James Hills
Aug 29, 20191 min
At the 2019 retreat held in Springbrook, there was a lively spontaneous discussion around how the representative attendees thought the ANZUUA could support member congregations and increase UU membership in Australia and New Zealand. Below is a summary of the topics raised.
Drop a comment below to include your voice, and stay tuned as we develop more robust actions in the coming months & years.
1. Conduct an annual gathering.
2. Develop several “elevator speeches” to help members describe Unitarian-Universalism.
3. Conduct a stocktake of all of our information.
4. Create a library of information on Dropbox or other application, to include:
a. Articles
b. Readings
c. Sermons
d. Orders of service
e. Podcasts
f. Recorded sermons
5. Promote UU in Australia and New Zealand and increase visibility to attract new members.
6. Discuss with ICUU the possibility of having some visiting ministers.
7. Try to attract the interest of the press.
8. Use anniversaries such as 450 th Anniversary of UU or History of the Chalice to create interest.
9. Conduct online forums.
10. Be the “progressive voice” like Common Dreams.
11. Get involved in progressive causes, such as the 20 September climate strike.
12. Make statements supporting causes such as the climate strike.
13. Run a “Visiting Preacher” program, encouraging UU worship leaders in Australia and New
Zealand to visit emerging fellowships (in conjunction with some other personal travel) and
conduct a service.
14. Upgrade the ANZUUA website and set up an ANZUUA Facebook page. Link congregational
pages to the ANZUUA page.
15. On web and Facebook, include an offer of help to someone wanting to start a new
fellowship.
16. Develop a starter kit for brand new congregation.
17. Share regular publications, such as Melbourne’s The Beacon, with all congregations.