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Leading Congregations
into a Multiracial, Multicultural Future 
Many of our congregational leaders are looking for support in initiating their anti-racism work, or in taking that work to a new level. Aren't we all lucky to have the national conference on this coming right to our District! It will all be happening at the San Jose Doubletree, and will be attracting UU leaders from all over the country. We should be turning out in proverbial droves for this one. Why? Because, as the event brochure reminds us:
Just as important, this conference will feed your spirit, allowing you to return to your congregation with more energy, commitment, and practical tools for doing the work of our hearts. The dates are February 22- 24, the online registration deadline is January 23, but the best time to register is now. I just did exactly that, and I hope to see many of you there. | ||||||
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Starr King Offers
Online Courses 
The Starr King School for the Ministry offers 7- week and 14-week courses for all of us, designed to deepen our understanding of UUism and support our leadership skills, and we can do it all online. Spring 2008 courses include:
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The 13th president of the United States, Millard Fillmore, was born on this day in 1800, in a log cabin in upstate New York. Raised in poverty, he became a lawyer, was elected to the NY State Assembly, then to the US House of Representatives, where he was a strong opponent of President Andrew Jackson. He was elected Vice President in 1848, and became the President when Zachary Taylor died in office two years later. He was the last member of the Whig Party to serve as president, and did not receive the party's nomination at the end of that first term. Still, his two+ years in office were notable in several respects. In the tense years leading up to the Civil War, Fillmore had been selected in part as the slave- holding Taylor's running mate to balance the ticket. Fillmore was a strong opponent of Taylor's on the issue of expanding slavery to the incoming western states, though he agreed to appease the southern states on the great moral issue saying, "God knows that I detest slavery, but it is an existing evil. . .and we must endure it and give it such protection as is guaranteed by the Constitution." As President, Fillmore signed a series of bills known as the Compromise of 1850, admitting California to the union as a free state, ending the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and supporting the interests of the South with the Fugitive Slave Act. Fillmore also sent Commodore Matthew Perry to open up trade relations with Japan, and was the founder of the first White House library. The Whig Party fell apart over the slavery issue a few years after Fillmore left office. Fillmore did not join his fellow anti-slavery Whigs, such as Abraham Lincoln, in the new Republican party, but rather signed on to the anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic American Party, which was also known as the Know-Nothing movement. He was a member of the Unitarian Church in Buffalo, New York, and died at the age of 74, in 1874. | ||||||
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Undoing the Silence: Writing for Social Change - our Berkeley Fellowship will host a highly interactive workshop on how we can work for peace, defend the earth, and call for social change by writing letters, columns, articles, blogs, and other public witness statements. Learn tools and try strategies for speaking from your heart and getting it on paper, reaching out to those who need to hear. The class will be led by Louise Dunlap, author of Undoing the Silence: Six Tools for Social Change Writing. Saturday, February 9, noon to 6 p.m. Space is limited, so register early, this will fill up for sure! Check the registration page for more information or contact Barbara Chan. The Faithful Fools will hold their annual fundraising celebration, Oscard's Feast, on March 28. Mark your calendars now for this special event which will also be recognizing the 10th Anniversary of this inspiring street ministry. Learn more, and check out the latest news about the Bufones Fieles' upcoming trip to Nicaragua, on their web site. A recent article about our UUA's marketing campaign, first written for the Chicago Tribune was just picked up by the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. The story refers to both the Time magazine campaign and the recent ads in the football bowl games programs, and talks about the strengths and weaknesses of our ideological inclusiveness. Thanks to Jenny Harriman of our Santa Rosa congregation for letting us know about this one! We just received a quick pre-work assignment from the Reverend Larry Peers, who will be leading our Growth Conference, Taking It Up a Notch, on January 12. Those registered can find the assessment on our web site, at www.pcd- uua.org/2008Peers.pdf. And those who haven't yet registered can easily fix that by going to www.pcd- uua.org/events/growthcon2008/index.htm Our love and prayers are with the Reverend Kurt Kuhwald, whose mother passed away this afternoon. Kurt serves both our Berkeley Fellowship and the Palo Alto church. | ||||||
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