Herstory - District and Regional
"Our mission, as women in community, is to explore our authentic selves, and to promote gender equity in our lives, our congregations, and in society."
The Joseph Priestley District Women and Religion group was strong and active until 2011. They didn't hold any official retreats after that.
These pages represent some of their archived materials. If you happen to have or know of any others, please consider contributing them to the UUW&R Archive Project. Contact info@uuwr.org.
Metro New York District's UU Women's Association was very active, though they have either disbanded or don't have a website. Their last known webpage had this to say:
WHAT IS THE UUWA?
The Unitarian Universalist Women's Association (UUWA) was formed in 1964 by the union of the New York League of Women and the Association of Universalist Women of the New York Metropolitan District. In 1989, the UUWA agreed to provide leadership for the Metro NY District Women and Religion Committee. The Women and Religion Committee focuses on issues of feminist spirituality and encourages awareness of such issues within the district at large. The two groups operate jointly.
Connection website!
UU Women's Connection newsletters 2000-current
The precursor organization to UU Women's Connection was Central MidWest District UU Women's Federation chapter:
Central Midwest UUWF newsletters. These go back to 1965 !!
This group dissolved somewhere around 2019. They gave us most of their archives though.
The Northeast District Women & Religion Committee began in 1982, when 24 women gathered for 24 hours. The NED W&R has occasionally fostered activities and programs within the District and at District meetings directed at raising consciousness of women’s issues and concerns; however, its primary focus has been sponsoring Fall and Spring weekend conferences with a wide variety of programming for women. For over 25 years, women have gathered to learn, rest, play, grow, sing, dance and celebrate life’s passages. In 2008, two districts merged to become the Northern New England District. We became the NNE W&R. Sadly, around 2011 the group disbanded.
View NNEUUWR Archive pages.
PCDUUWR website!
Pacific Central District W&R has a herstory page and video stories featuring Rosemary Matson
We maintain an archive for the Florida UU Women and Religion chapter that dissolved in 2010. Continental UU Women and Religion is maintaining the site with any news of UU women in Florida that we can find. Fortunately the NE Florida Cluster women are continuing the retreat tradition with an event each Spring. Watch the UU Women's Events list at right for more information!
We've been given permission to unlock the Conference and Retreat Guides written by Rev. Barbara Child and updated by the FLUUWR group. We think the Guides can serve as a good solid basis for your group to modify for their own, and we invite you to do so! Continue to the FLUUWR pages and at the right is a list of the articles in the Guides. Please send any comments to info@uuwr.org.
Blessed Be!
SWUUW website!
Southwest District Women and Religion 1979-1998
An ongoing collection of our Herstory Compiled by Julia Harris for SWUUWCon 2014
The Women and Religion resolution was born out of the struggles of the Arlington Street Women's Caucus of the early 1970s. The UU Women's Federation (UUWF) was the one group that responded to them, according to Carolyn McDade, brought them to the General Assembly, supported their music record having as one of its programs at that time to work for "better representation of women on the UU staff, boards, committees, and ministry." The Caucus efforts raised consciousness, affecting their lives and their culture, and so were successful ("three magnificent years," said McDade). Then, with no way to keep things going, the group lapsed.
UU Womenspirit website!
In 1985, the Women and Religion Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Thomas Jefferson District (then the Southeast District and now Southern Region) conceived of the idea of hosting an all-women’s spiritual retreat. Through the efforts of these visionary women, the first Gathering was held over the weekend of May 15, 1987 at The Mountain Retreat Center in Highlands, North Carolina.
SLD UUWR Women’s Spirituality Conference
Know Thyself
9am-5pm Saturday, April 16, 2016
First Unitarian Universalist Society of Syracuse
109 Waring Rd. Syracuse, NY 13224
Join us for the UUWR Women’s Spirituality Retreat! Our event will take place at First UU Society of Syracuse. The doors will open at 8:30 am for registration, and the event will run from 9am-5pm. For directions to the church please visit www.firstuusyr.org.
