Registration is now open.

WELCOME AND GENERAL INFORMATION

Our Fall 2026 conference will run from Monday through Wednesday October 19-21.

This year, we have organized seven sessions: three on Monday, three on Tuesday and closed the conference with our final session on Wednesday. As in recent years, the conference will be transmitted via Zoom, an online video conferencing platform available via computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone or (audio-only) a telephone.

THEME DESCRIPTION

Our theme, “Living into Aging and Spirituality,” is derived from a close reading of Kay Montgomery’s compilation of essays, “Landscapes of Aging and Spirituality” (Skinner House, 2015. ISBN 978-1558967595). Sadly, the book is out of print, but may be found online, and perhaps in used bookstores. It is available for Kindle readers.

Montgomery’s book is a collection of nineteen essays, reflections on the experience of aging and the ways it intersects with the authors’ spiritual lives. Alternately tender and frank, funny and wistful, these heartfelt ruminations offer companionship for those walking the journey of later life. The authors, many of them retired ministers, approach the topic from many angles, such as adjusting to wearing leg braces due to neuropathy, being called “a woman of your age,” considering what it would be like to have nothing left to prove, and reflecting on assisted suicide and its impact on those we love. These thoughtful writers ponder growing older as a spiritual path—not one that we choose, but one that chooses us.

The theme, suggested by Bill Sinkford, will be developed by a panel of three contributors to the book: Gary Smith, Lynn Strauss and Susan Weston. In leading this panel discussion, Bill Sinkford, himself an essayist in the book, brings a unique perspective to the session that allows him to guide the panelists to new horizons in updating their essays.

In 2015, Lynn Strauss wrote of the challenges of being an empowered woman. “I wrestled with my relationship with my mother, and my withholding of respect for her as a housewife. I wrestled mightily with the patriarchy of the Unitarian Universalist ministry. Much in the world has not changed, but as I age, I fall deeper into spirit. The fire of spiritual exploration consumes my pain and offers the grace of knowing a more gentle kind of power.”

The losses of aging are still with Bill Sinkford, but his life sustains him. “In these days, I am living more into the blessings of the life I’ve lived, the love I’ve known and still know.”

Susan Weston hasn’t changed her mind about choosing one’s own death. But today, “My focus has shifted from me (my choices, my autonomy) to giving others the opportunity to think about how they might exercise their autonomy, their choices.”

After eleven years, Gary Smith is more sensitive to the time remaining. “The truth and inevitability of aging has been with us since our births, but I am aware in these days of its seeming acceleration. I find myself returning to what I preached for so long: Pay Attention! Be Grateful!”

Bill Sinkford

Gary Smith

Lynn Strauss

Susan Weston

PROPOSED PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Proposed Program Schedule for Web Page V2 Download

GUIDE TO USING ZOOM FOR THE CONFERENCE

Some High-Level Zoom Basics

Before you join the conference
- Test your video
- Test your audio
- Know where your mute button is on your computer and in your Zoom app
- Use your headphones or earbuds
- Be in a quiet room
- Wear neutral solid clothing
- Light yourself from the front
- Label yourself accurately
During the conference
- Make sure you are muted
- If you have to take a break, turn off your video
- Keep body movements minimal
- Pull up a comfortable chair and enjoy!
For the best performance, install the application if you are able vs using your browser to run Zoom

For more detailed information:

Zoom Guide for UURMaPA Conference Participants 2026 Download

ODYSSEYS

The conference will feature a minister’s odyssey with the Rev. Duane Fickeisen, and a partner’s odyssey with Roger Rochester.

Duane Fickeisen

The Rev. Duane Fickeisen is Minister Emeritus of the Unitarian Universalists of the Cumberland Valley in Boiling Springs, PA, the congregation he and Judy Welles served in co-ministry for fifteen years, beginning as Extension New Congregation ministers. Following Judy’s death he developed a grief ministry. Prior to ministry, he was a research scientist in riverine ecology, a non-profit administrator, and an active lay leader in UU congregations. He has taught in the Pacific Northwest Leadership School and served on UUA District Boards, in UUMA Chapter leadership, as a transitions coach with congregations in search, and as UUMA Board Secretary. He was UURMaPA’s webmaster. He is a cook, baker, kitchen gardener, and writer. He is grandfather to nine pre-teens and teens, and leads an active life in Portland, OR, where he has resided for 15 years since retirement. His chocolate Lab keeps him trekking the three-plus miles to the top of nearby Mt. Tabor and back almost every day.

“The first draft of my odyssey was about 14,000 words. While it was well over twice too long, it left so much of my life out. Reviewing old photos generated even more material. I had anticipated that writing it would be a challenge, not that I would need to cut out so much of my story to find and focus on the crux of my journey. Much of what ended up on the cutting room floor was tangential to my ministry, but still important parts of my life. I’ve saved those nuggets for a different story. The process of reflection, selection, and preparation has led to embracing both pride and humility.”

Roger Rochester
Roger Rochester is the partner of the Rev. Millie Rochester. He also confesses to being wordy. “I tend to write long, detailed explanations when my work required it, effusive descriptions when I dabbled in fiction, long passages in my correspondence with absent friends.”

Maybe verbosity is endemic to Unitarian Universalists. But Roger embraces writing. “When offered this opportunity, I thought it would be an ideal chance to unfold my distinctly tangled tale for this audience. However, it turned out to be more like the slide show at the visitor’s center than a guided hike from the parking lot. Watch your step.” You’ve been warned.

WORSHIP

A worship service to open the conference will be produced by Fred Wooden, and the conference concludes with a remembrance service with Barbara ten Hove. Sarah Oelberg is composing short obituaries for our colleagues and partners who are no longer among us.

The Remembrance Service will honor ministers and partners who are no longer with us. We usually honor a dozen or so members, but this service will be different, in that we learned of several deaths much later than expected.

The Rev. Barbara ten Hove is creating the remembrance service, and is assisted by Mel Hoover and Rose Edington. Sarah Oleberg and Sonya Montana researched and composed the short obituaries for each person. Barbara said, “The remembrance service is one of the more meaningful experiences of any UURMaPA conference and I’m pleased to create one that works virtually as well as at our large pod at Seabeck. Naming the dead is a sacred act. I’m grateful to everyone who is helping create this service.”

The remembrance service will be the last session of the conference, on Wednesday, October 21, starting about 12:15 Eastern time.

CONNECTION ROOMS

Connecting rooms, where we can interacted with others on a deeper level, are planned for two sessions. One of these will be guided by prompts from the panel discussion with Bill Sinkford.

REGIONAL, IN-PERSON PODS AND LOCAL WATCH PARTIES

Regional pods and local watch parties offers a way to experience our virtual conference in community. They were for people who long to worship, reflect, and learn alongside others, and to share meals and conversation while participating fully in conference programming. Pods offer in-person connection, care, and the joy of being together rather than watching alone.

There are a couple of pods forming for folks to participate in the conference together. One at the conference center in Seabeck Washington, and the other in Kingston Massachusetts. If you live near Waverly, Ohio, a few folks will gather to attend the conference there. For information and to register for Seabeck, send a message to Jaco ten Hove. Seabeck has limited capacity, so you better get cracking if you are interested. For information and to register for the Kingston pod, send a message to Judy Campbell. For information about the watch party in Waverly, send a message to Sylvia Howe.

See more information about these pods HERE.
Find a one-page PDF of the Pod Financial Aid Request Form HERE.