Author: Jaco ten Hove

The Creative Sageing Award is given to a UURMaPA member for their outstanding service and creativity in pursuing new or continued ventures after retirement and building on one’s experience in creative ways. This might involve, for example, mentoring, public service, fostering spiritual growth, writing/publishing, creating and or participating in community and denominational service projects and organizations. 

The 2026 Creative Sageing Award was presented to Betty Stapleford in recognition of her persistent volunteer service on behalf of immigrants and marginalized people during her years of active ministry and retirement in Southern California.

Betty initially embraced Unitarian Universalism in the 1960s in Atlanta, GA, because UUs were walking their talk concerning racial justice and civil rights. This established a trajectory of championing those experiencing social injustice throughout her ministerial career. About 15 years ago, when Betty was serving as minister at the UU Fellowship of the Conejo Valley near Thousand Oaks CA, some members of the congregation initiated a project to transport visitors to the Adelanto Detention Center, which houses immigrants in the Mojave Desert over two hours away. Many family members of those detained had no way to travel to the facility.  

Betty was moved by the plight of people held in detention not because they were criminals but because they lacked the necessary papers. She began driving people out to Adelanto each month to visit detainees and support their family members in doing so. The project now also posts bond, when possible, or provides assistance when people are released from detention. After release or deportation, some former detainees have kept in touch with Betty, whom some of the younger ones call “Ma.”

Betty is active in other service organizations in her area northwest of Los Angeles, including Ventura County CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice), working for racial justice and affordable housing, as well as 805 UndocuFund, and IOOVC, committed to getting ICE out of Ventura County. She has regularly attended, and sometimes spoken at press conferences and immigration rallies—and even made sure to be there in a wheelchair when she had a broken foot.

After retiring from ministerial leadership at the Conejo Valley congregation, Betty served the UU Church of the Verdugo Hills in La Crescenta and then as the affiliate Community Minister for Social Justice at the UU Church of Santa Paula, whose Social Concerns Action Committee has continued to increase its activity with food banks and other programs for this diverse community. She regularly drove for the Adelanto project in the years leading up to the COVID epidemic, during which the 1400-person Detention Center emptied out. After the COVID hiatus, she has resumed her monthly trips out to Adelanto.  

“Visiting can be heartbreaking, hearing stories of how detainees got there,” she observes.  “Many are asylum seekers. Medical care and food are terrible; all creature comforts are missing. At least we can offer compassion and listening ears—and see what’s going on at the Center.”

The churches in Betty’s community have become central to resistance and to supporting one another. At age 83, Betty continues her lifelong commitment to advancing justice through continuing visitation to the Adelanto Detention Center and to advocacy for immigrant justice in Ventura County in the face of increasing anti-immigrant activities by the federal government. For consistently walking her talk and living out her UU values and commitments, we are pleased to honor Betty Stapleford with our 2026 Creative Sageing Award. 

Award Recipients receive a $500 honorarium from UURMaPA. We encourage all UURMaPA members to consider who you might want to suggest for these awards in the future, possibly including yourself. UURMaPA is a talented group of retired ministers and partners. There are many individuals within our membership who are worthy of recognition, but too often organizations fail to recognize their valuable participants. 

Over the years, the Unitarian Universalist Retired Ministers and Partners Association has instituted these awards in order to highlight the contributions of our members to UURMaPA and to the larger world. We invite you to go to our website to read about past award recipients.

Respectfully submitted by Charles J. Stephens, UURMaPA Vice-President

Approved by the Board June 27, 2026

Rationale: This role serves as a liaison between the UURMaPA Board and the Convener of the Conference Planning Team, which organizes an annual fall conference and ensures that planning, content, and execution align with UURMaPA’s goals, budget, and policies. 

As a member of the UURMaPA Board, the Liaison to the Conference Planning Team prepares for and attends monthly Board meetings (conducted online via Zoom and, if necessary, in person at an annual retreat), participates in decision-making, and assumes other duties as needed. The Liaison submits monthly reports to the Board and keeps the Conference Convener(s) informed about relevant Board activities.

Expectations: Liaison to the Conference Planning Team is responsible for these tasks:

• With the help of the Conference Planning Team Convener and the Board, recruit the next Convener(s).
• Provide support to the Convener(s), as needed.
• Assist in recruiting UURMaPA members to join the team.
• Assist the Conference Convener(s) in preparing a Proposed Budget for the conference, if needed. Conferences must cover their costs through registration fees unless special circumstances allow for grants.
• Submit monthly progress reports of conference planning to the Board.
• After the conference, arrange for InSpirit gift cards for Conference Planning Team members and Odyssey presenters.
• Be available after completing the term(s) on the Board to transition with the newly elected Board member, if needed.

Compiled by Barbro Hansson, February 2025;
Revised March 2026; Revised May 2026

Desired Learning Opportunities 

From Janet Tillman, UURMAPA Connections Coordinator

UURMAPA members were asked about the learning opportunities they would like to see available through UURMaPA’s Skill-Sharing Network. To date, the responses to this question are:

• Learn from others about maintaining a web site and presence on social media. I am working with a group of individuals who are working to preserve the oldest Universalist Church building in Canada. I see this as an opportunity to promote Universalism’s theology… including an annual Universalist re-union in Nova Scotia Canada.
• Explore with others about the direct line between Unitarian Universalism and the European Enlightenment. I see a theological thread that helps me to have optimism for our future.

As you can see, the sky is the limit regarding knowledge/skills to share and people’s desire for learning opportunities. 

• Is it possible that a facilitator (or co-facilitators) would be interested in a time-limited series of discussions about the direct line between Unitarian Universalism and the European Enlightenment? Groups of this nature could be an abbreviated version of a focused-interest group. Those not wishing to commit to an on-going general or focused-interest group may prefer a 6-8 session format exploring a particular topic.
• Is there someone out there who can share their skills maintaining a website as well as a presence on social media? 

If you can provide the requested skills noted above, or you have a skill to share or would like to add your desired learning opportunity to the Skill-Sharing Network, contact me at connections@uurmapa.org. 

“Perhaps the secret of living well is not in having all the answers but in pursuing unanswerable questions in good company.” -Rachel Naomi Remen

See also:

Skill-Sharing Network: What is it and how does it work?
Current Skills Being Offered