Strategies to Manage the Changes in a Post-COVID-19 world This month’s column was originally going to be about healthy strategies to manage change in our lives. But I kept reflecting on all of the changes we have gone through in the past 15 months and now that things are starting to get back to pre-COVID-19 … Continue reading HCT June 2021
Healthy Ways to Manage Stress in our Lives This month’s column is about healthy strategies to manage the stress in our lives. No matter how organized our lives may appear or how together we come across to others, we all experience stress. Stress can be temporary, perhaps arising from preparing for a major presentation at … Continue reading HCT May 2021
After I became a UU in 2013, a new phrase entered my life: “assume positive intent.” I heard this mantra whenever a committee or a group was creating a covenant for the upcoming year. It has also been mentioned before annual meetings as a way for Members to remember to practice gentleness and kindness with … Continue reading HCT April 2021
HCT Column March 2021: Boundaries This month’s column focuses on setting and maintaining boundaries in our lives. While many of us have probably read columns advising on the best ways to say “no” to others without sounding mean or rude, I would like to expand upon this notion of setting boundaries in other settings. In … Continue reading HCT March 2021
How to Handle Toxic Behavior This month the Healthy Congregation Team’s column focuses on how to handle toxic behavior from friends, family, co-workers, and other acquaintances. Examples of toxic behavior are people who are “narcissists, compulsive liars, sociopaths, manipulators, gossipers, and those wallowing in self-pity.” (https://www.lifehack.org/283358/15-ways-clever-people-handle-toxic-people). These people tend to have lots of drama in … Continue reading HCT February 2021
How To Have Difficult Conversations With Those You Disagree With As we get through this holiday season, some of us will be visiting family and friends whose political, religious and societal views are much different from our own. Most of us have heard the adage “never talk politics, religion, or money.” These days, however, it … Continue reading HCT January 2021
This month’s column from the Healthy Congregation Team will focus on Covenants. You may have heard about the church’s Covenant of Right Relations, which the congregation created and approved in 2005: https://bbuuc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/BBUUC-Covenant-of-Right-Relations-.pdf This covenant is published in the church’s annual report and is referenced at the beginning of each annual meeting, to remind people of how we hope to … Continue reading HCT December 2020
In this new monthly column, the Healthy Congregation Team will share some best practices for managing conflict and will suggest practical strategies for employing nonviolent communication. We hope these tips will provide you practical solutions for managing any potential conflict in your life, whether it’s conflict with family members, co-workers, friends, or fellow volunteers at … Continue reading HCT November 2020
