 Issue 35: September 2006, page 6< Page 5 | Table of Contents | Page 7 > Thoughts from the District Executive:Leadership TrainingNancy Heege All across the country, much attention is being paid to leadership development in Unitarian Universalist congregations. When the UUA offered its first-ever UUUniversity just prior to General Assembly in June, several hundred people registered. When it was over, they were enthusiastic about this opportunity to learn new things in the company of so many other UUs. The participants insisted that UUUniversity be offered every year, instead of every-other-year, as had been planned initially. The idea for UUUniversity came out of the congregational presidents’ gatherings at General Assembly in the last several years, when those present noted a hunger for lay leadership education. The response to UUUniversity certainly demonstrated that need. In Prairie Star District, we are responding to the need for lay leadership training. We consistently support Midwest Leadership School with a financial grant and, some years, a significant amount of my own time. This year, our Leadership Development Program Coordinator, Cheri Cody, expanded our fall Leadership Conferences to include a Leadership Skills track, beyond the Presidents’ track offered previously. And we are offering two workshops on leadership at the Southern Cluster retreat early in October. Here are two more workshops for you to consider. On November 3–4, I’ll be leading a Healthy Congregations workshop in Cedar Rapids. This workshop will feature materials from Rev. Dr. Peter Steinke, keynote presenter at UUUniversity and the author of Healthy Congregations: a Systems Approach. The time frame will be Friday evening and Saturday during the day. On November 18, Maryann Caudill-LoGuidice and I will be leading a Radical Hospitality workshop in Topeka. This workshop was wellreceived when we offered it in Wisconsin last April. Maryann is the Growth Program Coordinator for the District, former Commissioned Lay Leader in the Dubuque congregation, and one of our Resource Liaisons serving smaller congregations. Look for information about these workshops on our Web site soon. If we get a good response to these, we’ll look into offering them in other parts of the District. Nurturing Our Faith CommunitiesJoin UUs from across eight states for the 2007 Prairie Star District Annual Conference, Nurturing Our Faith Communities, April 13–15, 2007, at the City Center Marriott, Minneapolis. This year UUA staff members will be at the Conference to meet with youth and adults as part of its “Consultation Ministry to and with Youth.” You’ll also find timely, practical, and fun activities, including
The Keynote Speaker will be Rev. Dr. Laurel E. Hallman, Senior Minister of the First Unitarian Church of Dallas and author of Living by Heart: A Guide to Devotional Practice. She has been instrumental in establishing the UUA’s first “fast start” congregation in Keller, Texas. The Judy Lecturer will be Bill Doherty, professor, University of Minnesota department of family social science. His writings include Take Back Your Marriage: Sticking Together in a World that Pulls Us Apart and Take Back Your Kids: Confident Parenting in Turbulent Times. The Conference is co-hosted by First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis and the PSD Annual Conference Program Planning Committee. |