A Leadership Ministry Network is Being Created to Support and Engage Lay Leaders

Woullard Lett, Leadership and Ministry associate for the Unitarian Universalist Association, is leading an effort to increase nationwide engagement with and support for lay leadership.

He spoke with UU World about the initiative.

Tell us about the efforts to create a national lay leadership program for UUs.

With changes in the structure of the Unitarian Universalist Association, along with changes in society, previous pathways for associational lay leadership and service need retooling. Our first step was to reach out to current and former lay leaders to interview them about their experience and opinions. This is being followed with focus group interviews.  

Our effort is not to develop a program as much as it is to create a process and pathway for congregational leaders to serve at the congregation, region, and association levels. We are referring to it as the Leadership Ministry Network. We expect to begin gathering in spring 2024 with a projected formal launch of fall 2024. 

What is the initiative's goal, and how will you make it accessible to everyone interested in participating? 

The goal of the initiative is a process that operationalizes recommendations from the Commission on Institutional Change. The Commission’s report, Widening the Circle of Concern, stated that the change from a district structure to a regional structure resulted in a wide variance in terms of support and services that congregations received from region to region. This occurred because of differences in personnel, preferences, and personalities. Our goal is to develop a core curriculum that will be shared across all regions that centers the gifts of congregants and clarifies how they can move into congregational lay leadership and on to regional or association-level volunteer and leadership positions. Providing a unified experience across regions through Congregational Life staff and communication platforms will allow us to increase awareness and ease of access to leadership opportunities. 

Lay leaders recently described to you the challenges they face. How will this initiative help? 

This initiative will focus on peer support and learning through the creation of a Leadership Ministry Network. We will approach this from a collective "ministry" orientation, not from an individual "leader" perspective. That will consist of activities offered through the UUA’s Congregational Life staff group that focus on providing a core leadership experience to congregational leaders in all regions. We can coordinate support across UUA staff groups for lay leaders volunteering at the association level. This can reduce duplication, promote collaboration, and improve communication within, among, and between volunteers and UUA staff. Then the Leadership Ministry peer support network, comprised of lay leaders, can inform our ongoing effort and keep us on track and allow for engagement through peer support and collaboration. 

To learn more about the Leadership Ministry Network, contact Woullard Lett at wlett@uua.org.