MDD Blog

Equipping Leaders: New On-Line Learning Opportunity

Your staff in the Pacific Western Region (Mountain Desert District, Pacific Northwest District, Pacific Central District, Pacific Southwest District) is working to make training accessible and affordable to busy religious leaders. To that end, we are pleased to announce a series of fall webinars. (see below). More are in development for winter session.

A webinar is a live online educational presentation during which participating viewers can submit questions and comments. In a webinar, each participant sits at his or her own computer and is connected to other participants via the internet. In our case, this is a web-based application where the attendees access the meeting by clicking on a link distributed by email (email invitation) to see the conference and call into a phone number to hear the conference.

Each webinar is $15 and you are welcome to experience it in a group with a speaker phone gathered around the computer.

Fall 2010 Webinars (all starting times are Pacific Time Zone)

Making a Case for Unitarian Universalism

• Sunday, Nov 7, 2:00 pm

Teacher Tips for the RE Classroom

• Wednesday, Nov 10, 7:00 pm

Youth & Young Adult Ministry in Small Congregations

• Sunday  Nov 21, 2:00 pm

To register and submit payment click here: surveymonkey.com/s/MJ73KJ2

For program descriptions, go to pnwd.org and click on “events.”

Questions: Contact Tandi Rogers at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 253-278-4646

Posted Tuesday, 26 October 2010 13:34 Written by Deborah Holder

A Paradox in Simplicity and Maturity

The outline of Rainer and Geiger's 2006 book Simple Church is, well, simple.

Clarity --> Movement --> Alignment --> Focus.

The church's purpose is to move people through a process of transformation. That purpose must be clear and explicit and all programs must be aligned with the purpose. If a program is not aligned with the focus of the church, Rainer and Geiger suggest it must be eliminated or revised. Is your youth ministry program aligned with the purpose of your church? Do you know what your church's mission statement is?

Our daily experiences teach us that simplifying is rarely an easy process. How does a UU sift through vast truths to find which ones sit right with her, utilize the inefficient and messy democratic process when he finds himself a leader, employ the rational mind while still reveling in the awe of mystery, and stay simple all the while?

A webinar presented by the Pacific Northwest District on "Spiritual Maturity and Healthy Differentiation" suggests that to be spiritually mature is to find solace in complexity. Sharon Daloz Parks states "mature wisdom is not escape from, but rather engagement with, complexity and mystery" while Benson and Elkin suggest that "experiencing a sese of personal well-being, security and peace," trusting in the process of life and having faith in humanity are crucial dimensions of a mature faith.

How can we use a simple process to explore a complex world? A dialogue is beginning on the Youth Ministry page. Join us.

Posted Monday, 04 October 2010 09:50 Written by Jennica Davis

Simple Church: Implementation

The implementation of the Simple Church concepts depends on our clear understanding of congregational mission.  Mission is always a constellation of practices through which we share our Unitarian Universalist “good news." I know he was not thinking of us but G.K. Chesterton speaks well for Unitarian Universalists in his poem Xmas Day,

GOOD NEWS: but if you ask me what it is, I know not;

It is a track of feet in the snow,

It is a lantern showing a path,

It is a door set open.

“A door set open” is a wonderful image for the radical hospitality we offer religious and spiritual seekers. Our good news is that your spiritual longings and experiences will be respected here. We acknowledge that truth is bigger and deeper and more profound than any one of us can perceive. Therefore, your truth is needed.

Bring your whole self and share in the fulfillment of our shared mission. The right path is in community. Each of us needs to soften our focus on self in order to see more clearly the opportunities before us. Here you will find companions on the quest for a whole and meaningful life. Here you will find solace during those harrowing times that life delivers to each of us. Here you will find community joining you in celebration of life’s milestones. Here you will find encouragement for the work of integrating a principled life. Here you will find challenge to keep you engaged and honest in your spiritual development. This is our common Unitarian Universalist mission to the religious seeker.

Each congregation will offer this hospitality in unique ways based upon their gifts. What is most important is that the path is clear and illuminated with the door is set open welcoming each new seeker, their questions and their gifts. Remember: “We need not think alike to love alike.” It is a worthy conversation.

If you need help we are always here. Nancy

Posted Tuesday, 21 September 2010 05:48 Written by Nancy Bowen

How Do You "Do" Privacy?

Often one of the first questions that comes up with launching a new web site or remodeling an existing one is that of privacy.

What information should be protected on the web? What about images, particularly pictures of children? What about names, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, the church directory, newsletters?

There are a hundred different things to think about, and that can sometimes be overwhelming. Congregations want their websites to be sources of information for visitors, but also a resource for current members. So, information should be available, but not too available. Where's the line?

One way to deal with the issue is to write a Privacy Policy that governs the way your congregation uses personal information and photographs in general, and on your website. Have an intentional conversation with a group of members and friends who represent the various demographics and interests of your congregation, such as parents, those without children, committee chairs, board members, new members, longtime members, youth and young adults.

I was part of such a process to write a policy for my home congregation, the Unitarian Church of Los Alamos. This is what we came up with: http://www.uulosalamos.org/privacy.php

We modeled this policy after those of other similar websites, but also expanded the scope beyond just our website to include other promotional uses, and our practice of supplying the UUA with contact information of our members for the purposes of UUWorld subscriptions. We also made sure to create an opt-out process for the use of any personal information.

Once our policy was written, the Communications Committee presented it to the congregation's Council for approval, where it passed handily. Now we have a document that we can look to when we have questions about what we should or should not share on our website, in our newsletter, or in our promotional publications. Having this conversation allowed us to make thoughtful decisions on these issues, rather than trying to go on "gut feelings" of various individuals involved in the use of this information through committee work or other church functions.

What kinds of issues does your congregation consider when looking at the information you share publicly? Do you have a policy in place? How would you go about starting that conversation?

Please share your experiences with me by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and I'll highlight some of our best practices across the district for your reference.

Posted Tuesday, 14 September 2010 16:18 Written by Jess Cullinan