Publications

The UURMaPA newsletter, Elderberries, is mailed to members four times a year, full of news and information (especially the online full-color edition, available here, which is longer than the condensed, mailed version). The current and archived issues are posted online (below).

To opt out of receiving a printed/mailed copy  (printed in black and white), contact the Membership Coordinator (membership@uurmapa.org).

Download the current issue here: Elderberries 2023 WINTER.

You can contact the Elderberries Editor here: elderberries@uurmapa.org.

Archived copies may also be found in the Andover-Harvard Library Archives (the official archival site for UURMaPA) and also in the archives of the Meadville Lombard Library.

Note: Some of the oldest archival copies are formatted slightly differently than the editor(s) intended due to changes in word processing software, resulting in incompatibilities with files created in older versions. Issues prior to 1994 were scanned from paper copies. The apparently missing issues may not have been published due to editors’ family emergencies, recovery from accidents, and illnesses, but if you find one, please contact webmaster@uurmapa.org. Summer 1985 was apparently the first issue, and actually pre-dates formal organization of the association. All are in PDF format.

UURMaPA publishes two directories, the Membership Directory and the Area Connections Directory. The Membership Directory lists each individual’s Area Connection or you can download that Directory as a separate document.

Both directories require a password in order to protect members’ information. You can obtain the password from the Membership Coordinator (membership@uurmapa.org).

The directories are updated monthly. Please send corrections to membership@uurmapa.org.

Click to download the current Membership Directory or to download the Area Connections Directory.

Navigating Unfamiliar Territory

The Former Minister’s Partner, the Former Minister, and the Current Minister: Recommendations for Navigating in Unfamiliar Territory

This valuable resource was researched and written by Barbara Child, who accepted a charge by the boards of UURMaPA and UUMA to study the needs, interests, and issues of people in these three often intersecting roles.

The goal of the study was to see what might help them navigate for the good of all and ultimately for the well-being of the congregation and its ministry.

Barbara is grateful to Jaco ten Hove for joining her as editor on the expedition of turning a mountain of data – mainly interview notes and completed questionnaires – into a readable, functional “GPS” for navigating not roads but roles.

The UURMaPA Retirement Guide offers wisdom from the experience of dozens of our members in their retirement. It may well be useful to ministers and partners contemplating retirement as well as those who have already retired. You may download a copy (in pdf format) by clicking on the image to the left.

Report of Joint Task Force on Retired Ministers

Recommendations and Resources for Best Practices in Right Relations among Settled, Interim, and Retired Ministers and their Families is the report of a joint task force representing UURMaPA, the UUMA, the UU Interim Ministers Guild, and the UUA. The task force was convened in the fall of 2011 and was charged to gather, consider and report on best practices for improving the relationships between settled ministers and retired ministers. Their 2012 report can be downloaded (in pdf format) by clicking on the image to the left.