We have had another very successful conference, this time with a keynote address and concert by Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout. He gave us a lot to think about as we face a troubling future in this country. We had deep Odysseys given by Barry Finkelstein and Diane Miller, sharing their life journeys with us. Along the way, we had small group conversations with each other. Our worship services helped set the stage for our conference and the Remembrance Service is always a highlight where we remember and celebrate those members who have died in the past six months. Barbro Hansson has led this effort for the past few years and has built a strong core of a planning team. Jeff Briere chaired the conference planning team, and Cynthia Becker kept the Zoom fire burning quite ably.

Here is a list of all who were involved:
• Jeff Briere – Convener, Publicity, Slide Show & Soundtrack Creator
• Alison Stephens – Scribe
• Tom Schade – Worship Coordinator
• Anita Farber-Robertson – Connecting Rooms Coordinator
• Ned Wight – Connecting Rooms Coordinator
• Sonya Sukalski – Pod Promotion & Support, Themed Breakout Rooms
• Jef Gamblee – Tech Assistant
• Barbro Hansson – UURMaPA Board Conference Coordinator, Registrar
• Cynthia Becker – Zoom Master

Not on the Planning Team, but helped:
• Kathleen Rolenz – Opening Worship
• Wayne Arnason – Opening Worship
• Joan vanBecelaere – Advisory to Worship Coordinator
• Lilia Cuervo – Worship Team
• Rosemarie Smurzynski – Worship Team
• Gretchen Weiss – Worship Team
• Sarah Pearson – Worship Team
• Ibrahin Sarmiento, Jr. – Worship Team – recording services
• Emily Browder – Worship Team – played piano for Remembrance Service and closing worship
• Lydia Robertson – Worship Team – edited recordings (daughter of the late Rev. Frank E. Robertson)
• Jan Carlsson-Bull – Remembrance Service Narratives
• Anne Marsh – Remembrance Service Narratives
• Richard Speck – Moderator
• Christine Robinson – Conference Chaplain
• Marni Harmony – Conference Chaplain

In addition to all of these people were over 20 facilitators. Here are their names:
Ellen Johnson-Faye, Marta Flanagan, Richard Gilbert, Nina Grey, Bruce Marshall, Janet Newman, Ken Read-Brown, Sarah Richards, Maddie Sifantus, Rosemarie Smurzynski, Terry Ellen, Phyllis Hubbell, Susan Rak, Mary Moore, Anita Farber-Robertson, Judith Campbell, Dan King, Suzie Matranga-Watson, Frieda Gillespie, Lisa Schwartz, Jonalu Johnstone, Jim McKinley, Meredith Garmon, Anne Hines , Norman Horofker, Ned Wight, and Richard Speck.

By now, hopefully, you have received the notice that we are eliminating the spring conference and will only offer one conference a year. Our planning teams have done tremendous work to pull off two full conferences a year since the pandemic forced us into virtual gatherings. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work to create these conferences. It has been harder to recruit willing volunteers to put in the hours necessary to make a conference successful. Just read the names above and you have a sense of the work that goes into creating our conferences. The board debated the merits of continuing two conferences or creating alternative events that are less time-consuming in the planning. We felt that the efforts were more than we can continue to mount in the format of two full conferences.

While people have truly enjoyed participating in the two conferences, going to one in the fall is an opportunity to try different types of programming that will still bring us together over the internet. We will still offer two remembrance services each year and two sets of Odysseys to hear about our very interesting lives. The difference will be that one fall conference will have all those elements, and spring will have each of these as stand-alone entities. Stay tuned as we develop these new ways of being together.

The Rainbow History Project is almost finished. We have heard from Skinner House that the book will be printed this spring/summer. For those of you who do not know about this project, it was started back in 2019. Here is the description:

“UU RAINBOW HISTORY PROJECT 2019 is the Golden Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising 50 years ago. UURMaPA is honoring this anniversary by sponsoring two conferences and launching the UU Rainbow History Project. The UU Retired Ministers and Partners Association is collecting and highlighting the stories of LGBTQIA ministers, their partners and allies who influenced and were affected by the sometimes-uneven trajectory of LGBTQIA issues within the UUA. Here’s how:

• In two conferences, east and west, led by LGBTQIA colleagues
• In video interviews with LGBTQIA colleagues, partners and allies, sharing their experiences.
• In a book capturing the historic challenges and contributions of UUs from the beginning of the gay rights movement.
• In a website, social media, and archives to keep alive the stories of a significant turning point in UU history.”

You can access the website, https://uurainbowhistory.net/, and read video interviews, read stories of our LGBTQIA pioneers in the Unitarian Universalist Association, and hear through their stories the struggle for equality in our ministry and our faith. I plan on buying the book when it comes out and I encourage you to also buy it. I hope it will be required reading on the Ministerial Fellowship Committee list of required books for ministerial formation.

When next I write, I will have returned from a trip to visit our Transylvanian Unitarian coreligionists. Janet and I are joining a small group on a 10-day pilgrimage to the home of Unitarianism. I’ll post a picture of the places we visit.

Until then, enjoy spring in all its glory. An old Irish blessing for us all:
May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rain fall soft upon your fields,
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Yours in the Faith,
Richard Speck, UURMAPA President