The following is the archived video of the live Millennial UU Innovators Discussion Google Hangout convened by Carey McDonald on June 5, 2013. Total running time 1 hour.
Now you may be asking, how do these things get scheduled and how do I get involved? Join the UU Growth Lab on Facebook! Many great conversations happening and connections being formed there… Not on Facebook? Well, you really need to be if you want to be part of our 21st Century UU leadership. Its how we’re organizing….
You know culture and technology are changing at an accelerating pace. But what does this mean for our Unitarian Universalist ministry?
Join us, the Rev. Naomi King and Peter Bowden, for a series of Tweetchats and Facebook discussion exploring “Ministry in the Age of Collaboration,” the theme of our March 9, 2013 Minns Lectures. During these online conversation we will explore how social media and social networks are empowering people to risk and live faithfully. Because we know working faithfully together creates more positive effects in the world, we want to start the conversation prior to the Minns Lectures in March, as well as continue it once videos of the lectures are released.
Don’t miss these opportunities to ask questions, share ideas, and shape what we hope will be an association-wide conversation. You may share this page using social sharing buttons at the end of the post. Thanks!
For information on attending the Minns Lectures in person visit http://www.minnslectures.org/
Each Friday in the UU Growth Lab, the month leading up to the lectures, we will be posting questions. Join this Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/uugrowthlab and look for our Minns Lecture themed posts on the following dates:
Our hour long live Tweetchat on Feb 12th will share the themes and core questions driving our lectures. We want to here you ideas, stories, and have the opportunity to weave more innovation and real life examples into our talks. The month after the lectures, April 9th, after the lecture videos have been shared, we’ll have a follow up conversation.
How to Participate in Tweetchats
Friends, this year I will be offering the keynote and series of workshops at the Joseph Priestly District’s 2013 Worship Arts Festival. My talk is titled “Worship & Social Media in the new Age of Collaboration.” Social media has opened amazing new possibilities for turning worship and sermons into just one part of a much larger conversation. Together we’ll explore new ways for engaging your community as you plan, research and design worship. There will be over a dozen workshops offered at this event. Scroll down for the full selection, including my three workshops. It is going to be amazing! I hope you’ll join us. Let me know if you have questions about any of my offerings. ~ Peter
Joseph Priestly District 2013 Worship Arts Festival
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Optional Friday evening session February 22, 2013
Hosted by the UU Church in Cherry Hill, NJ
Who should attend: Anyone interested in enhancing the worship experience of their congregation from ministerial, musical, and religious education staff to worship presenters and hospitality volunteers. You’ll find amazing resources, inspiration and connections at this event.
Next month our Unitarian Universalist congregation in Taunton, MA is hosting a growth conference which I hope you will consider sending a team to.
It is Friday, October 26 – Saturday, October 27, 2012.
See Full Details and Online Registration.
Presenting will be my colleague, Paul Nickerson, a senior associate with Griffith Coaching, the leading new church Start and Turnaround Company in the country. Paul has more than 30 years of experience as a local pastor, judicatory leader and church consultant.
I met Paul in May of 2011 at a New Church Start Boot Camp he was leading with Jim Griffith, author of Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts. That training was the best I’ve attended in years! Now I’m excited to hear Paul’s take on growth, membership and turning congregations around.
This event is being organized by our Unitarian Universalist congregation in Taunton, MA, will have mostly UU participants, and is being coordinated by the very Unitarian Universalist minister, the Rev. Christana Wille-Mcknight.
Presenting will be Paul Nickerson, who is NOT Unitarian Universalist, which is exactly why I’m going to this event.
Paul has also been kind enough to invite me to speak briefly on congregational social media. That’s right, can’t have a complete growth conference without a healthy (and fun) dose of social media!
Online registration is now open at http://growthconference.eventbrite.com. Want to share news of this event with others? There are sharing buttons at the end of this post. Below you may also find the original event announcement from the Ballou Channing District of the UUA.
I look forward to seeing you in Taunton!
Peter Bowden
The First Parish Church in Taunton is sponsoring a growth conference for churches who want to do something new to turn their church around on Friday, October 26 and Saturday October 27.
The conference is being lead by church development consultant, Paul Nickerson. It will introduce new ways of thinking about conducting and employing new techniques for doing growth work differently. For more information contact Rev. Christana Willey McKnight, minister@firstparishtaunton.org. Register at http://growthconference.eventbrite.com/ Registration fee: $350 group/$125 individual. First Parish Church in Taunton, MA, is located on Church Green (on Route 44).
Peter and daughter enjoying porch/rocking chairs at 2011 Star Island Lifespan RE Week
Friends, just received these details for the three-day option we’ve created for those who want to attend the mid-week portion of my social media track next week. A few people still trying to join us for this Tue — Thur option featuring sessions on Facebook, Twitter, and online video for UU congregations. The following details are from email sent out this morning by the conference organizers. Hope you can join us! -Peter
Interested in attending other days?
We’re working to maximize participation and fill our remaining open seats! Let us know.
The following is the full program description:
On Saturday, June 23, 2012 thousands of Unitarian Universalists and immigration partners protested outside of Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Tent City jail. The following are videos containing footage from this event, including UU World videos and media from vigil participants. For full coverage of this religious witness event and the 2012 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association, visit the UU World’s GA blog.
UU World description: On Saturday, June 23, 2012, more than 2,000 Unitarian Universalists and their immigration justice partners protested outside Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s “Tent City” jail in conjunction with the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Justice General Assembly in Phoenix. Read UU World’s coverage of the vigil and a tour Sheriff Arpaio gave to UUA President Peter Morales, United Church of Christ President Geoffrey Black, and other religious leaders:
blogs.uuworld.org/ga/2012/06/24/thousands-wage-peaceful-protest-at-tent-city/
blogs.uuworld.org/ga/2012/06/24/religious-delegation-visits-tent-city/
This 4-minute film includes footage from two previously published UU World videos:
Our colleagues with Denver Film & Video recorded the speakers at the vigil — 14 minutes.
UU World description: The Rev. Leslie Takahashi-Morris was part of a delegation of religious leaders who toured the ‘Tent City’ jails in Phoenix, Ariz., on Saturday June 23, 2012.
UU World description: The Rev. Geoffrey A. Black, general minister and president of the United Church of Christ, describes the Maricopa County, Ariz., “Tent City” jail to the Rev. M. Linda Jaramillo, executive minister of UCC’s Justice and Witness Ministries. Black toured the jail with Unitarian Universalist Association President Peter Morales and other religious leaders on Saturday, June 23, 2012, before an interfaith vigil outside the jail organized as part of the UUA’s General Assembly. blogs.uuworld.org/ga/2012/06/24/religious-delegation-visits-tent-city/
Black, Jaramillo, and the Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson, UCC Ecumenical and Interfaith Officer, attended the UUA General Assembly as interfaith guests. Black took part in the Sunday worship service.
Three days before the Tent City vigil, the Unitarian Universalists Association held a rally following the opening of their 2012 General Assembly conference. Event was held on the block adjacent to the Phoenix Convention Center. Read the UU World blog post about this event.
Join us for an energetic service of song, story, and reflection as we share in a celebration of the transforming message of Unitarian Universalism.
Saturday, May 12th
Worship begins at 4pm, with a shared dinner to follow at 6pm.
RSVP HERE
Childcare will be available
At the UU Urban Ministry
10 Putnam st. in Roxbury
<10 min walk from Roxbury Crossing T stop
Music by: Matt Meyer, Mark David Buckles, and “The Music Committee” a contemporary UU band.
Suggested donation of $15.
A free-will offering will also be taken for the UU Urban Ministry of Boston.
Registration for the Ballou Channing District Spring Conference is now open!
Download program description and mail-in registration
Full schedule, program description and online registration
Peter Bowden will facilitate a Congregations and Beyond themed conversation at May 5th BCD Conference
If you can get to Fairhaven, MA on May 5th, please join me. This is going to be a fabulous event. Here’s why I’m excited and hope you’ll make the time to join me and promote the heck out of this event within your home congregation…
Getting Missional
I can’t wait for this event as it will feature a keynote by the Rev. Ron Robinson who is doing amazing work in Turley, OK with a missional approach to Unitarian Universalist ministry. This missional approach marks one end of what we’ve been discussing online as a growing “bandwidth” of what church can be. There are a lot of ways we can go about being congregations and Robinson’s way is at one end of the spectrum. I can’t wait to meet Ron in person and learn from his truly innovative ministry.
Congregations and Beyond
After our morning meeting, worship and keynote, we’ll have lunch and then go into five different conversations. I will be facilitating one on the “Congregations and Beyond” paper written by UUA President Peter Morales. This paper has people talking across our association. As someone dedicated to helping congregations adapt to life and ministry in the 21st century, I am *so* excited that we are having this conversation. Too many of our congregations are slipping behind as technology and culture change at an accelerating pace. Friends, this goes far beyond needing a better website and Facebook page. If your congregation is going to be here in 2020 there are some very specific trends you need to be following, skills to master, and ministry strategies to implement. In other words, we gotta talk…
But don’t all come to my conversation – we have five of them!
A Missional Progressive Guide to Changing A Neighborhood
Rev. Ron Robinson
Engaging with Hot Topics
Rev. Amy Freedman
Spiritual Autobiography
Rev. Ken Read-Brown
Exploring “Congregations and Beyond”
Peter Bowden
Gathered Here
Janet Richardi, Eva Marx & BCD Board Members
Whether you attend my program or not, all Unitarian Universalists are encouraged to read, discuss, and share the the Congregations and Beyond paper. You may visit my Congregations and Beyond page to read it, find related articles, and online forums for discussing. I also have a range of related sermons and workshops I’m developing for next year. If you want to book an event or guest speaking date for Fall 2012, I recommend contacting me by the end of April.
Look forward to seeing you on May 5th!
Peter
Ballou Channing District Spring Conference and Annual Meeting
Saturday, May 5, 2012 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Unitarian Universalist Society of Fairhaven
102 Green Street, Fairhaven, MA 02719 (Google Map)
Mission-Driven Congregations: Living into the Community
“A passion for a mission can transformed people and can transform the world.
So a congregation’s mission must be grounded in, and meaningfully connected to,
its theological self-understanding and all of its congregational life.”
– Tom Berlin, coauthor Bearing Fruit: Ministry with Real Results
Being a mission-driven congregation gives meaning to a congregation and can by a means for outreach and a way to for a congregation to make a real difference in their community. This conference will explore various aspects of being a mission-driven congregation from working with the economically disadvantaged in a community to determining one’s own spiritual outlook to be the foundation for justice work.
The keynote sermon by the Rev Ron Robinson with his sermon, “Reshaping the World: church in likeness to a different God” will start the conversation by having participants consider the questions, “Where in a hurting world should we be?” “How as progressives and liberationist can we create a different church that will bear different fruit than just maintain our religious organizations of like-minded souls?”
Rev. Robinson is the Executive Director of A Third Place Community Foundation, a non-profit formed by The Welcome Table, a missional, emerging congregation in the UUA located in Turley, OK. He is also the Executive Director of the UU Christian Fellowship and adjunct faculty of Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, OK. He has served on the board of the Southwestern UU Conference and is a recipient of the Von Stilli Award for his work in helping churches grow.
The afternoon will have four Conversations to further explore the theme by looking at various aspects of becoming mission-focused. There will also be an opportunity to engage in a Gathered Here exercise. Scroll down for full write up of each.
The BCD Annual Meeting will be held in the morning at 9:15 as part of the worship service.
Conversations
A Missional Progressive Guide to Changing A Neighborhood
Rev.Ron Robinson
A conversation on the Three R’s, the Four Paths, the Seven Acts that guide the work A Third Place does in Turley, OK and the lessons being learned as they have been engaged in renewing neighborhoods that are the lowest income and have the lowest life expectancy in the Turley area. Robinson’s ministry in Turley, OK was featured in the Spring 2011 issue of UU World Magazine. Read article, “Cultivating an abandoned place.”
Engaging with Hot Topics
Rev. Amy Freedman
What if our congregations actually encouraged people to explore the very topics that seem too hot to handle? The Rev. Amy Freedman, who helped members of a congregation she served to openly discuss several controversial topics during her tenure will offer three strategies for encouraging robust engagement with controversial subjects. Facing controversial issues, including what kind of mission a congregation should have is important for a congregation to be healthy.
Spiritual autobiography
Rev. Ken Read-Brown
Creating one’s spiritual autobiography can deepen individual spiritual journeys to provide a foundation for doing missional work in a community while also fostering a richer experience among participants in our congregations. Rev. Ken Read-Brown, has led spiritual autobiography groups several times during his twenty-five years as minister of First Parish in Hingham (Old Ship Church).
Exploring “Congregations and Beyond”
Peter Bowden
UUA President Peter Morales’ recent white paper, “Congregations and Beyond” offers a vision of the opportunities and challenges that face Unitarian Universalism if we are willing to push beyond pre-determined boundaries. Senior UUA staff recently has been in conversation with congregation and district leaders, including BCD Growth Consultant Peter Bowden (read more). Building on these conversations he will facilitate a discussion about this important topic and its impact on congregational mission.
Gathered Here
Janet Richardi & BCD Board members
Gathered Here is a UUA initiative using an appreciate inquiry model to let UUs share their experiences with and aspirations for Unitarian Universalism. The UUA Board and staff and District leaders will use the information assembled from these conversations taking place across the country to determine future course of the Association.
Schedule
8:15 Registration, Mix & Mingle, Delegate Credentialing, UU Mall
9:00 Worship Service Opening
9:15 BCD Annual Meeting *
10:45 Hymn sing
11:00 Keynote sermon
11:45 Worship Service Closing
12:00 Picnic Lunch
1:00 Conversations & Gathered Here
2:30 Closing in Conversation Groups
* No fee to only attend the morning worship and District Annual Meeting
Other Information
* UU Network Mall: An assembly of informational displays and items for sale, Vendors, congregations, and organizations that wish to have a display should call the BCD office (508) 599-6650 to reserve a space.
* Questions: Call the District Office at 508-559-6650 or email bcdoffice@uua.org
* Thank You! Your BCD Congregation Contributions helps provide staff support for the Conference.
Download program description and mail-in registration
Full schedule, program description and online registration
Saturday, February 25, 2012 * 9AM – 3PM
At the UU Church of Silver Spring (Website | Google Map)
10309 New Hampshire Avenue Silver Spring, MD 20903
Register Online Now
Download & Share Event Flier (PDF)
Social media is fundamentally changing how people form relationships, consume information and make important life decisions. This has significant implications for congregations. For our ministry to thrive in the 21stCentury, we must understand these changes and learn to use the communication tools of our time with purpose, skill and integrity.
Join us for this day-long social media event for congregational leaders with Unitarian Universalist growth, outreach and media consultant, Peter Bowden. With a focus on ministry and outreach, we will explore major social networking tools including blogs, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.
Clergy, staff and volunteers from all dimensions of congregational life will benefit from this training.
Peter Bowden is a consultant working with Unitarian Universalist congregations across the United States, as as well as a TV producer working on multiple PBS programs. Known for his work with growth, outreach and media, Peter has led trainings for a growing number of UUA Districts, UUMA & LREDA Chapters, at UUA General Assembly conferences, Ferry Beach and the Star Island conference center. Peter lives in Cambridge, MA with his wife, the Rev. Amy Freedman, and their daughter.
Event coordinated and hosted by
the U Church of Silver Spring
We have two upcoming Tweetchat’s scheduled on the topic of creating a “Culture of Yes!” — one this Thursday, the other the first Thursday of the new year. This subject follows our last #UURiskFaithers Tweetchat on Supporting emerging & entrepreneurial Unitarian Universalist ministries.
For these conversations we’ll be chatting using the #uuriskfaithers tag. To access the Tweetchat.com room CLICK HERE at times listed below.
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 1pm ET
A more UK friendly time for this international conversation!
Tweetchat archive on Storify by RevNaomi
Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 8PM EST /7PM CST (corrected time)
http://philontheprairie.wordpress.com/
http://www.cityofrefugefl.com/
Peter Bowden, Email
(617) 744-9784 Office
Cambridge, MA
