TJ Connection - Fall 2002

I welcome the new church year like a long lost friend, with open arms and great anticipation. May we embrace it together with joy and beckon it to sit with us as we draw on our rich experiences, past and present to claim our future as Unitarian Universalist in a world that greatly needs our works and message.

Some of you have been on vacation, visiting friends and loved ones, while others of you have been traveling and acquainting yourselves with new and familiar places. Some of you have remained home spending quality time with family and friends, attending to gardens and neglected projects, planning and doing renovations, care taking invalid family members, job hunting, working a summer job, taking a summer course, learning new skills, reading and discussing new books, seeking new job skills or thinking about lateral moves in your careers. Some of you have joyfully witnessed births. Others have sadly buried loved ones and struggled to survive life without them. Survival issues have held sway over leisure time activities for some of you. Some have thought retirement was close at hand and then the economy took a turn and so did your plans. Some of you are worried about a son, a daughter, a mother, a father, or even yourself - caught in the throes of depression or the oppressive lifestyle of drugs or other harmful addictions. Life is not good and you simply cannot find a way out. Life is good and you want it to linger. And some of you have simply been trying to snatch some down time before the fall begins. Whatever your life has been, may you be blessed to find the door, the hand, the opening that takes you to that which you need as you move forward. May the respite that you desire, the intimacy that continuously escapes you, be yours in this year. May you claim the peace and presence of mind to attract the people and things you need to be balanced, at peace and content with your life so that you are a gift to yourself and the world.

Blessed Be! Shalom! Amen! And So it Is! Ashe'
Warmest regards, Qiyamah A. Rahman

Here is a cheat sheet to prompt your contacts with District Staff.

District Executive (DE):
You should call your DE when you or your congregation:
• desires a consultation on topics such as expansion and growth, planning, fundraising and goal setting,
organizational development, etc.
• wants to develop resources in collaboration with the District
• seeks a minister, the resignation of a minister or other ministerial services
• experiences conflict or crisis and desires education, consultation or crisis intervention
• desires training
• wants to explore the services or to address questions about the District and UUA
• begins a project or wants to seek a loan
• is interested in starting a new congregation
• seeks advice about entering the UU ministry
• wants to schedule for a ceremonial event

Program Consultant (PC):
You should call your PC for:
• Curriculum planning and usage in RE programs for children, youth, young adults and older adults
• RE program administration and staffing (paid and volunteer)
• Volunteer recruitment and training
• RE committee development
• Youth programs and Youth Advisor leadership
• New Director of Religious Education (DRE)/Minister of Religious Education (MRE) or Coordinator contact, start up process, and support
• M/DRE professional development advice and resources
• RE Roles and Responsibilities
• Providing RE-related resources to District congregations and cluster groups
• Organization function and systems theory application in small, medium and large congregations.
• Covenanting for Excellence in Religious Education, a day-long fee-for-service program conducted by a UUA-trained Facilitator, scheduled after one year of DRE employment.
• Exit/Transition Interview Process and support

District Administrator (DA)
You should contact your DA for General questions about the following:
• Events, registration and calendar,
• Regional Sub Committee on Candidacy (steps on how to become a minister)
• Databases & mailing lists
• TJ Connections
• Website
• TJD board and committees
• Mailings
• UUA or District Fair share (referral)
• Chalice Lighter (referral)
• Reimbursements
• Healthy Congregations Consulting Team (referral)