Change is coming for Prairie Star District! Be sure to read PSD President Kathy Burek's article in this newsletter, and then stay tuned for more information as discussions continue.
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Imagine Unitarian Universalism in the Upper Midwest in five or ten years. What do you see? What would we need to do now to make that vision a reality? On October 14-15, officers and staff of the Prairie Star district met in Chicago with our colleagues to the east-the officers and staff of the Central Midwest and Heartland Districts (see http://www.psduua.org/drupal/content/regionalization for more information about our MidAmerica Region)-to answer those questions. We were joined by Rev. Terasa Cooley, Director of the UUA Department of Congregational Life, and supervisor for the field staff serving the 19 UUA districts. The conversation was deep, inspiring and energizing. Unitarian Universalism is blessed to have so many thoughtful, committed people working on its behalf. ...
Article continues with a proposal to work towards the creation of a new governance structure at the regional level and to dissolve the current district governance structures. See http://www.psduua.org/Newsletter/65November2011President
Save the Date for Annual Conference 2012
Lessons from War and Peace War is like the elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about. As Unitarian Universalists, we can agree that we all want peace and we all need to support our troops and their families, but we may feel very differently about war itself. Is war ever justified? What can we learn from those who have experienced it? Can we wage peace instead?
We invite you to join us for a deeper exploration of the costs of war, how to heal from it, and how we, as people of faith, can become instruments of peace in our everyday lives. PSD Annual Conference 2012: Lessons from War and Peace will be April 13-15, 2012 in Bloomington, Minnesota. More information at http://www.psduua.org/drupal/AnnualConference2012. Workshop selections will be posted by mid-November.
"In Our Beautiful Blue Boat Home"
by Nancy Combs-Morgan
Perhaps this headline is familiar to you, coming from the beautiful song by Peter Mayer, "Blue Boat Home." Whenever I hear this moving piece, I think about shared moments of singing this with UU youth at our Youth Midwest Leadership School. They know this hymn well, for it resonates with their life experiences. I encourage you to consider using this piece, which is in our hymnal supplement, and also to visit the author's website, Peter Mayer at http://www.petermayer.net. The primary reason that I was thinking about "Blue Boat Home" is that there is a new, engaging blog recently launched by our national Youth and Young Adult Office, which is blueboat.blogs.uua.org Take a moment to check out this new blog, which has great links and resources for both youth and young adult ministries. ...
Soon our MidAmerica region will have a resource bank especially for new religious educators, but open to anyone who wants to learn more about religious education resources. Here you will find basic information on a variety of topics and links to workshop and webinar information and registration. The site is currently "under construction" and more information is being added month by month.
Go to www.midamericauua.org and click on the "Resources" drop down menu at the top. Click on "Religious Education" to see it in its initial stages.
Coming Webinars
Monthly Workshops
Registration is open for these free online workshops. To participate all you need is high speed internet access and a separate phone line.
The Prairie Star District Board has accepted with regret the resignation of Heather Coffman from the Board due to her family and work commitments. Heather served as a Director in 2010-11 and as Secretary in 2011-12. Her service to the District has been appreciated.
News of PSD People and Congregations
This month we are profiling one congregation that is doing a lot of things well and acknowledging the PSD people who serve UUism on the national level through their volunteer work on UUA committees and boards.
At least 25 UUA Trustees and staff members participated in Occupy Boston on October 22, 2011. UUA Trustee from PSD, Graham Kreicker, is 2nd from left. Photo by Harlan Limpert, UUA VP for Ministries & Congregational Support.
Prairie Star District is a growing community of healthy, vital congregations in covenantal relationship with one another, transforming ourselves and our world by living our Unitarian Universalist principles. 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.
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