News: April 23, 2026
Dear Beloved Community,
General Assembly (GA)
This year, GA will be all virtual. Ordinarily, I would take a hard pass on a virtual conference, because let’s be honest - it’s pretty hard to get excited about sitting in front of a computer for three days. Luckily for me (and you!) the Houston area UU congregations have come up with a terrific plan. The Convening Worship service will be livestreamed at First UU on Friday night, followed by Emerson livestreaming workshops and the Ware Lecture (featuring Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington) on Saturday, and then Bay Area and North Woods will host the Sunday worship service and community sing. More info about this year’s offerings can be found here.
If you are not familiar with GA, here is the short version: GA happens every year in June and is the time when the business of the larger Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is done. For example, proposing the 8th Principle and officially voting for it to be sent to congregations for adoption happened at GA. Voting for UUA Board members and officers also happens at GA. Voting is done by delegates chosen as representatives of their congregations, and each congregation is allotted delegates based on the size of its membership. If you are interested in attending, you can register here. The UUA offers significant scholarships for young adults (anyone up to age 35), and First UU also has scholarship funds available. First UU gets seven delegates this year, and we want to fill all seven positions. If you are interested in being a delegate or scholarships, please contact us at Board@firstuu.org. It’s going to be a great opportunity to get to know other Houston area UU’s, catch up on the national UU scene, and attend some really terrific learning sessions. Join us!!
Annual Vision of Ministry
Our Principles of Governance describe four Annual Board Work Products, which are to be produced with the Senior Minister, staff, and Congregants. One of them is a Vision of Ministry (VOM). The Board and congregation have always been involved in supporting
ministry, but we haven’t always been mindful about it. The worship associates and choir have obviously been supporting ministry by helping lead services, but ministry is more than that. The Care Team supports our pastoral care ministry, the Justice Coordinating Council (JCC) supports our social justice ministry, and the Facilities Team keeps the building together so the Welcome Team can greet visitors and invite them in.
During the Covid shutdown, staff had to take on a huge extra load for ministry to continue. They did an amazing job. They are the reason we have a livestream that reaches an average of about 150 people a week. Some of what they took on had been the responsibility of the Board and congregation beforehand. A simple example is coffee hour snacks. Before Covid, we had a rotation of volunteers who took turns providing homemade snacks, and we had a donation box on the table for people to drop in a dollar or two. Larger responsibilities included fundraising, and some adult programming.
Once we reopened, the process of relieving staff of those extra responsibilities began. This year, we are being more intentional about identifying ways in which the Board and congregation will support the VOM. First, we created the Outreach and Living Our Mission Committees to help us implement the Strategic Plan. Second, we are creating a Vision of Governance in Support of Ministry, which will specify the ways that the Board and its committees will support areas of ministry. Likewise, Rev. Colin and staff are identifying ways that teams will be involved. For example, under the VOM heading Strategically Nurture a Growing Presence in the Houston Region, providing “ample opportunities for volunteer development, engagement, and encouragement” will involve input and support from the JCC, RE Team, and Outreach Committee. Ministry has always involved these groups; we simply have not taken the time to collectively focus on what is planned for the next year and how we each fit into that plan before we start acting on it.
The VOM is not yet finalized, but I will be sharing it with you in my May letter, in a handy side-by-side column format (thanks to VP Carolyn Cleary) with the VOM on the left and the various teams, committees, and other groups that will be supporting specific elements of it on the right. It is impressive to see a layout of all that is planned for ministry in the coming year next to the many groups who make that ministry happen. I think you will find it both helpful and inspiring. I know I do. We are doing great things together!
Reflecting on the past and planning for the future
Finally, in preparing for the upcoming Annual Meeting on June 7, when we will discuss our plans for moving forward into the next year together, we reflect on the past year’s experiences and lessons learned. This includes the events of this past July.
One of the agreements reached in the Healing Circles held in response to those events was that Rev. Colin and church leadership would take specific steps “to repair harm, rebuild trust, and strengthen our community” that were included in a Harm Repair and Healing Commitment Plan. Written updates on those steps were to be shared with the community. In honor of these agreements, a letter is being mailed to the congregation today documenting the progress made, and the plans for completing the remaining steps.
We recognize that this letter may not be the end of the conversation, and reading it may bring up feelings that are hard. As a covenantally bound community, we commit to support one another in love. As a way of living that covenant, we will offer lay-led listening circles on Sunday, May 3rd, starting at 1:15 pm. These circles will be led by members of the congregation and will provide an opportunity for us to support one another through deep listening and dialogue, and will last roughly 60 – 75 minutes. These circles are most effective when they happen in person, but we recognize that some members are unable to travel to the church building, so one circle will be held virtually. Instructions for how to register for the virtual circle are available by emailing Rev. Colin or Nina. Finally, I want to share a paragraph from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book, Braiding Sweetgrass, which I have found particularly meaningful this week as I have been doing the work of planning and preparing. In the chapter titled Allegiance to Gratitude, she provides the text of the Thanksgiving Address, or First Words of the Haudenosaunee people. These are words spoken together any time two or more gather, before anything else may be said, and they are a litany of thanksgiving to the earth and each other. Once all present have agreed Our minds are one in gratitude to all and to the Creator, they move on to other conversation. Beginning conversations with a collective expression of gratitude means that we begin every plan, every negotiation, every challenging talk having first acknowledged our common blessings and grounded ourselves in that way together.
The Thanksgiving Address reminds us that duties and gifts are two sides of the same coin. Eagles were given the gift of far sight, so it is their duty watch over us….If gifts and responsibilities are one, then asking “What is our responsibility?” is the same as asking “What is our gift?” It is said that only humans have the capacity for gratitude. This is among our gifts.
In community,
Ruth
General Assembly (GA)
This year, GA will be all virtual. Ordinarily, I would take a hard pass on a virtual conference, because let’s be honest - it’s pretty hard to get excited about sitting in front of a computer for three days. Luckily for me (and you!) the Houston area UU congregations have come up with a terrific plan. The Convening Worship service will be livestreamed at First UU on Friday night, followed by Emerson livestreaming workshops and the Ware Lecture (featuring Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington) on Saturday, and then Bay Area and North Woods will host the Sunday worship service and community sing. More info about this year’s offerings can be found here.
If you are not familiar with GA, here is the short version: GA happens every year in June and is the time when the business of the larger Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is done. For example, proposing the 8th Principle and officially voting for it to be sent to congregations for adoption happened at GA. Voting for UUA Board members and officers also happens at GA. Voting is done by delegates chosen as representatives of their congregations, and each congregation is allotted delegates based on the size of its membership. If you are interested in attending, you can register here. The UUA offers significant scholarships for young adults (anyone up to age 35), and First UU also has scholarship funds available. First UU gets seven delegates this year, and we want to fill all seven positions. If you are interested in being a delegate or scholarships, please contact us at Board@firstuu.org. It’s going to be a great opportunity to get to know other Houston area UU’s, catch up on the national UU scene, and attend some really terrific learning sessions. Join us!!
Annual Vision of Ministry
Our Principles of Governance describe four Annual Board Work Products, which are to be produced with the Senior Minister, staff, and Congregants. One of them is a Vision of Ministry (VOM). The Board and congregation have always been involved in supporting
ministry, but we haven’t always been mindful about it. The worship associates and choir have obviously been supporting ministry by helping lead services, but ministry is more than that. The Care Team supports our pastoral care ministry, the Justice Coordinating Council (JCC) supports our social justice ministry, and the Facilities Team keeps the building together so the Welcome Team can greet visitors and invite them in.
During the Covid shutdown, staff had to take on a huge extra load for ministry to continue. They did an amazing job. They are the reason we have a livestream that reaches an average of about 150 people a week. Some of what they took on had been the responsibility of the Board and congregation beforehand. A simple example is coffee hour snacks. Before Covid, we had a rotation of volunteers who took turns providing homemade snacks, and we had a donation box on the table for people to drop in a dollar or two. Larger responsibilities included fundraising, and some adult programming.
Once we reopened, the process of relieving staff of those extra responsibilities began. This year, we are being more intentional about identifying ways in which the Board and congregation will support the VOM. First, we created the Outreach and Living Our Mission Committees to help us implement the Strategic Plan. Second, we are creating a Vision of Governance in Support of Ministry, which will specify the ways that the Board and its committees will support areas of ministry. Likewise, Rev. Colin and staff are identifying ways that teams will be involved. For example, under the VOM heading Strategically Nurture a Growing Presence in the Houston Region, providing “ample opportunities for volunteer development, engagement, and encouragement” will involve input and support from the JCC, RE Team, and Outreach Committee. Ministry has always involved these groups; we simply have not taken the time to collectively focus on what is planned for the next year and how we each fit into that plan before we start acting on it.
The VOM is not yet finalized, but I will be sharing it with you in my May letter, in a handy side-by-side column format (thanks to VP Carolyn Cleary) with the VOM on the left and the various teams, committees, and other groups that will be supporting specific elements of it on the right. It is impressive to see a layout of all that is planned for ministry in the coming year next to the many groups who make that ministry happen. I think you will find it both helpful and inspiring. I know I do. We are doing great things together!
Reflecting on the past and planning for the future
Finally, in preparing for the upcoming Annual Meeting on June 7, when we will discuss our plans for moving forward into the next year together, we reflect on the past year’s experiences and lessons learned. This includes the events of this past July.
One of the agreements reached in the Healing Circles held in response to those events was that Rev. Colin and church leadership would take specific steps “to repair harm, rebuild trust, and strengthen our community” that were included in a Harm Repair and Healing Commitment Plan. Written updates on those steps were to be shared with the community. In honor of these agreements, a letter is being mailed to the congregation today documenting the progress made, and the plans for completing the remaining steps.
We recognize that this letter may not be the end of the conversation, and reading it may bring up feelings that are hard. As a covenantally bound community, we commit to support one another in love. As a way of living that covenant, we will offer lay-led listening circles on Sunday, May 3rd, starting at 1:15 pm. These circles will be led by members of the congregation and will provide an opportunity for us to support one another through deep listening and dialogue, and will last roughly 60 – 75 minutes. These circles are most effective when they happen in person, but we recognize that some members are unable to travel to the church building, so one circle will be held virtually. Instructions for how to register for the virtual circle are available by emailing Rev. Colin or Nina. Finally, I want to share a paragraph from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book, Braiding Sweetgrass, which I have found particularly meaningful this week as I have been doing the work of planning and preparing. In the chapter titled Allegiance to Gratitude, she provides the text of the Thanksgiving Address, or First Words of the Haudenosaunee people. These are words spoken together any time two or more gather, before anything else may be said, and they are a litany of thanksgiving to the earth and each other. Once all present have agreed Our minds are one in gratitude to all and to the Creator, they move on to other conversation. Beginning conversations with a collective expression of gratitude means that we begin every plan, every negotiation, every challenging talk having first acknowledged our common blessings and grounded ourselves in that way together.
The Thanksgiving Address reminds us that duties and gifts are two sides of the same coin. Eagles were given the gift of far sight, so it is their duty watch over us….If gifts and responsibilities are one, then asking “What is our responsibility?” is the same as asking “What is our gift?” It is said that only humans have the capacity for gratitude. This is among our gifts.
In community,
Ruth
