Rev. Lauren Smith. Photo courtesy UUA.

From the Office of the President

The UUA is pleased to announce that the Rev. Lauren Smith has been appointed Director of Stewardship and Development. In her new role she will oversee the UUA’s fundraising efforts, including Annual Program Fund contributions from member congregations, starting February 4.

Rev. Smith has served as co-senior minister of South Church Unitarian Universalist in Portsmouth, NH, since 2012 along with her husband, the Rev. Chris Holton Jablonksi. She has also served as a minister with the UU Congregation in San Mateo, CA, and as the Island Minister of the Star Island Retreat Center. Prior to her career in ministry, she worked as an Assistant Director at the Harvard Business School Fund.

Rev. Smith’s ties to Unitarian Universalism stretch back five generations. Her great-great-grandfather William Hazel was born a free black person in North Carolina and became a member of the First Parish in Cambridge after his family fled north prior to the Civil War. She and her husband live in Dover, NH, with their three beloved children, Ben, Jack, and Aliyah.

Read the full announcement on UUA.org.

	A special video thank you from Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray.

Christopher Hartley, Deputy Director, Stewardship and Development 

Thank you to all those who supported our UUA this past year.

The UUA is the embodiment of the covenant we make to each other as Unitarian Universalists to build something stronger than any of us could accomplish on our own.

I am pleased to share a short video message from UUA President the Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray expressing her appreciation for your generosity—spoiler alert, you also get to meet her family's impossibly adorable 12-week-old puppy, Hercules.

Thanks to your generosity, in 2018 we were able to respond to a series of natural disasters with grants to UU congregations and entities; to lift up the work of UUs and allies in Florida and Ohio to support key voting rights and mass incarceration-reduction initiatives; to advance UU values on the world stage through the UU United Nations Office, where our focus is on climate justice, gender equity, human rights, and LGBTQ rights; and much more.

None of this could happen without the collective support of our congregations and individuals like you. Best wishes from your UUA Stewardship and Development team!

Through fall 2018, nearly $50,000 has been distributed to congregations in communities dealing with wildfires.

The UU Fellowship of Durango, CO, used the funds to help and thank the firefighters who were leaving their own homes to save other people’s homes.

In addition, organizations like Black Lives of UU and UU Social Justice Florida have received grants to assist people affected by hurricanes who may or may not have direct ties to our faith but are a part of our communities.

The dedicated staff who make up the Disaster Relief Committee have been collecting stories from grant recipients, which you can view here.

We encourage those interested to give to the Disaster Relief Fund. 

Congregations can apply for aid for themselves, their members, or for their local partners who were affected.

Adapted from the UUA's Facebook post on January 8, 2019

	Desmond Meade, Executive Director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.

This is an historic moment where 1.4 million people in Florida who were barred from voting because of former felony convictions can now register to vote!

Shown at right is Desmond Meade, Executive Director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, who led the campaign to get Amendment 4 passed, registering to vote today.

Mead said, “Love won! We showed up for our people. Let's celebrate and let's get everyone active in democracy. There are millions more in our communities around the country, not just returning citizens, who are unregistered.”

The UUA thanks the organizers who led this campaign and everyone who helped make it happen, especially UUs from Florida and all over the country. 

UU Justice Florida (UUJF) did much to support the passing of this effort. UUJF's Action Network promoted Amendment 4 state- and nation-wide, scheduling UU phone banks every month and providing flyers and pledge cards for congregational use. UUs for Social Justice in the Capitol Region (UUSJ) members were an active presence in phone banking.

We are humbled and honored that our UU faith tradition was able to help in the restoration of worth and dignity to disenfranchised people. Desmond is but one smiling face out of 1.4 million people in Florida who are now eligible to vote.

Some additional staffing news from the UUA:

	Jessica York. Photo (c) UUA.

Effective November 1, 2018, Jessica York was named Director of Congregational Life.
Jessica York has served as the UUA’s Co-Director of Ministries and Faith Development since 2017, and previously served as Faith Development Director from 2014-2017 and Youth Programs Director from 2007-2014.

“We are thrilled to have Jessica in this role,” says UUA President the Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray. “Her collaborative leadership, creativity and experience are exactly what we need to help move our system forward in embodying mission alignment, faithful practice and liberation.”

	From left: The Rev. Karen Brammer; The Rev. Elizabeth Nguyen; Everette Thompson; Susan Leslie; Audra Friend. Photo (c) UUA

As of December 16, 2018, the Organizing Strategy Team has been created to lead the UUA’s prophetic public ministry work.
The team includes Everette Thompson, Side with Love Campaign Manager; Susan Leslie, Director of Congregational Advocacy and Witness; Audra Friend, Communications Coordinator; and the Rev. Karen Brammer, Senior Associate for Climate Justice. The Rev. Elizabeth Nguyen will lead the team as Organizing Strategy Director. Formerly a part of the Multicultural Growth and Witness staff group, this new Organizing Strategy Team represents a mission-based realignment of staff.

	Dr. Janice Marie Johnson, left, with The Rev. Sarah Lammert, new co-leaders of Ministries and Faith Development. Photo (c) UUA

Dr. Janice Marie Johnson became the Co-Director of Ministries and Faith Development (MFD) on January 16, 2019.She joins the Rev. Sarah Lammert, who has led the MFD staff group since 2010. Dr. Johnson succeeds Jessica York in the role. Janice Marie is a religious educator who has been serving as the UUA’s Multicultural Ministries and Leadership Director. Her transition to the MFD staff group will shift some of the additional Multicultural Ministries staff and programs to be incorporated in MFD as well, including the Rev. Michael Crumpler, LGBTQ and Intercultural Programs Manager.

To stay updated on these and other UUA news stories, please visit UUA.org or follow the UUA on Facebook or Twitter.

Seasons of Giving is the quarterly e-newsletter from the UUA's Stewardship and Development Office. Questions should be directed to Suzanne Murray at development@uua.org or (617) 948-4392.