By Rev. Dr. Richard Speck 
UURMaPA Board President

(From Fall 2025 Elderberries)

Thanksgiving approaches as I write this column, so I want to offer some thanks for those who keep our organization strong. Let me start with thanks to the Fall 2025 Conference Planning Team and Worship Team:
Barbro Hansson, Sonya Sukalski, Jeff Briere, Jef Gamblee, Terry Ellen, Wayne Walder, Anita Farber-Robertson, Joan VanBecelaere, Linda Wright, Sylvia Howe.
The conference had the largest attendance ever, with almost 200 people participating. The programming was stimulating and the stories and odysseys were very moving. We have improved over the years in meeting the moment with themes that are attracting ever more registrants.

Our long time Conference Zoom Master, Jon Claney, resigned in the summer to take a full-time position with First Unitarian Church, Wilmington, Delaware. He did great work for us over several years. Replacing him is Cynthia Becker, a lifelong Unitarian Universalist who has a background in video conferences. She was behind the scenes at our recent conference. She lives in Vancouver, Canada.

I also wish to thank Ann Marie Alderman for her years of service as our Membership Coordinator. She helped us transition from the old way of keeping up—with three separate spreadsheets—to our Church Center system, where we enter the data once and it sorts automatically into areas. We are still getting used to how the system works. Ann Marie had to step down due to personal concerns. We seek a new Membership Coordinator. If you might be interested, contact me, president@uurmapa.org.

I am saddened to announce that our Treasurer, Paul Johnson, has had to resign due to health issues. Paul hoped to complete his term as treasurer, but circumstances prevented it. We are grateful for the work that Paul was able to do, and we hope he can find some well-deserved rest. The board will be appointing a temporary treasurer to complete Paul’s term. The Nominating Committee has proposed a person for the position. The board will discuss it soon.

The board is also working on goals for this year. We laid out broad areas for our work and are now putting substantive plans into place to guide us and allow us to see markers for completing those goals. We are working on strengthening connections (among ourselves, primarily), improving fundraising for the organization, and increasing diversity and inclusion in our membership. Stay tuned for how you can help us fulfill these goals.

The last item I wish to discuss is our annual fund-raising appeal. You will be receiving (or have already received) a letter from me, asking you to financially support our organization. We do not ask for dues to be a member but rely upon each of you contributing what you can to strengthen UURMaPA and our programs. Please give generously when the letter comes.

I close with words from our hymnal, #355 We Lift Our Hearts in Thanks:
We lift our hearts in thanks today for all the gifts of life,
And most, the gifts of hope and love, of wisdom, truth and right.

Yours in the Faith,
Richard Speck, UURMaPA President

From UURMaPA Vice-President Charles Stephens

UURMaPA offers “The Unsung Hero Award” and “The Creative Sageing Award.”  All UURMaPA members are eligible! 

We postponed the presentation of our 2 UURMaPA awards, this year until our SPRING 2026 Conference.  Surprisingly, we didn’t get any nominations. I know UURMaPAns are often shy but I also know there are any number of our UURMaPA members who have been doing great things and are potential recipients of either our Unsung Hero or our Creative Sageing Award.

We encourage you to nominate another UURMaPAn for this award or possibly yourself. Don’t be shy, simply identify the person and submit a brief description of their achievement(s), by March 1, 2026 to me, Charles Stephens, your UURMaPA Vice President, (vice-president@uurmapa.org). 

The Unsung Hero award is given to a UURMAPA member who has not been recognized for his or her vital contributions to our UU retired movement or for generous service to others. The award will honor a volunteer who has made an extraordinary contribution to our association, working behind the scenes during their retirement. The successful nominee will not have been recognized elsewhere.

The Unsung UURMaPAn will be announced at our Conf and in Elderberries, and will receive a $500 honorarium.

The Creative Sageing award is given ward is given to a UURMAPA member for his or her outstanding service and creativity in pursuing new 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/participating in community and denominational service projects and organizations. The Creative Sage will be recognized at our Spring Conf and in Elderberries, and will receive a $500 honorarium

UURMAPA is hosting a 90-minute Zoom meeting for its members with The Rev. Richard Nugent from the UUA’s Department of Church Staff Finances.  He will give us an overview of the part of the work of this staff group which especially affects retired ministers and partners, share some important news with us, and leave plenty of time for individual questions and comments.  Join us for this always informative webinar!  

Save Friday, November 14 at 1pm Eastern, 12pm Central, 11am Mountain, and 10am Pacific, for this seminar. Click on this link to join the webinar:  https://uuma.zoom.us/j/2535823727?omn=98339492357

This seminar will be recorded and posted to the UURMAPA website for those unable to join on the 14th. 

Go to this signup to attend.  Copy this into your browser:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdNBSN0t1JBmKtGmTQ_G52xEjQIPGs2NXdwevWYSpyjxF9nUA/viewform?usp=dialog

A major purpose of UURMaPA is to establish ways for retired ministers and partners to connect with one another in meaningful ways. The Connections Coordinator creates structures and facilitates affiliations through which retired ministers and partners create, deepen, and sustain personal relationships with one another. Small groups are one of many ways to make these connections.

Benefits of UURMaPA Small Groups

A small group is a safe place where you can talk about your circumstances, concerns, joys and/or topics of common interest with others who will not judge or criticize you. Being in a small group can also help you:

• Learn better coping strategies. In a small group, you will learn coping skills from people who have found success using them first-hand. You might learn tips on meditating, journaling, or things you would not have otherwise considered. 
• Grow through shared experiences. A small group gives you opportunities to get things off your chest. Sharing your own experiences with the group can help ease your emotional burden and feelings of isolation. As others in the group share their stories, you can gain valuable insight into how others deal with similar situations.
• Focus on self-care. Small group participants may offer up innovative ideas for how to care for yourself, manage stress, combat fatigue, and feel mentally and physically stronger.
• Maintain a sense of hope. Being around your fellow small group members can help boost your mood and sense of optimism, giving you the emotional reserves to realistically envision a better future.

UURMaPA General-Interest Groups

Upon becoming a member of UURMaPA, and at any time thereafter, ALL members (retired ministers and partners) are invited to join in a facilitated small group experience. Like Small Group Ministry or Chalice Circles, General-Interest Groups:

• have up to eight members, 
• form a covenant of how to be with one another,
• covenant to meet regularly by Zoom technology (usually monthly, for 60-90 minutes),
• have one member “convener” who lightly facilitates the session, 
• open & close with a Chalice Lighting/Extinguishing reading,
• devote 50% of the session to “Deep Check-Ins” (5 minutes/person),
• devote the remaining time to a group-chosen discussion topic and choosing the next session’s topic.

In October and April, each group Convener polls their group to see:

• if everyone wishes to continue meeting,
• whether those continuing want to change anything in the schedule or format, and
• whether they would be open to new members.

New groups can be formed at any time. Places for new members in existing, ongoing groups can occur all through the year, whenever someone shows interest.

If you are interested in helping form a new general-interest group or joining an on-going group, contact the Connections Coordinator at connections@uurmapa.org.

UURMaPA Focused-Interest Groups

UURMaPA supports the formation of small groups who covenant to focus on specific shared interests. 

Groups currently active and open to new participants are:

>>Caregivers 

An on-line support group for UURMaPA members who are partners in care meets monthly. If you are caring for another person, you are welcome to join other caregivers for an hour of check-in, shared resources, and caring for one another. Participants covenant for confidentiality. The group meets using Zoom technology, which can be used from a computer, tablet, or smartphone with a camera, or you can phone in.

The facilitators will help you get set up to use Zoom if you are new to technology. For more information and to join the group, contact one of the Caregiver conveners: Makannah Morris, Yvonne Strejcek and Kathleen Ellis   

>>Grief Support

An on-line support group for URMaPAns who have been recently widowed and are grieving the loss of their partner meets monthly. Duane Fickeisen (convener) says: “For an hour and a half, we check in, catch up as we process our grief, and share resources. Each of us grieves in our own way. We offer a safe and confidential space to find support on our separate journeys.”  For more information and to join the group, contact Duane Fickeisen.

>>Writing for Witness as Resistance 

This group is for anyone refusing to shut down and shut up, as seniors are often expected to do, in response to the chaos, corruption, and cruelty of the current administration. Group participants write on a chosen topic to access and then share their knowing, experience, and wisdom, thus creating a record of Truth against “mis and disinformation” we are subjected to daily. 

A group doing this work together supports one another’s clarity, courage, and commitment to the challenge of pushing back against the deliberate dismantling of our democracy. Writing for Witness is an option for elders who are no longer physically able to be on the frontlines in demonstrations, marches, and protests who have a wealth of experience and wisdom to share historical perspectives that will be important when the time comes to rebuild what has been broken or lost, so the younger generation need not start at square one. Whatever writings emerge could eventually be self-published for posterity. For more information and to join the group, contact Gail Collins-Ranadive. 

>>Goddess 

The Goddess small group is a non-judgmental and confidential gathering that provides a safe space for members to share their life experiences, connect with their feminine energy, and support each other’s personal growth, empowerment, and spiritual development.  Sydney Morris (convener) writes: The Goddess Group meets monthly. We check in, and then go around to answer the question “How has the goddess shown up in your life this month?”  For more information and to join the group email Sydney Morris. 

Ongoing Focused-Interest Groups at Maximum Number and Seeking Additional Conveners

>>Partners 

A partners’ small group is an opportunity for retired ministers’ partners to:

• Come together with other partners to discuss topics chosen by the group, share personal experiences, and establish a social network.
• Share information that is practical, constructive, and helpful.
• Offer support and encouragement to other group members and receive the same in return.
• Share joyful moments and have fun.

To start a second Partners’ Group, a convener is needed. If you are interested in convening a Partners’ Group, contact the Connections Coordinator at connections@uurmapa.org.

Creating Additional Focused-Interest Groups

UURMaPA is exploring additional focused-interest groups to better address the interests and needs of its members. Ideas for groups are:

• Navigating Aging Together: Supporting each other as we handle social, cultural, physical and/or mental challenges
• Living on the Edge: Supporting each other as we deal with financial challenges such as rising healthcare costs, reduced or fixed incomes that may not keep pace with inflation, accumulation of debt from previous decades, falling victim to financial scams, managing the costs of senior living, and adapting finances after the loss of a spouse. 
• LGBTQIA+: This group would offer LGBTQIA+ a safe space for thoughtful discussions related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual (LGBTQIA+) issues. A space to foster support and sustain collective agency and thoughtful collaboration.
• BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color): Provide a safe, supportive space for connection, discussion, and healing from racial isolation and oppression within organizations and communities. Participants can openly discuss their experiences with racism, oppression, and privilege in a way that feels emotionally safe, free from judgment or the burden of educating others. 
• A Living Library: A group where participants become “books” and are “borrowed” by “readers” (other participants) to have a conversation, allowing individuals to share their unique life experiences. In this format, the “books” (participants) share stories and wisdom from their lives.
• Color Outside the Lines: Small group for artists or “wana be” artists of all genres for the purpose of igniting, encouraging, and celebrating creativity. Discussion topics could be: art projects individual members are pursuing or want to pursue, mental blocks to starting or completing artwork, anxiety about sharing creative works, finding the time to make art, and setting goals and gently holding each other accountable for achieving desired goals.
• Book Discussion Group (Novels)
• Book Discussion Group (Non-Fiction)
• Poetry Group

If you would like to convene any of the above groups or have an idea for a focused-interest group you’d like to convene, contact the Connections Coordinator at connections@uurmapa.org who can assist you with starting the group.

Our conferences don’t just happen one day in October or April. They are the result of several months’ planning and the work of about 10 or more people who construct a mediated conference twice a year. So: a round of applause for the planning team: Sonya Sukalski, co-convener, Susan Smith, scribe, Wayne Walder, MiniStorys, Terry Ellen, Odysseys, David McFarland, Evaluation, Anita Farber-Robertson, Connecting Rooms, Linda Wright, Connecting Rooms & Accessibility, Jef Gamblee, Quality Assurance, and Jeff Briere, co-convener, Slide Show and Publicity.

The worship team is led by Joan VanBecelaere, and includes David Bumbaugh, Jan Carlsson-Bull, Jef Gamblee, Ruth Gnagey, Lynda Sutherland, Sylvia Howe, and Marion Visel.

We have a wonderful new Zoom Master, Cynthia Becker, who arranges our offerings and organizes the technical side of things, so that we have as smooth a conference as possible when attendees are in many disparate locations.

And we rely on our members and others for the creation of the content: Those who share their Odysseys, those who visit connecting rooms, those who present our theme, those who offer worship services, those who tell us stories, and those who entertain us make our conferences possible.

We are grateful for all, but the planning team is unanimous in their praise for Barbro Hansson, who always manages to get her rowdy ducklings in a row. For five years now, our mediated conferences have benefitted from her gentle guiding hands. Her service to the Board has been exemplary, and she is rather torn about stepping back after the spring conference. She said, “We’ve come a long way since 2020, when the pandemic forced us to offer virtual conferences.”

She is pleased with the progress of our conferences. “We began with only three people to plan a conference. It’s a miracle we pulled it off. Of course, we had support, individuals who provided guidance. Today, there are more than ten individuals on the planning team with specific portfolios who ensure excellent programming and good quality. For the past three years, I’ve served the Board as the Member-at-Large for Conferences and this is my last year on the Board. I’ve seen the planning team grow not only in numbers but also in excellence. It’s been a real treat to work with and get to know so many new colleagues and partners. I feel truly blessed.”

Sonya Sukalski is a long-time veteran of the conference planning team, and she now serves as a co-convener. She said, “After hearing Margaret Meade’s quote about how to change the world for the better, for much of my adult life, I dreamed about working with a small group of motivated people to do good things. This team, and the team we recreate each conference, always feels powerful, connected, and infused with good will. It feels like we make a difference in our organization—a dream come true!”

Terry Ellen has contributed his talents to the planning team more than once. This fall, he shepherded the Odysseans through the process to record their stories. He said, “Working with the presenters of our two Odysseys and their introducers has been a joy, since all four are not only very competent but also wonderfully easy and responsive people to work with, bringing respect and pleasure together for me. It’s been a foretaste of the outstanding kinds of people we gather together in our conference.”

Despite being hit by a car this summer, Anita Farber-Robertson worked with Linda Wright to set up connecting rooms, and recruit facilitators. She said, “I enjoyed the connecting rooms last conference so much, that I eagerly signed up to coordinate them again this fall. Inviting people to facilitate the connecting rooms provides me with an excuse to reconnect with colleagues, some of whom I have not seen or spoken with in years. The planning team is a group of skilled and committed colleagues, and I hadn’t met most of them. I now consider them trusted friends. What a joy!”

Wayne Walder came up with a concept that allows us to share our stories with our colleagues, and his session last spring was very popular, so we asked him back for more story-telling. He said, “Asking colleagues for stories has been a wonderful blessing. They tell stories about connection and inspiration as well as doubt and sadness. Regardless of the emotional tone, the stories reveal the profound, surprising, and sometimes unknown connections we have with each other and the world around us.”

To register for the conference follow this link:
https://uurmapa.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/2767109

We hope to see you at the fall conference. Information about the Odysseys, the service of remembrance and our theme development can be found HERE.

See you at the conference!

I have been on the job now for three months.  I look out my window to see the leaves changing color and then falling on the ground.  Fall is a time where Mother Nature starts her process of regeneration by shedding what isn’t needed to make room for something new.  UURMAPA has a new board as of July and we have been working to continue the success of the previous board under the leadership of Susan Rak.  

We had a retreat in August that allowed us to focus on the longer term of UURMAPA.  We will report what we have been up to at the Fall Conference in just a few weeks.  You may have noticed that we are still in the transition to the new membership system.  We are still working out some kinks to allow people to securely find other members of UURMAPA.  But to do this, we will need everyone to authorize others finding them.  We sent out instructions earlier but will refine them and send them out again.  

Our upcoming conference will focus on our stories about freedom.  The theme for the fall conference is “Stories of the Faith behind Freedom.”  I hope that you will register and attend via Zoom or gather with others in a Pod to participate in what is shaping up to be another deeply meaningful conference for us.

We have also welcomed in newly retired ministers and partners in September.  If you missed the presentation, we recorded it and will have it hopefully available on our website soon.  We had 44 ministers who retired and 23 partners were listed with them.  We hope they will bring their energy and commitment to join with us in continuing to build our association.  Some have already jumped into activities such as our connection groups and the fall conference.  

We are establishing a small chaplain group to be available to all members including partners should the need arise.  We are being pro-active to address potential conflicts when ministers and their partners seek to join congregations where they have not served before.  We hope that the settled or contract ministers will welcome retired colleagues and partners to those congregations.  But if conflicts arise, we want to be able to support our members appropriately.  

We are looking at new ways to reach out to each of you with special programs throughout the year.  We are planning a webinar with the Office of Church Staff Finance to address any questions we might have about our retirement plans.  We also are looking at a program that might involve the UUA Vice President to talk about the UUA and its plans for the future.

We are looking at other ways to strengthen connections among us.  We now have over 1400 people as members of UURMAPA.  These include those who have been retired for a while as well as the newest who have just joined.  As we move more into a technical future with our programming, we don’t want to leave people behind.  We want to create a small group of tech savvy members who would be available to work with those who need help with our technology.  If you would like to be one of those people, contact me.

The bottom line is we are working for you.  Let us know where we can meet your needs.  We will do our best to create something for you.  Happy Fall.

Richard Speck, UURMAPA President

Our gathering (October 20–22) will open and close with worship services produced by a team of people led by Joan Van Becelaere. Creating the service are Jan Carlsson-Bull, Jef Gamblee, Sylvia Howe, Marion Vissel, David Bumbaugh, Lynda Sutherland and Ruth Gnagey.

The opening service has traditionally been a way to center ourselves and focus our attention on the theme of the conference, which is “Stories of the Faith behind Freedom.” The service will address the importance of story in our lives, and how we can change the world as our story changes. As a catchphrase, “the Faith behind Freedom” was first used during World War Two by Unitarians as the theme of a worship service. At that time, people were dying in Europe and Asia as they fought to protect our freedoms. We realized that we must defend our freedoms today as well, and that our faith gives us the strength to resist tyranny.

The heart of the conference will be the sharing of personal stories; stories of that faith which sustains us and drives us to resist bullying and authoritarian menace. Together, listening to these stories, we hope to reinvigorate our spiritual and physical selves to resist the abrogation of our freedoms.

The closing worship will offer the space and time to reflect on our experiences during the conference, and provide us guidance as we leave each other and return to our separate lives.

Joan Van Becelaere has led the worship team for two conferences and she is honored to work with the creative group of colleagues who comprise the worship team. She said, “We weren’t sure how we would work together when we have team members in different locations, but everyone worked together wonderfully to make it happen. I personally love working collaboratively and believe that the best creative energies are released in that structure. It is a little unusual for many of us to design worship as a team, but this team pulled it off with real style.

“We were blessed with a plenitude of poetic resources to draw from and Jef Gamblee to put together the visual elements. Jan Carlsson-Bull and Sylvia Howe researched and lovingly created meaningful obituaries for the remembrance service to honor our departed colleagues. David Bumbaugh and Marion Visel created the closing worship. Ruth Gnagy, Lynda Sutherland and I worked on the opening. And we are grateful to North UU Congregation in Lewis Center, Ohio for lending us their pulpit to record the worship elements.”