for paid religious educators to the basics of pastoral care.
• Radical Hospitality Workshop
  Saturday, October 25, 2008
  Davenport, Iowa
  Learn a religious and congregational foundation for the practical work of welcoming and integrating visitors.

Online Workshop Series

These workshops, each 75 minutes long, will be presented live by phone and Internet. You can participate from home. Each topic will be presented on two different dates.

• 10 Good Ideas About Effective Meeting Leadership (September 11 and 16)
• 10 Good Ideas About Multigenerational Worship (October 1 and 14)
• 10 Good Ideas About Adding a Service (November 13 and 18)

There is no charge for online workshops, but registration is required.

If you would like to present a workshop at the Annual Conference in 2009, applications are now being accepted. We invite you to consider the opportunity to present a workshop that speaks to either the theme (Our BlueBoat Home: Living the Seventh Principle) or to the nuts and bolts of nurturing our congregations and their members. Proposals for multi-generational workshops are encouraged. More information is available on the Annual Conference page of the PSD Web site. The deadline to apply is September 26.

News of PSD People and Congregations is online. Look there for ministerial milestones, welcome to new ministers and ministerial interns in the District, and obituaries.

John Blevins, Trustee on the UUA Board, reports on

• General Assembly (GA) Highlights
  1. Appreciative Inquiry session
  2. Presidential Candidate Forums
  3. Ware Lecture
  4. Public Witness Activity
  5. Congregationally-Based Community Organizing (CBCO) Presentation
  6. New UUA Board Youth Observer is from PSD!
  7. Governance; Future Trustees and Delegates
  8. Rev. Forrest Church
• Youth Empowerment, Justice Issues, and other topics
• A GA Journal
• Want to know more about GA?
• Future Plans:
  October 2008 UUA Board Meeting
  PSD Meetings on Governance

His complete report is online.

Thanks to the generosity of Unitarian Universalists all over the country, our flood relief fund has over $15,000 to help UUs whose homes and lives were affected by the flooding in Iowa. All of us appreciate your gifts.

We have recruited a team of four respected District people who will make decisions about how the money will be used.

Reports on the aftermath of the flooding, the flood relief fund, and information on how to donate are on the PSD website.

 
Prairie Star District is one of nineteen districts of the Unitarian Universalist Association. We serve almost 70 congregations in the Upper Midwest. We have three full time staff people and three part time program and support staff members who work with many volunteers to assist congregations. To learn more about us, see our Web site.