Join The UCC Coalition's Youth and Young Adult Coordinator, Tim Brown, and stand-out volunteer trainer, Eric Koepnick, for Biblical Self Defense Workshop & Training, June 4–6, 2010, in Fremont, CA, sponsored by the Northern California Nevada Conference of the UCC. For more information, visit www.ncncucc.org/page/happenings/biblical-self-defense-workshop-training-fri-sun-june-4-6.

Any Body, Everybody, Christ’s Body

Registration is now open for National Gathering 2010, in San Diego, CA, from July 14–17, 2010. Check out our National Gathering page for all the details at http://www.ucccoalition.org/programs/gathering/. Mark your calendars, watch for further updates, and get ready to march with the UCC Coalition in Pride San Diego!

The UCC Coalition collaborates with other "welcoming church" programs to provide training opportunities around the nation.  See http://www.welcomingresources.org/communityorg.htm for more information.

• April 9–11, 2010, Hayward, CA
• April 16–18, 2010, Denver, CO
• April 23–24, 2010, Denver, CO
• April 30–May 1, 2010, Dallas, TX
• May 1, 2010, Duluth, MN

See also http://www.welcomingresources.org/trainings.htm.

The Association of United Church Educators (http://www.auce-educators.org) will be hosting their regional and national gatherings:

• Mid-Atlantic AUCE, April 12–14, 2010, Huffs Church, PA
• New England AUCE, May 4–6, 2010, Cape Cod, MA
• Great Lakes AUCE, October 12–14, 2010
• Western AUCE, October 10–13, 2010

Share 2010, the national student-ministry gathering of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ, will gather college students and campus pastors in the summer of 2010 for a week of fellowship, networking, service, learning, and worship. Share 2010 will be held June 28–July 2, 2010, at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX. For more information, visit www.stepnetwork.org.

2010 is the year of regional youth events in the United Church of Christ, and there are six of them!

• Southern: June 10–13, 2010, at Dillard University, New Orleans, LA (http://www.ucc.org/calendar/southern-region-youth-event.html)
  
• Great Lakes: June 17–20, 2010, at Defiance College, Defiance, OH (http://www.ucc.org/calendar/great-lakes-region-youth.html)
  
• New England: June 24–27, 2010, at Boston University, Boston, MA (http://www.ucc.org/calendar/new-england-region-youth.html)
• Western Region: July 6–10, 2010, at Montana State University, Billings, MT (http://www.ucc.org/calendar/western-region-youth-event.html)
  
• Mid-Atlantic: July 21–25, 2010, at Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA (http://www.ucc.org/calendar/mid-atlantic-region-youth.html)
  
• West Central: July 14–18, 2010, at Park University, Parkville, MO (http://www.ucc.org/calendar/west-central-region-youth.html)

Please consider these opportunities for youth you know. The UCC Coalition's Youth and Young Adult program is also seeking adult volunteers to assist with staffing the events. Please contact Tim Brown at yya@ucccoalition.org for more information.

The UCC New Church Leadership Institute offers resources for UCC church planters, re-developers, and conference staff. Watch for a variety of training opportunities relating to church growth at growtheucc.memberlodge.org/Default.aspx.

Upcoming event topics include:

• Learning to Laugh at Church: The Power of Comedy in Worship (March 24, 2010, webinar) with Gwen Thomas!
• U-Turns Allowed on Turning Your Congregation Around (April 13, 2010, webinar)
• Living Out the ONA Commitment (April 28, 2010, webinar) with Gwen Thomas!
• Progressive Renewal (May 11, 2010, webinar)
• Coping Tips for Tough Times (May 26, 2010, webinar) with Gwen Thomas!
• Planting New Progressive Churches (June 17, 2010, webinar)
• Growing Liberal Churches in Conservative Places (July 12, 2010, webinar)
• Renewal through Spiritual Direction (August 14, 2010, webinar)

Also:

• Shepherding the Shepherd, sponsored by the 2030 Clergy Network of the United Church of Christ (June 1–3, 2010, at Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago, IL)

The next General Synod of the UCC will be held July 1-5, 2011, in Tampa, FL.

For more opportunities, watch the UCC calendar at www.ucc.org/calendar/.

Out in the SILENCE is now showing around the country.  Following the story of a small American town confronting a firestorm of controversy ignited by a same-sex wedding announcement in the local newspaper, this documentary illustrates the challenges of being an outsider in a conservative rural community and the change that is possible when courageous people break the silence and search for common ground. Check their website at wpsu.org/outinthesilence/ for up-to-date listings.

• March 22, 2010, Pittsburgh, PA
• March 23, 2010, Greenville, PA
• March 25, 2010, Bethlehem, PA
• March 26, 2010, Indiana, PA
• March 29, 2010, New Castle, PA
• March 30, 2010, Slippery Rock, PA
• April 1, 2010, Kittanning, PA
• April 9, 2010, Erie, PA
• April 15, 2010, Little Rock, AR
• April 19, 2010, Annville, PA
• April 20, 2010, Reading, PA
• April 24, 2010, Denver, CO
• April 27, 2010, Spearhead, SD
• May 1, 2010, Philadelphia, PA
• May 28, 2010, Bermuda
• June 1, 2010, Eugene, OR
• September 12, 2010, Charlotte, NC

Worship, study and dialogue with hundreds of people of faith at the 10th annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days, then go to Capitol Hill to advocate for our members of Congress to remedy these global injustices. The 2010 conference will be held March 19–22, 2010, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Crystal City, VA, just outside Washington, DC. For more information, visit advocacydays.org.

The Second Annual We Are 1: Women's Conference will be held April 8-10, 2010, in Raleigh, NC. Keynote speakers and workshop presenters will include Bishop Yvette Flunder and the Rev. Deborah A. Johnson. For more information, visit www.infinitydiamondclub.com or call Priscilla at 919-685-2590.

UCLA's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Leadership Institute is a five-month leadership-development program that combines a 3-day on-site campus experience bookended by leadership assessments, web conferences, and individual coaching. The program is designed for managers and leaders who want to increase their value to their organizations and advance their careers. The program begins April 7, 2010, with the on-campus session occurring June 7-10, 2010. For more information, visit www.anderson.ucla.edu/x27612.xml.

Christian People of the Rainbow, led by Virginia Mollenkott and Mark Bailey, will be held June 11–13, 2010, at the Kirkridge Retreat Center (Bangor, PA) with the theme "Embodiment: Our Prison? or Our Power?" Presentations, interactive workshops, singing, worship, and a panel of participants will address embodiment from the perspective of LGBTQ people and their friends and families. For more information, visit www.kirkridge.org.

Old Lesbians Organizing for Change (OLOC) will gathering for their in Cleveland, OH, July 14–18, 2010. The theme is Old Lesbian Pride: Sharpening the Radical Edge. For more information, visit www.OLOC.org,

The XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010) will be held July 18–23, 2010, in Vienna, Austria. For more information, visit www.aids2010.org.

The first annual FamilyFest event will be held at the Paris Resort and Casino, in the heart of the world-famous Las Vegas strip, August 6–8, 2010. Under the theme of “A Celebration of Life," we will come to celebrate our style, challenge our minds, restore our bodies, and encourage our spirits. FamilyFest will conclude with a gospel brunch on Sunday, August 8, 2010, with gospel music and a keynote by Bishop Yvette Flunder. For more information, visit www.familyfestlasvegas.com.

The Equality Federation calendar is another great place you might look for local events.  Visit that calendar at http://www.equalityfederation.org/template.aspx?id=801.

Progressive Welcoming & Affirming Baptist Congregation Seeks Pastor

University Baptist Church, Seattle WA seeks a full-time pastor to walk in ministry with us as we divest ourselves of a building that no longer serves our vision of ministry. We are an active and mission-oriented congregation that values care and compassion for one another. With a long history of mission work locally and globally, we continue to advocate for social and multicultural concerns related to an urban church. As a Welcoming and Affirming community, we celebrate our ethnic, social, and theological diversity. Our worship speaks through preaching, music, drama, and prayer. We seek a pastor whose prophetic voice is enriched by sound scholarship. For more information, contact Mary Rolston at ubcsea.search@gmail.com and visit our website at ubcseattle.org . If American Baptist, please request profile be sent to Evergreen Association of American Baptist Churches, attn: Rev. Dr. Marcia Patton.

Asian Pacific Islander Family Pride Seeks Part-Time Volunteer Coordinator. Application deadline is April 12, 2010.  For more information, visit www.apifamilypride.org/volunteering.html.

The National Youth Advocacy Coalition is looking for a graduate fellow or undergraduate intern for the following research project and/or practicum opportunity. This is an excellent opportunity to be engaged in community research, with the possibility of being included in report publications. The intern would be involved in data collection, analysis, and report writing in conjunction with NYAC and a national working group. For more information, visit http://www.nyacyouth.org/pages.php?id=37.

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Seeks Fellows to Work with Communities of Faith and Communities of Color

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Academy for Leadership and Action (the Academy) prepares leaders and potential leaders, primarily at the local and state levels, to fill the staff, board, and volunteer roles critical to the success of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movement. The Summer Academy Fellowship is a paid social-justice fellowship that provides the first-hand, real-world experience working for social justice necessary for becoming professional organizers or capacity builders. You’ll learn to develop and disseminate a progressive worldview that connects LGBT issues to struggles against racism, classism, ableism, and spiritual oppression; to build relationships with a broad-cross section of other LGBT movement leaders, especially in communities of faith and communities of color, that will endure for the long-term; and to mobilize mass numbers of people for direct action targeted at achieving immediate political gains for the LGBT community. For more information, visit http://www.thetaskforce.org/about_us/interns_and_fellows/academy_fellowship.

Black AIDS Institute seeks staff:

• Communications Director: blackaids.org/image_uploads/article_762/.pdf
• Development Associate: blackaids.org/image_uploads/article_763/.pdf

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation LGBT Scholarship and Mentorship program for Religious and Theological Study seeks to encourage and promote the dialogue on LGBT issues and religion in seminaries and, by extension, in our congregations and communities by investing in the next generation of LGBTQ and allied scholars. Applications are now being accepted for the Dissertation Scholarship and the Summer Institute. For more information, visit www.hrc.org/seminaryscholarship/index.asp.

The Equality Federation keeps an up-to-date list of openings in state-based lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocacy organizations. Please refer to http://www.equalityfederation.org/template.aspx?id=15.

The Human Rights Campaign maintains a database of scholarship opportunities for LGBT and allied students.  Review it yourself at www.hrc.org/issues/youth_and_campus_activism/8644.htm.