At the June Gathering, Shana Aisenberg sang us an invitation and a prayer:

“We rededicate ourselves to love, on this day, on this day.”

Amidst the escalating crises from Los Angeles to DC to Gaza, Side with Love offers The Gathering to collectively rededicate ourselves to love, joy, and justice.  Last night, we gathered to stoke that fierce love and rekindle our collective hope and dream of a world of beauty, love, peace, and respect. We gathered to remind each other that what each of us – each of YOU– does matters.  We gathered to make sure you are grounded in our faith and in specific actions YOU can do.  From Shana’s music to Nicole’s teachings about strategy and power to Rev. Kentina’s presentation about the incredible faith rooted reproductive justice work SACReD, what will carry you through this week and motivate you in rooted, strategic action? 

You can watch the recording and view the presentation slides.  After you watch, we would love your feedback!

As I said at The Gathering, it is central to Unitarian Universalism that EVERY body is sacred, and that each of us has a role to play in building a world where that is true.  What will you do this week? 

Take Action:

1. Find 1 thing you can do in our Side with Love Congregational Reproductive Justice Action Guide 

2. Join the August Faithful Futures multi faith training series for people of faith committees to reproductive Justice that Rev. Kentina shared

3. Send Avelo “Abduction” Airlines a message on X, Facebook or Insta or LInkedIn , or email: Socialmedia@aveloair.com and let them know you won’t fly on their planes if they’re collaborating with ICE to profit off of kidnapping  #StopAvelo

4. Get involved in the Stop Avelo Organizing 

I invite you to let us know which of these actions (or others!) you are taking, and be sure to read our Action Center Weekly Update for specific actions you can take this week. We publish the update every Tuesday on our Action Center.

Resources:

• Our Chalice Lighting was “A Protest and a Party,” by Rev. Hannah Roberts Villnave, p371-2 of “For Pride,” in Blessing It All: Rituals for Transition and Transformation, edited by Revs. Heather Concannon and Allison Palm.

• SACReD 

• Renewed Clergy Consultation Service 

• Follow Shana Aisenberg at Shana Songs and String Equinox Band 

• Follow Faith in Action and Faith in NJ who are anchoring the work to stop illegal detentions at Delaney Hall Detention Center in New Jersey. 

• Preparing for Pride 2025: Resources for Safety and Liberation

• Side with Love Action Center

• Side With Love’s Dos & Don’ts Grounded, Resilient & Responsible Toolkit

• UUA Community Resilience Hub (includes resources for risk mitigation & digital security)

At The Gathering, we invited you to Glitter Up, Share with a friend, and Act.  There is no time like the present!  Take a few minutes right now to sign up, make a call to Congress, put a note in your congregational newsletter, and call or text 3 beloveds.  We are more powerful than we know – and we need that power well-organized to confront the regime we are facing together.     

Do at least one thing to celebrate your beautiful, fabulous body and self this week, and we will see you again in August.  

May we dedicate ourselves to love today and always, 

Rev. Cathy & Side with Love Staff Team

At our monthly Green Sanctuary 2030 Community Meeting on May 21, we learned how one of our Green Sanctuary teams is working through the new Green Sanctuary materials! Released in February 2024, the new materials are designed to be more manageable, accessible, and impactful for our congregations. Watch the recording here.

Visit our Green Sanctuary 2030 hub to:

• Subscribe to receive updates

• Download the materials.

• Join one of our monthly Community Meetings!

Ready to start the GS2030 process? Sign up here!

So you held a Climate Justice Revival.... now what? The Revival Planning Team offered this space to come together with other UUs who are also moving through the Rest, Celebrate, Reflect, Synthesize, Organize process following the Revival. This informal gathering provided ample time for conversation and brainstorming next steps together.

• View the presentation slides

We lead the Gathering to offer you spiritual and political handholds for your actions toward liberation. We care about the work you are doing right there in your community. We hope that this month’s Gathering nourishes you with the poetry and words from Rev. Julián Jamaica Soto; that you come away with a better understanding of a Theory of Change from Nicole Pressley; that you get as excited as we are by the Avelo “Abduction Airlines” campaign and our beloveds confronting ICE malfeasance at Delaney Detention Center in New Jersey.

This month, we dove into two critical (and exciting) campaigns to resist ICE:

• Umme Hoque from Siembra NC shared about the new campaign to Stop Avelo Airlines, whose contract with ICE went live on May 12th. Umme shared the extensive research and strategy of this campaign, giving hope and inspiration towards a path to victory. This campaign has roles for everyone—from research to protest to advocacy. Check here if you are near an Avelo airport!

• Rev. Robin Tanner and Charlene D. Walker joined us for a live update from Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark New Jersey, where Faith in NJ has been fighting ICE detention facilities for a long time—and fascism has ratcheted up their tactics in the last few days. Learn about this ongoing campaign at the 54-minute mark in our recording.

If you missed us live, you can watch the recording and view the presentation slides. After you watch, please do take 2 minutes to answer this feedback survey about The Gathering and what you’re doing in your community!

Upcoming Events: 

• June The Gathering: Monday, June 9th at 5pm PT / 8pm ET and bring a friend!  [NOTE: The recording above contains the incorrect date! This is correct]

• Join the Stop Avelo call on May 22nd 8pm ET / 5pm PT 

Key Links:

• Stop Avelo campaign—sign the Avelo Pledge and learn how to get involved

• Follow Faith in Action and Faith in NJ who are anchoring the work to stop illegal detentions at Delaney Hall Detention Center in New Jersey

• Side With Love Action Center

• Side With Love’s Dos & Don’ts Grounded, Resilient & Responsible Toolkit

• UUA Community Resilience Hub (includes resources for risk mitigation & digital security)

At The Gathering, I asked folks to think about something you would share with 3 people and how many people you will recruit in your congregation to sign the Stop Avelo pledge (or another campaign you are working on). Rev. Julián invited us to picture how and when you will do that.

Friends, now is the time. Please take a few minutes right now to sign the pledge, make a call to Congress, put a note in your congregational newsletter, and call or text 3 beloveds. Together, we will continue to resist fascism and build towards a world where everyone has love, safety, respect, and beauty.

Finally, please do tend to your spirit and regulate this week (perhaps with more of Rev. Julián’s poetry in Spilling the Light!).

In April, Side With Love Organizing Strategy Director Nicole Pressley introduced a framework for analyzing to understand our power and what we are up against, predict what comes next, and plan our actions strategically.  Rev. Elizabeth Nguyen invited us to think about a time we took a risk in line with our values, how that felt, and what made it possible.  She invited us to reflect on our personal resiliency and the solidarity so deeply needed right now as we make sure to center those most targeted (and most at risk) by federal and state governments.  Rev. Tania Marquez closed The Gathering with a somatic practice focusing on gentle touch and self-awareness. 

We hope you will come to our next Gathering on Monday, May 12 at 5pm PT / 8pm ET and bring a friend! 

You can visit our webpage for The Gathering to see all the dates, a promotion kit, recordings, crisis resources, and links.  

As a reminder, here’s what we invite you to do after this month’s Gathering: 

1. Ground yourself: What is 1 thing you will do this week to tend to your spirit and regulate? (bonus if it brings a smile to your face!) 

2. Practice analysis in community.  Try it with January 6th: 

• History: Where did this come from? When has this happened before? When can we find patterns or features?   

• Structure: What were they thinking? What are the primary grievances? What systems/institutions facilitate this occurrence? 

• Politics: How is this possible? How did they acquire the power to take this action? How will this power express itself elsewhere? 

• Now what: What can and will our team or congregation do to block this or build something else? 

1. Practice Discernment Together using Spiritual Discernment and Preparation for Collective Action: Tips and tools for resilient and sustained activism By Rev. Elizabeth Nguyen

Additional Resources 

• More about Rev. D’Orlando, the minister in New Orleans who Rev. Elizabeth talked about  

• Join us for the Green Sanctuary 35th Anniversary Celebration and Call for Renewal this Wednesday 

• SWL Risk discernment & assessment - 2 workshop sessions you can use in your congregation and a simple handout for immediate decision making

• Side with Love Action Center

• Side With Love’s Dos & Don’ts Grounded, Resilient & Responsible Toolkit

• UUA Community Resilience Hub (includes resources for risk mitigation & digital security)

On April 9, the Revival Planning Team offered this space to gather together with other UUs who are moving through the Rest, Celebrate, Reflect, Synthesize, Organize process following the Revival.  Watch the recording here.

We were joined by Terry Welsher from the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Gwinnett.  This informal gathering provided ample time for conversation and brainstorming next steps together.

Resources from the meeting:

• View the presentation slides from Terry Welsher

• View the presentation slides from Side With Love

• Watch the recordings of our UU Climate Justice Revival Info Sessions

We hope you'll join us at our upcoming events:

• Green Sanctuary 35th Anniversary and Call for Renewal on April 16 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET

Working with the New Green Sanctuary Materials on May 21 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET

On March 12, the Revival Planning Team offered this space to gather together with other UUs who are moving through the Rest, Celebrate, Reflect, Synthesize, Organize process following the Revival. Watch the recording here.

Andrew Batcher shared about organizing a Revival that brought together multiple UU congregations.  This informal gathering provided ample time for conversation and brainstorming next steps together.

This is the only space specifically held for Revivaling congregations. It's your community! We're so grateful for everyone who attended the first Revival Community of Practice, and we look forward to learning, sharing ideas, and building community with you all again at the next Community of Practice on April 9 at 7pm ET.  After receiving feedback from folks, we've decided to extend the meeting to be 90 minutes to allow for more full conversations.  RSVP today!

Resources from the meeting:

• View the presentation slides (Google Slides - PDF)

• Watch the recordings of our UU Climate Justice Revival Info Sessions

We hope you'll join us at our upcoming events:

Green Sanctuary 35th Anniversary and Call for Renewal on April 16 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET

Huge thanks to Deb and Sheila from the UU Church of Berkeley for talking through the ways their congregation Explored the Possibilities for Mitigation using the new materials!  We enjoyed a robust discussion about the new materials and the ways the UU Climate Justice Revival works together with the revitalized Green Sanctuary Materials.  

The new Green Sanctuary 2030 materials are designed for more action, less paperwork!  Instead of a process where teams have to report a ton of information to the UUA, the new materials are here to support your congregation.  As one presenter said, “Having this plan gave me confidence.  I never would have attempted anything so ambitious without the support of this plan.”  If you haven’t downloaded the new materials, check them out!

Mark your calendars for the upcoming Green Sanctuary Celebration and Call for Renewal with President Sofía on April 16 from 7-8:30 ET.  RSVP today!

If you had to leave early or weren’t able to make it, you can watch the video or review the slides and materials shared.

• Watch or listen to the video recording

• Slideshow

• UU Church of Berkeley’s Future Mapping Exercise

• Films they mentioned include: 2040 and The Letter: A Message from Our Earth,  Additionally, they featured a Zoom presentation featuring two physicians who spoke on the topic of "Healthy Air for All: Time for Action."

To get a more complete orientation to the new Green Sanctuary Materials and Process and the ways they can support your congregation,

• Attend a Green Sanctuary 2030 Orientation (first Wednesday of most months)

Or Review

• The Green Sanctuary 2030 orientation video

• The recording from the GS New Materials Release that took place during the February Green Sanctuary Community Meeting

You can sign up for an orientation or access these videos at SideWithLove.org/ClimateJustice

Subscribe to receive updates:  https://sidewithlove.org/subscribe

Download the materials at https://sidewithlove.org/green-sanctuary-process-materials 

Ready to start the GS2030 process?  Sign up at bit.ly/JoinGS2030

Mark your calendars for these upcoming events:

Green Sanctuary 2030 Orientation
April 2, 2025 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM CT

Get to know the new Green Sanctuary! Green Sanctuary orientations provide an overview of the process and allow for plenty of time to get all of your questions answered. Come learn how to transform your congregation through climate justice.

What's next after the Revival? Revival Community of Practice
April 9, 2025 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET

So you held a Climate Justice Revival....now what? Come together with other UUs who are also moving through the Rest, Celebrate, Reflect, Synthesize, Organize process following the Revival. Learn together! Make Connections! Move Climate Justice forward together. This informal gathering will provide ample time for conversation and brainstorming next steps together.

Green Sanctuary 35th Anniversary Call for Renewal with President Sofía Betancourt
April 16, 2025 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET
Celebrate 35 years of Green Sanctuary and renew your congregation's commitment! Join President Sofía and friends to celebrate this impactful and transformative program that has organized UUs to take action on climate for 35 years, and learn about the new Green Sanctuary process that will carry our faith through the coming years. All are welcome! Renew your commitment to faith based actions that advance climate justice in our communities.

You can watch or listen to the recording of The Gathering on March 10, 2025, read the transcript, or view the slides

The Gathering is a new monthly virtual event from Side With Love, designed to offer:

• Spiritual Grounding – Strengthen your heart and spirit for the work ahead.

• Political Analysis – Understand the threats to democracy and justice.

• Collective Action – Organize with others to block anti-democratic forces and build a just and loving world.

Our launch on March 10 was led by Side With Love Staff Nicole Pressley and Rev. Cathy Rion Starr, with Katia Hansen sharing about the immigration context, and Rev. Lane-Mairead Campbell sharing lessons on showing up for and with trans folks in Western New York. bēheld grounded us with live singing.

We hope you will come to our next Gathering on Monday, April 14th and bring a friend! 

You can see all the dates, a promotion kit, recordings, crisis resources, and links at sidewithlove.org/the-gathering.  

As a reminder, here’s what we invite you to do after The Gathering: 

1. Ground yourself. What is one thing you will do this week to tend to your spirit and regulate?

2. Ground in community. What is a nugget from this session you will share with your people? 

3. Go deeper with your people. 

For individual reflection: download Sacred Circles or purchase printed copies

For group reflection: Congregational Asset Mapping Guide 

For  “how to” or “should I?” questions:  Grounded, Resilient & Responsible Toolkit

4. Write yourself a note about how & when you will do this.

Resources from the webinar

• ​​beheld music invite you to stay in touch

• Side with Love Action Center

• UUA Community Resilience Hub

• UURISE’s website

• Learn more about the sanctuary lawsuit the UUA is part of in UU World

• For more about Sensitive Locations: UUA Defending Faithful Sanctuary and Hospitality Webinar

• For those looking to connect to local immigrant rights groups, start by asking for connections from a UU State Action Network

• Find UU State Action Networks at CUUSAN

• If you don't have a SAN, reach out to UURISE to help get you connected to local organizations

• Find the Chalice Lighter on the  WorshipWeb app
  

In our Sacred Circles worksheet, we encourage individuals to reflect on these three questions:

1. What brings me joy?

2. What do I have to Offer?

3. What does my community need? 

   Image description of the Sacred Circles Worksheet: "Sacred Circles" is a flier with graphic flowers at the top. Most of the page is three colorful circles overlapping with "Love" in the center. One circle reads "What my community needs." Another circle reads "What Brings Me Joy," and the third circle reads "What I have to Offer." "Hope" is also written where the circles overlap.

With Love at the center of our faith, we can embody our shared value of generosity by clearly identifying the resources we hold and can offer to our community. Congregations of all sizes are fundamentally hubs of Love’s resources: the people who make up our membership, the infrastructure we build to serve our mission, the values we hold in common and our commitment to realizing them in the world, and the relationships we nurture with one another and our communities. Because of the inherent richness within our congregations, we play a crucial role in the ecosystem of local organizing and justice-making.

Congregations can be wellsprings of significant resources for their communities, both in ongoing and emergent ways. The more authentic and mutual our relationships are with community partners, the more effectively we can share our assets with those who share our values and goals. By practicing generosity, we honor the interdependence that has the power to transform our world with justice and Love.

View The Guide Download The Guide

The Green Sanctuary 2030 materials have been revised and updated to better serve the needs of our dynamic congregations. On February 19, we gathered at our Green Sanctuary Community Meeting to learn all about it and how these materials can help you advance climate justice and cultivate thriving communities. Watch the recording here.

Visit our Green Sanctuary 2030 hub to

• Subscribe to receive updates

• Download the materials.

• Join one of our monthly Community Meetings!

• Ready to start the GS2030 process?  Sign up!

As people of faith and conscience, we are called to be bold in love, steadfast in our values, and unwavering in our commitment to justice. In the face of growing authoritarianism, fear, and division, we must respond—not with despair, but with courage, resilience, and collective power.

That’s why Side With Love invites you to join us on Tuesday, March 4 at 7pm ET/4pm PT for

Webinar

Grounded, Resilient, and Responsible: Responding and Organizing in Authoritarian Times

Register Now: March 4 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT

This moment calls for us to be deeply grounded in our values, resilient in the face of challenges, and responsible stewards of justice. Together, we will explore:

✅ Simple tips on communicating safely in public and on private channels 
✅ Strategies for responding in crisis moments 
✅ Practical tools for organizing and resisting authoritarianism

Join us for powerful stories from the organizers who helped write the Grounded, Resilient, and Responsible toolkit. Learn how these tips can help you meet this moment. 

Now more than ever, we must show up for one another. Join us to deepen your commitment, strengthen your skills, and stand in solidarity for a just and liberated future.

🔗Register now to join us on March 4

---

New! Action Center Weekly Update

We are in a critical moment. Power is being consolidated in the hands of the few, while attacks on democracy, bodily autonomy, and human dignity escalate. But nothing is inevitable. Justice movements are powered by people like you—people who organize, resist, and build a loving and liberated world.

That’s why we’re launching the Action Center Weekly Update—a resource to keep you informed, equip you with immediate actions, and help you strengthen your organizing skills. Each Tuesday, find our newest update at our Action Center as well as the archive of past updates.

Check out our Action Center Weekly Update for the week of 2/18/2025

Community Resilience Hub

Through this hub, we offer guidance and resources on how to take action now, support each other, and build a resilient community that stands firm in the face of uncertainty.

UUA Community Resilience Hub

On February 12, the Revival Planning Team offered this space to gather together with other UUs who are moving through the Rest, Celebrate, Reflect, Synthesize, Organize process following the Revival. This informal gathering provided ample time for conversation and brainstorming next steps together. Watch the recording here.

This is the only space specifically held for Revivaling congregations. It's your community! We're so grateful for everyone who attended the first Revival Community of Practice, and we look forward to learning, sharing ideas, and building community with you all again at the next Community of Practice on March 12 at 7ET. After receiving feedback from folks, we've decided to extend the meeting to be 90 minutes to allow for more full conversations. RSVP today!

Resources from the meeting:

• View the presentation slides

• Watch the recordings of our UU Climate Justice Revival Info Sessions

We hope you'll join us at our upcoming events:

• Green Sanctuary New Materials Release on February 19 at 7pm ET

• UU Climate Justice Revival Facilitator Training on February 26 at 7pm ET

On January 29, we held our annual Celebration for our Active Green Sanctuary Teams to come together to share what they’re working on. It’s a fast-paced, inspirational review of all the good work our congregations are doing. 

• View the slides

• View the chat feed, with more stories and suggestions

Recommended Resources

• Green Sanctuary: subscribe to receive updates, join the process, RSVP for upcoming events, and more

Upcoming Green Sanctuary Community Meetings

Green Sanctuary New Materials Release February 19, 2025 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM CT

The Green Sanctuary 2030 materials have been revised and updated to better serve the needs of our dynamic congregations.

Join the February Green Sanctuary Community meeting to learn all about it and how these materials can help you advance climate justice and cultivate thriving communities.

Working with the new Green Sanctuary materials

March 19, 2025 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM CT and May 21, 2025 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM CT

In February, we released the new Green Sanctuary materials which are designed to be more manageable, accessible, and impactful for all congregations! During our March and May meetings, we'll feature one of the Green Sanctuary teams working through the materials. Learn from each other and build community! 

Green Sanctuary 35th Anniversary Call for Renewal with President Sofía Betancourt

April 16, 2025 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET

Celebrate 35 years of Green Sanctuary and renew your congregation's commitment! Join President Sofía and friends to celebrate this impactful and transformative program that has organized UUs to take action on climate for 35 years, and learn about the new Green Sanctuary process that will carry our faith through the coming years. All are welcome! Renew your commitment to faith based actions that advance climate justice in our communities.

On January 14, UU the Vote, Side With Love, key partners, and special guest musicians Sandy O. of Emma’s Revolution and Holly Near hosted this celebration to honor the incredible work of UUs in 2024 to building and growing our democracy and dig into our work ahead. Watch the recording here.

Resources from the meeting:

• Presentation slides

Upcoming events:

• 30 Days of Love from Side With Love—stay tuned!

• Interfaith Service & Moral Mass Meeting, Monday, January 20 at 6pm ET

• Good Trouble Congregations Celebration, Tuesday January 28 from 8–9:30pm ET—if your congregation was awarded Good Trouble in 2024, you should have received an email confirming this from us. If you applied for it and haven’t heard back, please email us as soon as possible at voting@uua.org.

With over 375 UU Congregations hosting the UU Climate Justice Revival and 125 ACTIVE Green Sanctuary 2030 Congregations, UUs are mobilizing for Climate Justice...but how? 

As climate disasters become more commonplace, we need stronger networks of community care. Whether you want to convene a regional Revival, work on disaster response, collaborate on statewide advocacy, or just learn how others are approaching their climate justice work, working together with other UUs can be a powerful response to the problems of our times. 

Find resources and upcoming programming at sidewithlove.org/climatejustice.

After this year’s election, we must come together to nourish our spirits and move in our collective power. This is about more than one election; it is about grounding ourselves in the values and communities that drive our fight for justice. No matter your issue — climate justice, democracy, gender justice, or decriminalization — we are in this work together. 

This final session included an invitation for congregations to do the preparatory groundwork for meeting this moment as well as analysis from UUs in organizing who shared what they see as immediate needs for UU response.

• Missed the first session? Recording & resources for Session One: After Election Day

Resources

Where we've been & where we might go

Rev. Angela Tyler-Williams, Co-Director for Movement Building for SACReD (Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity

• Pastoral Care from Black Lives of UU for Black UUs

• Vespers and other spiritual tending spaces from DRUUMM for BIPOC UUs

• UURISE

• UUSC CAPAS Program

• United We Dream

• Detention Watch Network

• List of local bail and bond funds

• List of resources and calls to action around immigration

• How to map your congregation’s assets to put in service of community

• SACReD

• Woven Together webinar series

• Curriculum Facilitator Training Registration

• Community Resilience Hub

Save the Date

• Tuesday January 14 8-9pm ET: UU the Vote Celebration

• Tuesday January 28 8-9pm ET: Good Trouble Congregations Celebration

Music Played

• Human Nature by Beautiful Chorus

Next week I’m offering my “2020 Future Cast” to my 2019 training program for congregational leaders.  This is our final session in the series. We’re discussing top tech and communication trends that are shaping your community, your congregation and the context within which you are doing ministry today.

New Year Preview

After the New Year, look for the following:

• new stand-alone on-demand courses
• single session webinars (not subscription)
• ongoing free public LIVE VIDEO sessions
• new podcast coming out this month!

I’ll be sharing much more as these roll out.    Subscribe to get updates!

Harness The Power of Your Podcast!
Wednesday, November 13, 2019 at 7pm EST
1 Hour Session Presented by Peter Bowden

Many leaders fear audio podcasts keep people from visiting. The opposite is true! Audio podcasts are frequently used to evaluate congregations, including deciding to visit and ultimately join.  

Podcasts also help existing members and volunteers stay engaged. With podcasts and smart speakers growing in popularity, your audio ministry is more valuable than ever!

We’ll discuss using podcasts for outreach, education, membership development, and stewardship.

This session is part of my Leading Congregations Monthly training program.

To attend this session only, join the program and cancel your subscription after this training is over via your PayPal account. Easy!

Want to join us? Learn more and enroll
Members – Go to Program Site

Congregations, Harness The Power of Your Podcast!
Wednesday, November 13, 2019 at 7pm EST
60 Minutes • Presented by Peter Bowden

Many congregational leaders fear audio podcasts keep people from visiting. The opposite is true!

Audio podcasts are frequently used to evaluate congregations, including deciding to visit and ultimately join.  Podcasts also help existing members and volunteers stay engaged.

With podcasts and smart speakers growing in popularity, your audio ministry is more valuable than ever! We’ll discuss using podcasts for outreach, education, membership development, and stewardship.

NOTE: If you hold weekly services that include a sermon, you should be recording audio of these talks.  If you do, distributing this content as a podcast is a must!

New Members – Learn more and enroll
Members – Go to Program Site

 

Video overview of Fall Training Topics:

 

I just had a great conversation with a ministry team about membership, digital culture, and staffing.  For these leaders — staff and membership volunteers — it was eye-opening.

I want you to have the same  experience.  I hope this 10 minute-ish video helps inspire you to update your strategy!

We need to meet people WHERE and WHEN they are making decisions about our congregations — that’s online for a huge percentage of potential visitors and new members.

We need to welcome them online.

We need to inspire, educate, and orient them online.

We need to bring a branch of the path to membership online.

How do we do this?  First, acknowledge the fact that the world, our technology, and human behavior requires a shift.  Once you do that you can seek out specific support.

My Facebook Group

I am continually discussing this and related issues in my UU PLANET LEADERS Facebook group  Join me and over 1,000 other Unitarian Universalist leaders in this group. 

Get Monthly Training

I also lead a new LIVE and ON-DEMAND training for congregational leaders every month. This is through my Leading Congregations Monthly program. Learn more.

Zoom Video Presentations

As noted in this video, I also offer Zoom video consultations.  This inlcudes one-on-one and team consultations, as well as remote video presentations for professional groups, seminaries, and conferences across the United States.

Contact me if you’d like to discuss a training.

Topic:  Mastering your “Plan A Visit” Strategy
Date: Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at 7pm EST
Duration: 60 minutes
Where:  Online / Zoom Webinar
Recording:  Available to program members

New Members – Learn more and enroll
Members – Go To Program Site

Many people thinking about visiting a congregation make it to the congregation’s website, but never follow through with a visit. Thinking about visiting a congregation is very stressful, let alone actually visiting.

You can help people interested in your congregation follow through with a visit by helping them decide to visit RIGHT THEN AND THERE when they are on your website and considering it.

Don’t let people linger in an anxious, tentative, maybe I’ll visit state.

To help them commit to a visit and move forward requires understanding their state of mind, shifting your website’s language, and what you are asking them to do.

Instead of saying, “Oh, visit anytime,” help them RSVP for a specific upcoming service. Proactively help them plan their visit and send them clear instructions, resources, and support.

The best part? You can automate this process with automated emails sending visitors who RSVP the information they need, prompting them to ask if they have additional questions, as well as notifying your team that they are coming.

By doing this you shift when you collect information from when they visit in person to when they plan to visit online. Instead of trying to figure out who newcomers are as they come in, you’re proactively connecting with them in advance.

Can you tell I love this strategy?

I’m watching this strategy being deployed across the church world. All the rapidly growing congregations I follow are shifting to this approach.

If you aren’t using this strategy on your website and membership development process, consider joining us for this session.

You can join my monthly training program and leave at any time via your PayPal account. To join for this session, enroll, and then end your subscription via PayPal once the session is complete. You’ll have a full month of access to our program member site.

New Members – Learn more and enroll
Members – Go To Program Site