Days 20, 21, 22 of 30 days of PSWD fair share

Daily blog updates from General Assembly - almost impossible!

Day 20 - coaching for congregational leaders

Day 21 - district staff presence at congregational rites of passage, like installations and building dedications

Day 22 - district staff presence at ministerial rites of passage, like ordinations and retirement ceremonies

Thank you for your generous giving to PSWD fair share and UUA annual program fund.
We are stronger together than we are alone.

Day 19 of 30 days of PSWD fair share - congregational consultants!

You want your congregation to be the best it can be. We have congregational consultants that can help.

Youth ministry, board retreats, finances are a few of the areas where you can find expertise.

When you hire a PSWD consultant by contacting Ken Brown or myself, we identify a consultant and pay their travel. You pay the honorarium.

We are able to do this thanks to your PSWD Fair Share and UUA Annual Program Fund dollars.

Day 18 of 30 days of PSWD fair share - district assembly!

Two worship services
24 worshops
One annual meeting
300 UUs from PSWD
Keynote speaker
Bridging ceremony
Youth caucus
Awards ceremony

It's our annual district assembly!

Your PSWD fair share and UUA annual program fund dollars support this annual event.

Mark yout calendars for next year: April 27-28, 2012 at First UU Church Los Angeles.

day 17 of 30 days of PSWD Fair Share - church finance workshops!

did you know you can request a church finance workshop, 

better yet, band together with a couple of churches in your cluster, 

and Rev. Dr. Ken Brown, your PSWD District Executive, 

will show up and do a day-long 

church finance workshop that will help your congregation

get a firmer footing on finances? 

well, now you do. 

and it's all thanks for your generous support

of PSWD Fair Share and the UUA Annual Program Fund. 

(will i be able to keep this up during General Assembly? 

i leave early tomorrow morning ... tune in and see!)

day 16 of 30 days of PSWD Fair Share - Family Camp!

until i attended pswd family camp, 

i didn't realize there is a theology of tie-dye. 

the art of tie-dye can be a hot topic. 

just as there are so many different versions of what a family looks like, 

there are almost that many ways of doing tie-dye. 

it seems like every church has their way of doing it. 

do you put the rubber bands on before you soak the fabric in soda ash, 

or do you put them on after? 

how strong do you mix the dye? 

do you squirt the dye on over or under the rubber bands? 

family camp is many things to many people, 

but at the heart of it i see it as a celebration of 

how our UU values are lived out in the day-to-day existence of families. 

regardless of how any of us may decide to structure our tie-dye, 

they always turn out beautiful: 

vibrant, unique, rich, with unexpected surprises. 

just like our families. 

thank you for your generous support

of PSWD Faire Share and UUA Annual Program Fund. 

day 15 of 30 days of PSWD Fair Share - Sr. High Camp!

thanks to your PSWD Fair Share

and UUA Annual Program Fund, 

we are able to offer not one, but TWO

week-long camps for high school youth every year. 

camp de benneville pines is the place 

high school youth from all over PSWD converge to immerse themselves

in the six components of balanced youth programs: 

- worship

- social action

- leadership

- community building

- learning

- healthy youth adult relations

our young people gain invaluable leadership and people skills at camp. 

not only how to create an enormous burrito (see elias, above!), 

but how to lead people and organizations toward social change. 

this summer's sr high camp is already SOLD OUT, 

but your teen has a chance to attend 

winter camp 2011, december 27 - january 1. 

thank you for your generous support of PSWD Fair Share

and UUA Annual Program Fund. 

day 14 of 30 days of PSWD Fair Share - Small Congregation RE Workshop!

thanks to your PSWD Fair Share

and UUA Annual Program Fund dollars, 

your PSWD is able to offer

Small Congregation Religious Education Workshops! 

This past Saturday, four small congregations from the LA Valley

came together to talk and play their way 

toward making the most of what their congregation has to offer - 

which is a lot! 

the sub-title of the day's workshop was

"bigger isn't always better!"

sometimes small congregations (any congregation) can get 

caught up in repeating self-defeating stories. 

we spent time visioning success stories. 

i love the big "WE CAN" on the poster above, 

created by Verdugo Hills UUs. 

Sepulveda UU Society created their new youth room

(it's really gonna happen - over the summer - woohoo!)

check out UUs of Santa Clarita Valley

excitedly showing off their vision for the newly-formed "tween" group. 

one of their phrases is "prepared to be amazed." yes! 

sara brown, also of UUSCV, showing off her group's

ideas for the younger aged group at their church. 

lee marie sanchez co-created and co-led the workshop with me. 

she is wonderful! and smart! and wise! 

we covered:

- attracting and keeping families

- safe congregations

- when to hire RE staff

- curricula for multi-age groups

- creating sacred RE space

- and more! 

emmalinda maclean, DRE for Emerson UU, 

was our most fabulous host, 

too bad i don't have a pic of her

b/c she was also very stylish that day. 

thank you for being a generous supporter of 

your PSWD and your UUA, 

so that trainings like this can take place.